BFF-65 Van Gogh museum buys rare letter penned by Vincent, Gauguin

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NETHERLANDS-ART-HISTORY

Van Gogh museum buys rare letter penned by Vincent, Gauguin

THE HAGUE, June 17, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Amsterdam’s famous Van Gogh
museum said Wednesday it was the buyer of a rare letter by the
19th-century master, the day after it purchased the document for
210,600 euros ($236,000) at a sale by Aristophil Collections at the
Drouot auction house in Paris.

“The museum considers the letter to be the most significant
document written by (Vincent) Van Gogh that was still in private
hands,” it said in a statement.

In the letter, written and signed jointly with Paul Gauguin in
1888, the two artists talk of their brothel visits and engage in
mutual admiration.

“This is the only letter that Van Gogh ever wrote together with
another artist,” the museum statement added.

The letter, which mentions how they wanted to revive modern art and
set up an “association of painters”, is addressed from Arles to their
painter friend Emile Bernard and dated November 1/2, 1888, less than
two years before Van Gogh died.

Gauguin arrived in Arles, where Van Gogh was living, on October 23,
1888, and the two spent several stormy months painting together.

It was during the fateful visit that Van Gogh lost his ear,
presenting it to a brothel maid. The incident effectively ended his
often strained relationship with Gauguin.

The Van Gogh Museum is home to a huge collection of paintings by
the post-impressionist master. Its 3,000 pieces also include works by
Dutch abstract master Piet Mondrian and Dutch-Indonesian painter Jan
Toorop, as well as a casting of “The Thinker” by Auguste Rodin.

The museum reopened on June 1 after shutting down for 11 weeks
under the Netherlands’ coronavirus lockdown.

BSS/AFP/MRU/2100hrs