Vincent Van Gogh – A letter to sister Wilhemina.
[Arles, probably .8 September 1888 r]
[…] I have just finished a canvas showing the interior of a night cafe illuminated by lamps. A few poor night vagrants are sleeping in a corner. The room is painted red, in the center, under the gas lamp, green billiards, casting a huge shadow on the floor. There are six or seven different roses in this canvas – ranging from blood red to delicate pink; they are an opposition of so many pale and dark greens.
I sent Theo a drawing of this painting today, looking like a Japanese "crepe."”. Theo writes to me, that he gave you some Japanese. Obviously, this is the best way to understand the direction, which bright and colorful painting has now chosen.
I don't need Japanese here, because I tell myself constantly, I'm here in Japan. And then all I have to do is open my eyes and just paint it, which impresses me.
Have you seen with us a tiny smiling mask?, fat Japanese woman? This little mask has an astonishing expression. I hope, that you thought about taking one of my paintings for yourself? I am very curious, which one you chose. Must be white huts in green, under the blue sky, I painted at Saintes Maries, on the Mediterranean coast.
I should have returned to Saintes Maries now, when there are a lot of people on the beach. But I have so much to do here on the spot. Now I absolutely want to paint a starry sky. I often think so, that the night is richer in colors than the day, in purples, blues and the most intense greens. If you pay attention to it, you will see, that some stars are lemon yellow, others glow pink again, blue, green and forget-me-not-blue. Without dwelling on it any longer, can be clearly demonstrated, that to paint the starry sky it is not enough to put white points on navy blue black. My house here is painted on the outside in a buttery yellow color with sharp green shutters; stands in full sun in the square, where is the garden with plane trees, pink laurel and acacia trees. Inside, the house is all whitewashed with lime, and the floor is red brick. Above that, the deep blue of the sky. I can live in all this and from- breathe, and think, and paint. I suppose, that I'd rather go further South, than to turn back to the North. That's it, that my blood may circulate normally, I absolutely need strong heat. I feel much better here than in Paris.
I also have no doubts, that you too liked the South very much. This sun never penetrated us, us - the people of the North. It's been a couple of days now, how I started this letter and stopped there. I return to it again. It was actually interrupted by work on a new painting, which I started these days; shows a cafe seen from the outside in the evening. There are minor drinking figures on the terrace. Huge, a yellow lantern illuminates the terrace, Ladę, pavement and sheds light even on the pavement, taking a purple-pink shade. Gables of houses on the street, stretching under a blue sky dotted with stars, they are dark blue or purple in color, and green tree. Here is a picture of the night without black, and only with a beautiful sapphire and purple, and greenery; in this environment, the illuminated square turns pale with sulfur yellow and lemon green. I have a lot of fun painting at night, at location. In the past it was drawn, and the picture was painted according to the drawing during the day. However, I prefer to paint the thing directly. It is true that in the dark I can take some blue for green and blue violet for lilac pink, since the quality of the tone cannot be distinguished accurately. This is the only way out of our conventional night, from the poor, we have them – white light; after all, even an ordinary candle gives us the richest yellows and orange. I also made a new self-portrait of mine as a study, where I look like a Japanese. You didn't tell me after all, have you read Bel Ami Guy de Maupassant and what you think about his work at the moment. I mention it, because the beginning of Bel Ami is precisely the description of the starry night in Paris with the illuminated cafes on the Boulevard and that I painted the same almost the same topic now!
Speaking of Guy de Maupassant - I find it very beautiful, what he did, and I highly recommend you to read all of this, what did he write. To be clearly aware of the modern novel, you should read Zola, Maupassant and de Goncourt as whole as possible. Have you read Balzac? Here I am coming back to him again.
Dear sister, I suppose, that nature should now be painted in terms of its richness and splendor. We all want merriment and happiness, hope and love.
The more ugly I get, old, bad, sick and poor, the more I want to avenge myself, giving a luminous color, well matched, shining. Jewelers, before they learn to put precious stones well, they also become old and ugly. And the arrangement of colors in the image yes, to vibrate and gain meaning, it's like arranging jewels or figuring out an outfit. […]