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The Letters of Vincent Vang Gogh to his Brother and Others 1872-1890 (2003)
, 2 Nov 2017
Van Gogh's letters are really a treasure that anybody who loves Art, Van Gogh's Art or just great historical figures should read. The Dutch painter is known by his characteristic colourful images and brush strokes, for his insanity and tragic ending. Reading some of the letters to his brother and confidant Theo allows us to leave behind the almost mythical movie-like character and meet the real Vincent, the human being, the man, the soul and the artist he was.
His letters are full of realism, understanding and compassion towards human dejection and people living under harsh conditions; they are also full of spirituality and religiosity, of love and admiration for Nature, and his eye for colour. His correspondence is a portal to his heart, his feelings of love, dejection, failure, fragility, indecision, anger, resentment, obsession and disappointments, an example of how Art freed his spirit, and of his enthusiasm for literature and painting, as well as the poverty and misery that surrounded most of his adult life. In short, when reading Van Gogh's correspondence one feels transported to the late 19th century and living in Vincent's shoes. In that regard, the selection of letters presented in this edition helps to get a decent general view of who Van Gogh was.
THIS EDITION
This book contains a selection of letters from van Gogh to his brother Theo, to his mother, and to artist friends Anton van Rappard and Paul Gauguin, based on The Letters of Vincent van Gogh to His Brother Volumes 1 and 2 (1927), Further Letters of Vincent van Gogh to His Brother (1929), and Letters to an Artist: from Vincent van Gogh to Anton Ridder van Rappard (1936), all originally published by Constable & Co. Ltd. These letters were collected, assembled and numbered by Theo’s wife Johanna, whose Memoir formed the introduction to their original publication and is included here in full, as well.
My main problem with this book, is not with is in it, but what is not, why is not there, and the mutilated version of Van Gogh that we get. Said differently, we are offered an edited version of the person he was, an intentional guillotined view of his whole self, clearly appreciable if you compare any of the letters here with any full letter reproduced elsewhere. I find extremely irritating editors with little understanding of what a historical document is trying to 'rewrite' history for the sake of brevity/ To please, who?
The complete correspondence of Van Gogh might be a fatty plate for some people to
swallow, and that is understandable. However, if a selection needs to be done for a book to be saleable, profitable and palatable, at least make
a selection that is historically sound, well introduced and commented.
However, the main sin of this book is not even the selection of letters chosen, but the fact that the letters aren't reproduced in full. They have been mutilated. It is not that just the dates, salutations and valedictions have been removed, it is that many times we get a 10% of the original letter. Just an example, to give you and idea of what I mean by mutilation. See, bellow screenshots of the same letter, as on in this book (first larger image) and the no. of pages the complete letter has (smaller images):
To put it bluntly, even a letter's formulary salutations and valedictions have historical meaning, are psychologically and emotionally charged, and reflect the level of attachment of Van Gogh to his correspondents. On the other hand, one cannot separate the state of mind, heart and life circumstances of the artist from his art, because they are intrinsically linked. In fact, the editorial house's blah-blah-blah promo says just so But then they justify the mutilation by saying:
"The result is an atypical take on Vincent van Gogh that avoids putting too much stress on his troubled mental state and too much straining by the editor to shape a narrative out of van Gogh's epistolary clues. Instead, we see the thoughtful and contemplative side of this creative genius, as well as his concern for the impact his art and life had on those people closest to him."One gets more the multifaceted personality of Van Gogh by having his letters not mutilated, Sir. In addition, I don't want anybody who is not a super-duper editor with an understanding of what an historical document and text is, to do anything for me, to produce a mediocre text when a good one can be produced. If you cannot do something well, better do nothing. You might say, the book is less than 4 bucks, right? but there are editions who offer the complete full unabridged non-mutilated translation of the correspondence for less than that.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A GOOD AND BAD EDITION
Now,
let's see an example of the difference it makes to have a chopped
letter badly edited and translated and a good edition of a
historical document, both being the same letter by Van Gogh. I've just selected the first paragraph as a way of example:
1/ This book's edition:
In
my last letter you will have found a little sketch of that perspective
instrument I mentioned. I just came back from the blacksmith, who made
iron points to the sticks and iron corners on the frame. It consists of
two long poles; the frame is attached to them lengthwise or across with
strong wooden pegs. So on the shore or in the meadows or in the fields
one can look through it as through a window. The vertical lines and the
parallel line of the frame and the diagonal lines and the cross or else
the division in squares, certainly give a few principal points, by the
help of which one can make a firm drawing, which indicates the large
lines and proportions – at least for those who have some instinct for
perspective and some understanding of the reason why and the manner in
which the perspective gives an apparent change of direction to the lines
and a change of size to the planes and to the whole mass . . .
I
think you can imagine it is a delightful thing to point this instrument
on the sea, on the green meadows, or in winter on the snowy fields, or
in autumn on the fantastic network of thin and thick branches and trunks
or on a stormy sky. (...). (Kindle Locations 2605-2614).
My dear Theo,
In my last letter you’ll have found a little scratch of that perspective frame. I’ve just come back from the blacksmith, who has put iron spikes on the legs and iron corners on the frame.
It consists of two long legs:
[original drawing]
The frame is fixed to them by means of strong wooden pegs [sketch B], either horizontally or vertically.
[sketch C]
The result is that on the beach or in a meadow or a field you have a view as if through a window. The perpendicular and horizontal lines of the frame, together with the diagonals and the cross —or otherwise a grid of squares— provide a clear guide to some of the principal features, so that one can make a drawing with a firm hand, setting out the broad outlines and proportions.1 Assuming, that is, that one has a feeling for perspective and an understanding of why and how perspective appears to change the direction of lines and the size of masses and planes. Without that, the frame is little or no help, and makes your head spin when you look through it.
I expect you can imagine how delightful it is to train this view-finder on the sea, on the green fields — or in the winter on snow-covered land or in the autumn on the fantastic network of thin and thick trunks and branches, or on a stormy sky. (...).
In my last letter you’ll have found a little scratch of that perspective frame. I’ve just come back from the blacksmith, who has put iron spikes on the legs and iron corners on the frame.
It consists of two long legs:
[original drawing]
The frame is fixed to them by means of strong wooden pegs [sketch B], either horizontally or vertically.
[sketch C]
The result is that on the beach or in a meadow or a field you have a view as if through a window. The perpendicular and horizontal lines of the frame, together with the diagonals and the cross —or otherwise a grid of squares— provide a clear guide to some of the principal features, so that one can make a drawing with a firm hand, setting out the broad outlines and proportions.1 Assuming, that is, that one has a feeling for perspective and an understanding of why and how perspective appears to change the direction of lines and the size of masses and planes. Without that, the frame is little or no help, and makes your head spin when you look through it.
I expect you can imagine how delightful it is to train this view-finder on the sea, on the green fields — or in the winter on snow-covered land or in the autumn on the fantastic network of thin and thick trunks and branches, or on a stormy sky. (...).
THE TRANSLATION
This is a translation into the English from the Dutch, which contains a good deal of French and some English. This being the case, a good part of who Vincent was, will never be captured by the language he never used, as the tone, preferred wording, grammar, personal preferences and particularities, or social and period nuances aren't visible to us. This is a secondary worry, which could have been compensated by having some sort of footnoting or commentary on that.
In addition, the French is not translated or
annotated; so, if you don't have a medium knowledge of that language,
you will hear yourself saying what?! quite often.
KINDLE EDITION.
It works well in my device and no issues whatsoever. However, I'd like to mention:
> The book has some of Van Gogh's sketches and paintings mentioned in the letters reproduced in the book. They should have been attached to the letters they relate to, or at least linked from the letter to the sketch and back to the letter. That has not been done, and we can only access the drawings and paintings by going to the index of illustrations at the beginning.Many of the sketches originally part of the letters have been omitted.
> The book has some of Van Gogh's sketches and paintings mentioned in the letters reproduced in the book. They should have been attached to the letters they relate to, or at least linked from the letter to the sketch and back to the letter. That has not been done, and we can only access the drawings and paintings by going to the index of illustrations at the beginning.Many of the sketches originally part of the letters have been omitted.
>
The analytic index has been linked in Kindle, although the number of
page is not reflected, and a reference number appears instead.
> I have noticed some typos, mistakes, and results of the digital conversion that need to be addressed.
> I have noticed some typos, mistakes, and results of the digital conversion that need to be addressed.
-- Proper typos: exhibitiosn (loc. 1023).
-- Unnecessary use of capitals: went into an Inn and I thought that he would stay (Locs 1255-1256). , Poor lad (Loc. 1299)
-- Unnecessary
hyphenation of letters, probably the result of the digital conversion,
as they might have been in different line breaks when converted to
Kindle: bread con- venient for me’ (Loc. 1503).
-- Unclear verb concordance: Those vegetable GARDENS there have A KIND of old Dutch character which always greatly APPEAL to me. (Locs 2624-2625).
And so on. MY RECOMMENDATION
It is because of my disappointment with this poor edition, that I searched for alternatives and came across free, very cheap and medium-priced products that supersede this edition in everything.
A cheap edition of the full correspondence and paintings (excluding the sketches) of Van Gogh plus the introductory biography by Joanna, can be found on Kindle for less than three bucks: Delphi Complete Works of Vincent van Gogh (Illustrated) (Masters of Art Book 3).
A selection of the correspondence, seriously edited and translated with introduction, sound academic criteria and high quality reproductions of the sketches and drawings included in them, edited by Leo Jansen, Hans Luijten, Nienke Bakker of the Van Gogh Museum and the Huygens Institute, titled Ever Yours: The Essential letters can be purchased for Kindle or hard-copy for 35 bucks.
The same guys did a full translation, edition and study of the complete correspondence, and if you have some hundred dollars to splurge, this treasure can be yours for 650 bucks HERE.
Yet, if you are a freebie-lover, these same guys have been good enough to put all of their work, the complete edition and translation of the letters with drawings, sketches, and what's not online, free access, on the website Van Gogh's Letters.
A cheap edition of the full correspondence and paintings (excluding the sketches) of Van Gogh plus the introductory biography by Joanna, can be found on Kindle for less than three bucks: Delphi Complete Works of Vincent van Gogh (Illustrated) (Masters of Art Book 3).
A selection of the correspondence, seriously edited and translated with introduction, sound academic criteria and high quality reproductions of the sketches and drawings included in them, edited by Leo Jansen, Hans Luijten, Nienke Bakker of the Van Gogh Museum and the Huygens Institute, titled Ever Yours: The Essential letters can be purchased for Kindle or hard-copy for 35 bucks.
The same guys did a full translation, edition and study of the complete correspondence, and if you have some hundred dollars to splurge, this treasure can be yours for 650 bucks HERE.
Yet, if you are a freebie-lover, these same guys have been good enough to put all of their work, the complete edition and translation of the letters with drawings, sketches, and what's not online, free access, on the website Van Gogh's Letters.
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