Van Gogh Museum Journal 2002

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fig. 1
Letter from Gustave Geffroy to Theo van Gogh, 29 May 1888, Van Gogh Museum (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

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Paper endures: documentary research into the life and work of Vincent van Gogh
Leo Jansen, Hans Luijten and Fieke Pabst

The funeral of Vincent van Gogh, held in Auvers-sur-Oise on 30 July 1890, inadvertently launched a worldwide campaign which has yet to be completed: the quest for documents and other historical evidence and testimony that may contribute to our knowledge of the artist's life and work. In the years immediately following Van Gogh's death various individuals began applying themselves to the task of bringing his paintings and drawings to the attention of critics, collectors and the public, while others undertook to promote the publication of the letters, or fragments of them. This allowed a wider audience to become acquainted with the eventful career and epistolary talent of a man who had created a body of unique works of art. In essence, these early efforts set out the two main lines along which subsequent Van Gogh research would develop. More than any other modern artist, Van Gogh has been the subject of biographical study, conducted alongside consideration of his work.

In both these fields the letters have always provided a point of reference and the same holds true for this survey of a number of trends evident over the almost 100 years of research into Van Gogh-related documents.¹ The material is closely interwoven with factors such as the reception of Van Gogh's work, the history of the publication of the letters and the development of the Van Gogh myth. However, these can only be touched on indirectly here, pending publication of the monographs on these subjects that still remain to be written. It will, though, be necessary to consider the history of the Van Gogh Museum, for this institution has gradually secured an important place in documentary research.

1 This summary of major research trends cannot be exhaustive, and no attempt will be made in what follows to cite all relevant publications or individuals. The main focus of this article is research that has concentrated on the documents themselves, the historical sources and testimonies - and not therefore on Van Gogh documentation, i.e. the totality of information and data that forms the background against which the letters can be read and the drawings and paintings viewed.

Before July 1890

The idea that Van Gogh received no acknowledgement for his work during his lifetime is as tenacious as it is understandable. However, it needs to be qualified. The efforts made to publish extracts from his correspondence immediately following his death would not have been as successful as they were if they had not been preceded by a variety of earlier activities. It is well known that in January 1890 the avant-garde critic Albert Aurier dedicated a favourable article to Van Gogh in the Mercure de France, a journal read by everyone with an interest in modern art.² Emile Bernard would later claim that prior to the publication he had shown Aurier the letters Van Gogh had sent him and that the sketches and ideas these contained had ignited the young critic's enthusiasm.³

Bernard was not the only person who sought to draw attention to Van Gogh's correspondence at this early date. Theo regarded the letters as an instrument in generating sympathy for his brother's way of thinking; he must have sensed that their exceptional character could help reduce or even bridge the gap that existed between Vincent's unconventional art and public understanding. A letter to

2 Albert Aurier, ‘Les isolés: Vincent van Gogh,’ Mercure de France 1 (January 1890), pp. 24-29. Another admiring critic was J.J. Isaäcson, who in De portefeuille of 17 August 1889 described Van Gogh as a promise for the future However, this journal reached only a relatively limited and entirely Dutch audience; Isaäcson's proposed review of Van Gogh's work never appeared, mainly at the insistence of Van Gogh himself.

3 See the ‘Préface’ in Emile Bernard, Lettres de Vincent van Gogh à Emile Bernard, Paris 1911, p 7 Bernard's first meeting with Aurier, described by the artist himself, took place in the spring of 1888.

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fig 2
Jo van Gogh-Bonger in 1893, Van Gogh Museum (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

Theo from the writer and critic Gustave Geffroy illustrates this point - and provides direct proof of the importance of such documents (fig. 1). Evidently Geffroy intended to pen an article on Vincent, for he wrote to Theo on 29 May 1888: ‘Cher monsieur, Je suis entré, l'autre jour, chez M. Tanguy, au moment où vous veniez d'en sortir. J'étais en compagnie d'un ami qui désire se rendre acquéreur de deux toiles de Vincent Van Gogh, et qui désire vous voir à ce sujet. Voulezvous lui écrire un mot pour lui donner rendez-vous, soit chez vous, soit chez lui. Adresse: M. Paul Gallimard, 79, rue Saint Lazare. J'ai été fort pris tous ces temps-ci. Dans quelques jours, je vous demanderai de bien vouloir venir avec moi chez Tanguy, où j'achèverai de voir l'oeuvre de votre beaufrère⁴ et de prendre mes notes. Remerciez M. Bernard, je vous prie, pour les extraits de lettres, qui lui seront rendus fidèlement. Croyez, cher Monsieur, à mes meilleurs sentiments, Gustave Geffroy, 88, rue de Belleville.’⁵

Moves were thus already afoot on several fronts to obtain recognition for Van Gogh before his death. When Vincent died Theo wanted Aurier to have the honour of being the first critic to devote a more extensive publication to his lamented brother; he informed the critic that other writers had also shown an interest in the subject, which once again indicates that Van Gogh was no longer a complete unknown. On various occasions reference had been made in exhibition reviews to the unusual nature of the artist's work. Despite the fact that attitudes were sometimes dismissive, at the very least critics who had not already been won over were generally intrigued by its strangeness.⁶ Regarding Van Gogh's early reputation one must also refer to the letters of condolence Theo received in response to Vincent's death.⁷ Although many of the compliments they contain are probably infected with the propensity ‘not to speak ill of the dead,’ almost inevitable in such missives, a sincere appreciation of the artist can nonetheless often be perceived.

4 This reference to ‘beau-frère’ (brother-in-law) must be a mistake, for in this context Geffroy cannot mean anyone other than Theo's brother Vincent.

5 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vincent van Gogh Foundation, b 1199 V/1962

6 See Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov (ed.), Van Gogh in perspective, Englewood Cliffs 1974; Carol M. Zemel, The formation of a legend: Van Gogh criticism, 1890-1920, Ann Arbor 1980; and Susan Alyson Stein (ed.), Vincent van Gogh: a retrospective. New York 1986, pp. 176-94.

7 Published in Ronald Pickvance (ed.), ‘A great artist is dead’, letters of condolence on Vincent van Gogh's death, Zwolle & Amsterdam 1992

The first publications of the letters

Thus, when in 1893 Emile Bernard began publishing passages in the Mercure de France from the letters he himself had received, accompanied by an extensive introduction, he found that some preparatory work had already been done. After four instalments he switched to extracts from Vincent's letters to his brother, secured through contact with Jo van Gogh-Bonger, the widow of Theo, who had died on 25 January 1891 (fig. 2). By this time she had settled in Bussum in the Netherlands, from where she sent Bernard letters to read and select. These were published at intervals until early 1895, with a ‘final spark’ in August 1897 - probably a deferred contribution to the journal, for Bernard had already returned the borrowed material in June 1896. In the accompanying letter to Jo he had expressed the hope ‘qu'elles soient editées un jour dignement et en leur entier.’⁸ This evident devotion to Vincent is characteristic of Bernard, who also published several articles on the artist and had Vollard produce a richly illustrated, luxury edition of the letters in his possession in 1911 (fig. 3).⁹

Bernard's contributions to the Mercure de France had far-reaching consequences. In 1904 and 1905 the Berlin publisher Bruno Cassirer reproduced major segments in German translation in his journal Kunst und Künstler. In 1906 these were compiled in a separate publication, Briefe, edited by Margarete Mauthner. This book was reprinted many times; with tens of thousands of copies produced and sold, Cassirer thus played a major role in preparing the way for Van Gogh's work in Germany, the country where the artist enjoyed the greatest renown in the

8 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vincent van Gogh Foundation, b 831 V/1962

9 See Bernard, op. cit. (note 3).

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fig. 3
Cover of Emile Bernard (ed.), Lettres de Vincent van Gogh à Emile Bernard, Paris 1911

decades immediately following the turn of the century.

For his edition Cassirer was able to make use of the letters published in the Mercure de France and the first, more extensive publication for a Dutch-speaking public, which had appeared in the August 1893 issue of Van nu & straks. This Flemish avant-garde literary journal also reproduced fragments rather than complete letters, mostly chosen from the Dutch period (fig. 4).

fig. 4
Johan Thorn-Prikker, Vignette accompanying the introduction to the letters published in Van nu & straks 1 (August 1893), p. 1

As Theo's widow, Jo had control over all the correspondence and works of art Vincent had sent or left to his brother.¹⁰ Anyone who wished to see or exhibit his work, or to read or publish his letters, had to apply to Jo. Julius Meier-Graefe, for example, who published his Entwickelungsgeschichte der modernen Kunst in 1904 - a paean to Van Gogh - must have had access to the letters in Jo's care.¹¹ Within her own circle she allowed men of let-

10 It is partly chance that has governed which parts of Van Gogh's correspondence have survived and which have not. Vincent's letters to Theo from the years 1872-77 were forgotten by the latter when he left home and only came to light again at their mother's house in August 1890, after Vincent's death. And during preparations for the publication in Van nu & straks a package containing a drawing and letters seems to have briefly gone missing, although fortunately it later turned up again.

11 See Julius Meier-Graefe, Entwickelungsgeschichte der modernen Kunst, 2 vols., Stuttgart 1904, vol 1, p 128.

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ters and art critics such as Jan Veth and Frederik van Eeden to read them. At an early stage she herself resolved to publish an edition of the letters, whose exceptional value Theo had recognised already upon Vincent's death. However, it took her far longer to transcribe, edit and classify the thousands of pages than she had foreseen. On 24 February 1892 she noted in her journal: ‘Now I am going to start on the letters in earnest and with diligence, before the summer rush comes, they have to be ready.’¹² Initially, therefore, she considerably underestimated the task.

Of course, Jo did not have all the correspondence to hand. Apart from those to Bernard, letters in the possession of third parties included Vincent's missives to his youngest sister Willemien and Anthon van Rappard. The Dutch journal Kritiek van de beeldende kunsten en kunstnijverheid published letters and extracts from Van Gogh's exchange with fellow artist Van Rappard throughout the year 1905; the August issue was even devoted entirely to Van Gogh and contained an extensive article by Albert Plasschaert.

12 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vincent van Gogh Foundation, b 4550 V/1962.

1914: Letters to his brother

Van Gogh's biography and work had begun to attract public interest thanks to the publications mentioned above and admiring studies such as those produced by Meier-Graefe and the Dutch art pedagogue H.P. Bremmer.¹³ Equally significant were the exhibitions, large and small, which brought Van Gogh's work increasing attention and appreciation: at Kunstzaal Panorama in Amsterdam (1892); the Bernheim Jeune gallery in Paris (1901); the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam (1905); Paul Cassirer's gallery in Berlin (1905); and the Sonderbund exhibition in Cologne (1912).¹⁴

Van Gogh's increasing renown was followed by the familiar phenomenon of people dredging up recollections of famous figures they had once known. In 1910 Vincent's own sister, Elisabeth (Lies), published her Persoonlijke herinneringen, which instantly introduced into the growing Van Gogh myth all kinds of hard-to-verify assertions regarding the artist's youth.¹⁵ Details of various episodes of Van Gogh's life were further revealed by individuals such as his former roommate in Dordrecht, P.C. Görlitz, his teacher M.B. Mendes da Costa, his pupil A. Kerssemakers, and artist colleagues like A.S. Hartrick and Paul Gauguin.¹⁶ Others retraced Van Gogh's steps, searching for places and people who had played a role in his life. The Dutch journalist M.J. Brusse interviewed residents of Dordrecht, the Belgian Louis Piérard tracked down Van Gogh's movements in the Borinage and Antwerp.

Consequently, in 1914 Jo's three-volume edition of the letters to Theo, published simultaneously in German translation, fell on the most fertile soil imaginable.¹⁷ She could now finally lay down the colossal burden she had assumed after Theo's death: her mission was complete. Regarding the late date of publication she wrote in the foreword - somewhat contradicting her original intentions, expressed in the years immediately following 1890, that she wished to publish the letters quickly: ‘It would have been a disservice to the deceased [Vincent], to have aroused interest in his person before the work to which he gave his life was acknowledged and appreciated as it deserved. Many years

13 H.P. Bremmer's Vincent van Gogh: Inleidende beschouwingen (Amsterdam 1911) is a didactically formulated introduction to Van Gogh's work for a broad audience; the aim of the book was ‘not to commend this person and exalt him above all others in abstract argumentation or enthusiastic phraseology, but to demonstrate his greatness, with his work as example, therefore based on that work’ (p. 1 ).

14 See Andreas Blühm, ‘Displaying Van Gogh, 1886-1999,’ Van Gogh Museum Journal (1999), pp. 62-83.

15 E.H. du Quesne-Van Gogh, Vincent van Gogh: Persoonlijke herinneringen aangaande een kunstenaar, Baarn 1910. The work was translated into German as Persönliche Erinnerungen an Vincent van Gogh, Munich 1911. The numerous inaccuracies in the book were immediately denounced by Johan de Meester, who appealed to Jo van Gogh-Bonger for support; see J. de Meester, ‘Over kunstenaar-zijn en Vincent van Gogh,’ De Gids 75 (1911), pp. 274-92, in particular the extremely long note, note 6, on pp. 289-92.

16 These and other recollections are brought together in Welsh-Ovcharov and Stein, op. cit. (note 6), passim. Among the reminiscences published by Gauguin were those of the time he had spent with Vincent in Arles, which appeared in Avant et après in 1903. Hartrick looked back in ‘Post-impressionism: with some personal recollections of Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin,’ published in The Imprint in May 1913; this article had limited distribution, however, and his memories only became better known when they were reprinted in A painter's pilgrimage through 50 years (Cambridge 1939); of Martin Bailey, ‘Memories of Van Gogh and Gauguin: Hartrick's reminiscences,’ Van Gogh Museum Journal (2001), pp. 96-105.

17 Vincent van Gogh. Brieven aan zijn broeder, ed. J van Gogh-Bonger, 3 vols., Amsterdam 1914. Extensive correspondence with the publisher (De Wereld-bibliotheek) shows that Jo paid for the costly 1914 edition out of her own pocket.

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passed before Vincent was acknowledged as a painter; now one can come to know and understand him as a person.’¹⁸ Jo's introduction was also the first more extensive biography of the artist to be based on reliable sources. Although we now know it contains various errors and omissions, this outline of the artist's life was certainly a good start given the resources then available. The task of supplementing and correcting the material could now begin. Unfortunately the timing of the publication was all wrong: in August the First World War broke out, completely disrupting Europe for years to come. However, work was quickly resumed in the 1920s.

18 Ibid., p. vii.

Between two editions

The decades that followed produced a steadily growing stream of information and publications largely along the lines that had already been laid out, with details on Van Gogh's life and works supplemented by research in situ. In 1926 Benno Stokvis wrote an account of his search for references to Van Gogh in the various places in Brabant where the artist had lived and worked. Gustave Coquiot and Piérard also conducted research at various locations for their highly influential biographies, published during the 1920s; this, however, does not alter the fact that their books have not proved entirely reliable.¹⁹ Both authors were evidently driven by an admiration for the artist bordering on adoration. In his ‘Avant-propos,’ for example, Piérard boasted that he had made a copy of Van Gogh's death certificate while in Auvers-sur-Oise and spoken to the artist's fellow students from the Antwerp art academy; ‘Partout, j'ai voulu mettre “mes pas dans ses pas.”’²⁰ Coquiot took a similar approach, visiting such individuals as the son of Paul Gachet, who had placed ‘les plus sûrs et les plus rares des documents’ at his disposal.²¹

Although several further successful attempts were made to encourage people from Van Gogh's milieu to speak out, the number of informants naturally diminished over the years.²² At this point virtually no one was aware of the existence of the rather substantial body of correspondence exchanged between other members of the Van Gogh family. But the editions of Vincent's letters to Bernard and Theo naturally prompted the question of whether or not there was more; in this area at least there was still great progress to be made. During the 1920s and 30s Van Gogh's surviving correspondence was augmented with the sporadic publication of his letters to Paul Gauguin, Paul Signac, Joseph and Marie Ginoux, John Peter Russell and Arnold Koning. 1932 saw the publication of Theo's letters to Vincent, followed in 1936 by an English translation of Vincent's letters to Anthon van Rappard, the original Dutch version of which appeared a year later.

In the meantime, efforts had been made to define Vincent van Gogh's entire oeuvre. The first edition of J.-B. de la Faille's catalogue was published in early 1928. An important event in itself, it is also self-evident that De la Faille made proper use of the available correspondence when making his identifications. Simultaneously, however, an international discussion arose concerning the authenticity of a large number of works attributed to Van Gogh - attributions made by De la Faille himself in his capacity as intermediary/dealer, and also by others. This eventually led to the notorious Wacker trials,²³ at which documents naturally served

19 Benno J. Stokvis, Nasporingen omtrent Vincent van Gogh in Brabant, Amsterdam 1926; Gustave Coquiot, Vincent van Gogh, Paris 1923; and Louis Piérard, La vie tragique de Vincent van Gogh, Paris 1924

20 Piérard, op cit (note 19), p. xi.

21 Coquiot, op. cit. (note 19), p. 11

22 One of the last oral history-based articles was written in 1928 by Max Braumann, who talked to the doctor Felix Rey and an acquaintance of Van Gogh's in Arles; see Max Braumann, ‘Bei Freunden Van Goghs in Arles,’ Kunst und Künstler 26 (1928), pp. 451-54.

23 See Roland Dorn and Walter Feilchenfeldt, ‘Genuine or fake? - On the history and problems of Van Gogh connoisseurship,’ in Tsukasa Kōdera and Yvette Rosenberg (eds.), The mythology of Vincent van Gogh, Tokyo, Amsterdam & Philadelphia 1992, pp. 263-307, in particular pp. 269-77; Nicole Roepers, ‘De strijd der deskundigen. H.P. Bremmer en het Wackerproces,’ Jong Holland 9 (1993), no. 2, pp. 25-36; and the contribution of Stefan Koldehoff to this volume of the Van Gogh Museum Journal.

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as evidence, and Vincent Willem van Gogh (1890-1978), Jo and Theo's son, referred to the inherited papers in the family's possession when appearing as a witness.²⁴ Personal documents were thus shown to contain information that was essential to provenance-related research.

24 See Walter Feilchenfeldt, ‘Van Gogh's fakes: the Wacker affair, with an illustrated catalogue of the forgeries,’ Simiolus 19 (1989), no. 4, pp. 289-316, in particular p. 292.

1952-54: Collected letters

Vincent Willem van Gogh also edited the bulky edition of Van Gogh's letters that marked the 100th anniversary of the artist's birth and that would form a defining moment in Van Gogh scholarship. The four volumes of the Verzamelde brieven were published successively in the years 1952-54. Although the 1914 publication provided the nucleus, V.W. van Gogh restored a large number of passages that ‘had previously been omitted for one reason or another.’²⁵ This edition also contained the letters to Van Gogh's artist friends and people from his circle that had previously appeared in various publications and journals in a range of countries. Substantial supplementary material included 21, mostly undated or incomplete letters and fragments addressed to Theo, mainly from Vincent's time in Nuenen, plus 22 letters to Willemien.²⁶ V.W. van Gogh also managed to bring a number of previously unpublished missives to light. Several fine sketches from Vincent's letters were included as illustrations.

For both art historians and the now-large public interested in Van Gogh it was extremely useful to have access to the artist's total correspondence. But the publication was of additional merit in that it also incorporated many of the documents mentioned above, as well as much of the documentary information published over the preceding decades. To some extent passages were inserted according to the period with which they were associated, while others were placed together at the end of the fourth volume, as a kind of supplement. In addition to the published material - taken both from newspapers and journals and from independent publications and studies, ‘the Engineer,’ as V.W. van Gogh was sometimes known, also included his own notes on a diverse range of subjects connected with his uncle, Vincent, and his father, Theo.²⁷ The broad scope of the book ensured that V.W. van Gogh, who wrote that he had made grateful use of his mother's newspaper cuttings, fully met his aim, which he had formulated as follows: ‘Finally I point out, that this edition is exclusively documentary in character,’ and: ‘Vincent's character must come to the fore in all its aspects.’²⁸ This edition was reprinted several times and translated in its entirety into languages that included English (1958), Italian (1959), French (1960), German (1965) and Japanese (1969); naturally these translations gave rise to a multitude of anthologies in even more languages. It would therefore be difficult to overstate the influence of this centennial publication; it represented the culmination of Van Gogh-related knowledge at the time and would become an abundant source of research material for decades to come. As a pendant to J.-B. de la Faille's catalogue raisonné, it may unreservedly be described as the most important Van Gogh source of the 20th century.

A monumental edition may sometimes prove the final word on a particular subject and the author's reputation; in the case of the Dutchman who by now had evolved into an icon of modern art, however, this new compilation had exactly the opposite effect, pointing the way to a large area of fallow ground awaiting cultivation. Jan Hulsker has become the embodiment of all that could be harvested here. Driven by an ambition to set as many facts as possible about Van Gogh's life in their precise context, from the 1950s onwards he tirelessly devoted himself to studying the letters. This intensive investigation was greatly facilitated

25 Verzamelde brieven van Vincent van Gogh, ed. V.W. van Gogh, 4 vols., Amsterdam & Antwerp 1952-54, vol 1, p.v. For various reasons his mother had suppressed many passages.

26 These 22 letters had come into V.W. van Gogh's possession after Willemien's death in 1941, together with a letter to her from the postman Joseph Roulin, dated 8 January 1889, that mentions Vincent (W10).

27 V.W. van Gogh also included a biographical article he had written about his mother, as well as two articles that had been published on the occasion of her death on 2 September 1925; see Verzamelde brieven, cit. (note 25), vol. 4, pp. 243-53. In addition to the supplements on various periods in Vincent's life, the documentary section also provided a sketch of the Van Gogh family's ancestry, based in part on a ‘family history’ written by an aunt

28 Ibid., vol. 1, p. vi and vol. 2, p 5.

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by the privilege V.W. van Gogh accorded him of examining the family documents before these were housed in a public collection. Hulsker's dating of the letters - various proposed adjustments by later researchers notwithstanding - is still the foundation on which Van Gogh's biography rests.²⁹ He published new documents, such as the important letters written to Theo by Reverend Salles and Dr Peyron from Arles and Saint-Rémy, and the passages concerning Vincent in Theo's exchange of letters with his parents. Hulsker subjected various episodes of Van Gogh's life to critical scrutiny, and connected passages in the letters to his drawings and paintings where possible. His insights were published in many articles in books and journals.³⁰ Van Gogh door Van Gogh: De brieven als commentaar op zijn werk was a pioneering volume for the identification of Van Gogh works mentioned in the correspondence.³¹ Hulsker's major works, distributed literally throughout the world, are his document-based biography of Vincent and Theo (Lotgenoten: Het leven van Vincent en Theo van Gogh, 1986; translated as Vincent and Theo van Gogh: a dual biography, 1990) and his catalogue of all Van Gogh's works, first published in 1977 and subsequently reprinted in a new edition in 1996 with many supplements and corrections (The new complete Van Gogh).

29 Hulsker's research into the dating of the letters ultimately resulted in Vincent van Gogh: a guide to his work and letters, Zwolle 1993.

30 We mention here only ‘What Theo really thought of Vincent,’ Vincent: Bulletin of the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh 3 (1974), no. 2, pp. 2-28 and ‘The elusive Van Gogh, and what his parents really thought of him,’ Simiolus 19 (1989), no. 4, pp 243-70. Fifteen essays covering the period 1958-93, including those mentioned above, were collected in Jan Hulsker, Van Gogh in close-up, Amsterdam 1993

31 Jan Hulsker, Van Gogh door Van Gogh: De brieven als commentaar op zijn werk, Amsterdam 1973 In this book, ‘all statements that can be found in the letters concerning paintings, drawings and lithographs [Van Gogh] intended to make, on which he was working, which he had sent or about which he had something to say in another connection, have been brought together in their entirety’ (p. 6). The letter sketches were also reproduced.

The Vincent van Gogh Foundation and the Van Gogh Museum

The collected edition of Van Gogh's letters exemplified V.W. van Gogh's efforts to promote his uncle's reputation and knowledge of his oeuvre. But he accomplished still more groundbreaking work. His father, Theo van Gogh, a great hoarder, had kept not only Vincent's correspondence but also the letters he had received from his parents, sisters, brother Cor, aunts, uncles, art dealers and friends, including other artists.³² After his death, Jo van Gogh-Bonger was left with hundreds of paintings, drawings, prints and letters. These officially became the possession of her son Vincent Willem when Theo's mother, sisters and brother renounced their claim to his estate in July 1891.³³ As the legal guardian of her minor son, Jo was empowered to administer the collection. The works of art by Vincent's contemporaries (the so-called ‘non-Van Goghs’), however, were the joint property of Jo herself and Vincent Willem. On Jo's death Vincent Willem became owner of all the works, which he intended to keep together. Initially, his interest in them was not very great, as he was busy pursuing his own career as a technical engineer. Nevertheless, in 1930 he agreed to lend most of the paintings and drawings to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. It was not until after the war that he became more actively involved. In 1962 the Vincent van Gogh Foundation was established in order to preserve the group as a whole. The state paid Vincent Willem 18,470,000 guilders for the collection - comprising the works of art and most of the important documents and archive material - ownership of which was then transferred to the foundation. Following his retirement in 1965, Vincent Willem devoted himself entirely to the Van Gogh legacy. He described his objective in 1967: ‘My role is namely to bring together for the Vincent van Gogh Foundation everything connected with the painter.’³⁴ His extensive correspondence with individuals and institutions all over the world shows how seriously he took this task (fig. 5).

The key documents in the collection are of course the circa 800 letters written by and to Vincent van Gogh, and the other manuscripts by his hand. But there is also Theo's other correspondence and the letters exchanged between various members of the Van Gogh and Bonger

32 Vincent suggested to Theo, ‘il sera peut-être intéressant de garder la correspondance des artistes’ [591/471] He failed to follow his own advice, however, and hundreds of letters addressed to him have been lost.

33 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vincent van Gogh Foundation, b 2216 V/1962.

34 Ibid., V.W. van Gogh to P Fagel, 13 March 1967, b 7144 V/1996

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fig. 5
V.W. Van Gogh in 1957, Van Gogh Museum (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

families. The collection further contains a multitude of personal papers, such as scrapbooks, photographs, Jo Bonger's journals, etc.

V.W. van Gogh and the Vincent van Gogh Foundation respectively also added to the documents collection through purchases, made via art dealers, at auctions or from private individuals. Four letters from Van Gogh to his friend and pupil Anton Kerssemakers and 35 letters from Paul Gauguin to Georges Daniel de Monfreid were particularly fine acquisitions. Pierre Sécretan-Rollier, former cleric of Petit-Wasmes, donated Van Gogh's psalm book from his Borinage period.³⁵ Until the 1990s the foundation would continue to acquire additional material, such as several letters sent to the writer Albert Plasschaert by individuals who had known Van Gogh (purchased in 1985),³⁶ and documents connected with the Van Gogh sisters Willemien and Elisabeth, presented in 1989 by F. Le Grand-Scholte, a granddaughter of Van Gogh's eldest sister, Anna Cornelia van Houten-Van Gogh.³⁷

V.W. van Gogh's efforts were crowned in 1973 when the Van Gogh Museum - then called the ‘Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh’ - was opened in Amsterdam.³⁸ Here the Vincent van Gogh Foundation deposited its works of art and documents on permanent loan. In addition to displaying an art collection that became a public attraction enjoying worldwide renown, the founding of the new museum also led to the establishment of a library and documentation centre, a centre that may be regarded as the most comprehensive in its field. Moreover, Vincent: Bulletin of the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, a periodical issued by the museum during the 1970s, was specifically intended to open up research into the documents. Published from 1970-77, it also featured substantial contributions by Jan Hulsker. The articles contained a great deal of new information, often derived from sources not previously studied or published.

During the museum's early years access to the documents was determined to a considerable degree by V.W. van Gogh and, later, by his son Johan; as respective chairmen of the foundation, they decided whether to accede to requests to inspect or study various materials. Following V.W. van Gogh's death in 1978 a large number of new documents were transferred to the Vincent van Gogh Foundation but remained under embargo, creating the impression that certain matters were deliberately being kept from the outside world. Nevertheless many eminent scholars enjoyed good relations with the foundation and the museum; in many instances they were given the opportunity to use controlled information in their publications. Noteworthy results were the facsimile edition of Vincent's letters from the years after his arrival in France and the collection of Paul Gauguin's letters to Theo, Vincent and Jo.³⁹

35 Sécretan-Rollier had been given the book in 1925 by Vincent's sister Elisabeth. See Vincent. Bulletin of the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh 2 (1973), no. 4, pp. 21-24.

36 See for these letters Han van Crimpen, ‘Friends remember Vincent in 1912,’ Vincent van Gogh: International Symposium, Tokyo 1988, pp. 73-94.

37 Some documents also left the collection. On 24 May 1984 the Vincent van Gogh Foundation donated 27 letters addressed to Jo van Gogh-Bonger to the Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis (IISG) in Amsterdam. These had been written by friends and intellectuals such as Frederik van Eeden, Marie Mensing, Henriëtte van der Meij, Albert Neuhuys, Henriëtte Roland Holst, P.L. Tak, T van Waerden and M. Wibaut-Berdernis. In the same year the Internationaal Informatiecentrum en Archief voor de Vrouwenbeweging in Amsterdam received eight letters written by Anna Veth-Dirks to Jo van Gogh-Bonger.

38 See Gerald van Bronkhorst, ‘Vincent Willem van Gogh and the Van Gogh Museum's pre-history,’ Van Gogh Museum Journal (1995), pp 24-33 and Johan van Gogh, ‘The history of the collection,’ in Evert van Uitert and Michael Hoyle (eds.), The Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam 1987, pp. 1-8.

39 Letters of Vincent van Gogh, 1886-1890: a facsimile edition, with an introduction by V.W. van Gogh, London & Amsterdam 1977 and Paul Gauguin: 45 lettres à Vincent, Theo et Jo Van Gogh, ed. Douglas Cooper, The Hague 1983.

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The 1990s: increasing access

In 1986 Ronald de Leeuw became director of the Van Gogh Museum. He launched a programme to modernise and professionalise the institution, his ambition being to develop it into a more broad-based museum of the 19th century and a leading centre for Van Gogh research. During the years 1991-96 the transfer of documents from the foundation's archives to the museum was finally completed and a number of important publications appeared, edited both by museum staff and external scholars. Examples include the edition of the surviving poetry albums compiled by Van Gogh, which shed light on his favourite reading material during his youth; the letters of condolence Theo received following Vincent's death; and the correspondence between Theo and Jo.⁴⁰

The 1990 edition of the letters must also be mentioned in this connection.⁴¹ Commemorative years have always produced a stream of publications, which in turn have stimulated further research. This was the case in 1953, when the 100th anniversary of Van Gogh's birth was celebrated, and again on the 100th anniversary of his death. Since the publication of the artist's collected letters in the 1950s more than 30 new missives had come to light. In 1990 Van Gogh's entire correspondence was for the first time placed in chronological order, renumbered and accorded the most recent dating.⁴² All the letter sketches were reproduced in this new publication, again a four-volume work, which is currently the most complete edition of Van Gogh's correspondence. However, it was intended as a popular edition, with all the letters printed in modern Dutch - the ones in French in translation - so that an international public hardly profited from these advances in research.

De Leeuw also managed to further diminish the foundation's reluctance to making documents from the family archives available for study. In 1995 the embargo mentioned above was partially lifted, the rest following in November 2000, although certain rules still govern the inspection of documents. This has opened the way for new research into provenance and the history of the collection.

In all objectivity it may thus be concluded that the Van Gogh Museum has now become the primary centre for research into Van Gogh-related sources. The institution also houses a library of some 25,000 books, around 5,000 of which are exclusively devoted to Van Gogh. These include the foundation's volumes and V.W. van Gogh's own library. Since 1996 the library and documentation department have been housed in a building next to the museum (Museumplein 4).⁴³

A conspicuous trend in research during the 1980s and 90s was the growing scrutiny of archives for information relating to the various places where Van Gogh had lived and worked. This research was mainly conducted by art historians, especially those in search of material for exhibitions and associated catalogues. Increasing numbers of contemporary photographs and postcards were retrieved, the emphasis lying on the exact locations where Van Gogh had drawn or painted and the standpoints and viewing angles he would have taken. Such reconstructions have made it possible to identify certain locations more precisely or correct existing notions regarding them. Scholars such as Marc Edo Tralbaut and John Rewald had already undertaken similar initiatives in earlier years. A pioneering work in the field, however, was Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov's dissertation, which systematically reconstructed Van Gogh's Paris period and formed the basis for the catalogue that accompanied

40 Fieke Pabst (ed.), Vincent van Gogh's poetry albums, Zwolle 1988; ‘A great artist is dead,’ cit. (note 7); and Han van Crimpen (ed.), Kort geluk: De briefwisseling tussen Theo van Gogh en Jo Bonger, Amsterdam & Zwolle 1999 (English edition: Brief happiness: The correspondence of Theo van Gogh and Jo Bonger), published after De Leeuw's departure as director, but at his instigation.

41 De brieven van Vincent van Gogh, ed. Han van Crimpen and Monique Berends-Albert, 4 vols., The Hague 1990.

42 Much of the dating was based on the insights of Jan Hulsker, with due regard for suggestions made particularly by Ronald Pickvance and Roland Dorn, who had thoroughly studied the letters and their dates, especially for the 1888-90 period.

43 For a history of the library see Anita Vriend, ‘The Van Gogh Museum library,’ Van Gogh Museum Journal (1995), pp. 34-47.

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fig. 6.
P.W. de Zwart (1826-1905) (photograph by D.S. van Dorsser Keus, Utrecht)

the exhibition Van Gogh à Paris.⁴⁴ Another name that should be mentioned in this connection is that of Ronald Pickvance, whose catalogues devoted to Van Gogh's Arles, Saint-Rémy and Auvers periods have become part of the standard literature.⁴⁵ Characteristic of the approach taken by Welsh-Ovcharov and Pickvance in sorting and classifying Van Gogh's oeuvre is not only their greater attention to the relationships between drawings and paintings, but also their reconsideration of the available documents and other sources, specifically their transcription and dating. Roland Dorn took a similarly critical tack to the documents in his book Décoration, in which he made numerous corrections to the dating of the letters in the process of reconstructing part of Van Gogh's production in Arles.⁴⁶ Druick and Zegers confirmed the continuing productivity of research in situ with their recent catalogue, Van Gogh and Gauguin: the studio of the south, published in 2001.⁴⁷ These examinations of Van Gogh's French period were supplemented by a revival, possibly inspired by the

fig. 7
M.A. de Zwart (1853-1922) (photograph by D.S. van Dorsser Keus, Utrecht)

enormous publicity surrounding the Van Gogh anniversary in 1990, of mainly Dutch researchers following the artist's trail in their own surroundings. Much new information has emerged, often found in local authority and provincial archives, regarding Van Gogh's contacts, in particular the identification of a number of models and the places where he stayed. Although such findings were often published in local periodicals, they sometimes found their way to a wider group of scholars and interested parties when incorporated into independent publications, such as those recently produced by De Brouwer and Dijk/Van der Sluis.⁴⁸

44 Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov, exhib. cat. Van Gogh à Paris, Paris (Musée d'Orsay) 1988. A somewhat comparable work for the Hague period is Michiel van der Mast et al, exhib. cat. Van Gogh en Den Haag, The Hague (Haags Historisch Museum) 1990.

45 Ronald Pickvance, exhib. cat. Van Gogh in Arles, New York (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) 1984; and idem, exhib cat Van Gogh in Saint-Rémy and Auvers, New York (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) 1986-87.

46 Roland Dorn, Décoration Vincent van Goghs Werkreihe für das Gelbe Haus in Arles, Hildesheim, Zurich & New York 1990.

47 Douglas W. Druick and Peter Kort Zegers, exhib. cat. Van Gogh and Gauguin: the studio of the south, Chicago (The Art Institute) & Amsterdam (Van Gogh Museum) 2001-02.

48 Ton de Brouwer, Van Gogh in Nuenen, Venlo 1984 and Wout J. Dijk and Meent W. van der Sluis, De Drentse tijd van Vincent van Gogh: Een onderbelichte periode nader onderzocht, Groningen 2001; additonally, Geneviève Eeckaut, Van Gogh au Borinage, Marcinelle 1990. Also useful are Frank Kools, Vincent van Gogh en zijn geboorteplaats: Als een boer van Zundert, Zutphen 1990; Martin Bailey, Young Vincent: the story of Van Gogh's years in England, London 1990; and R. Groot and S. de Vries, Vincent van Gogh in Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1990.

The future: moving forward

After close on a century of Van Gogh studies the literature on the artist has grown to truly immense proportions. Nevertheless research continues apace, for the value of new, additional information partly lies in the questions raised. Furthermore, the number of still-unanswered questions is well-nigh endless, while documentary sources and archives are far from having been exhaustively examined.

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fig. 8
Letter from Vincent van Gogh to (probably) M.A. de Zwart, Wednesday, 14 March 1883 (photograph by D.S. van Dorsser Keus, Utrecht)

What does the near future hold for document and archive research? Strictly document-oriented research is the guiding principle in the preparation for the new, annotated edition of Van Gogh's letters, a project instigated by Ronald de Leeuw and begun in 1994.⁴⁹ The irony of advances in scholarship is that the initiatives inspired by the publications of 1952-54 and 1990 have resulted in the exposure of errors and omissions in these very editions, and the pinpointing of new desiderata. Study of original manuscripts for the future compilation of Van Gogh's letters has already demonstrated that numerous corrections can still be made to the previous editions, so that the new text will be more authentic in appearance. In many instances dating can be considerably tightened and even on occasion drastically amended. Notes accompanying the letter texts are an innovation in themselves. They will contain all relevant information on literature, biography and art and cultural history, thereby bridging the gulf between the contemporary reader/researcher and the writer/addressee of 120 years ago. Naturally, this information is partly based on the range of articles, studies and catalogues produced to date by other scholars, so that to some degree the notes will reflect the current state of research in the field of Van Gogh studies. The edition will be published in English, but will include the original Dutch or French letter texts alongside the translation.

Research for the new edition has already repeatedly revealed that it would be a mistake to assume that all documents relating to Van Gogh have now been ferreted out: at regular intervals new items still turn up, or old ones are rediscovered.⁵⁰ A very recent example is the donation of photographs of Van Gogh's letters to his landlord in The Hague, Pieter Willem de Zwart (1826-1905). Although the original letters are in an unknown private collection, thanks to one of De Zwart's descendants we now have a reliable text and dating for a letter previously known only from a transcript, plus a number of portrait photographs of De Zwart and his son Michiel Antonie (1853-1922), who managed his father's rental affairs (figs. 6-8).⁵¹ Of an entirely different order and extremely gratifying is the fact that it recently became possible for the first time in 70 years to make an extensive

49 In collaboration with the Constantijn Huygens Institute for Text Editions and Intellectual History in The Hague For the research methods and objectives see, amongst others, Hans Luijten, ‘“As it came into my pen”. a new edition of the correspondence of Vincent van Gogh,’ Van Gogh Museum Journal (1996), pp 89-101 and Leo Jansen and Hans Luijten, ‘In pursuit of Vincent van Gogh a new edition of the complete correspondence,’ Editio 13 (1999), pp. 190-204.

50 See, for example, Leo Jansen, ‘The Van Gogh letters project: new findings and old,’ Van Gogh Museum Journal (1997-98), pp. 58-67.

51 This is letter 331/-. With thanks to Mr and Mrs van Dorsser Keus-De Zwart, Utrecht.

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study of Van Gogh's original letters to Emile Bernard. The new edition of Van Gogh's correspondence will thus contain a much more accurate version of these texts than has previously been available. Sources of information ‘around’ Van Gogh have also apparently yet to run dry: offered for sale at a recent Paris auction were letters addressed by various individuals to Theo in his capacity as manager for Boussod, Valadon & Cie in Paris, one of which contains a reference to his brother.⁵²

52 Sale Paris (Hôtel Drouot), 2 July 2002, lot 65

The future: desiderata

Now that the foundation's archives have been made fully accessible, provenance-related research can also be supplemented by interesting material for which the art historical community has yearned for many years. Back in 1988 Walter Feilchenfeldt provided an initial impulse with his book on the Berlin art dealer Paul Cassirer.⁵³ Thanks to these new research opportunities, this issue of the Journal will be accompanied by the publication of the account book of Theo van Gogh and Jo van Gogh-Bonger - a document containing a wealth of information on sales of works from the family art collection. The account book offers insights into Theo and Jo's approach when selling the works, the buyers and the prices paid.⁵⁴ Another document awaiting study and publication is the so-called ‘Bonger list,’ an early inventory of Van Gogh's works in Theo and Jo's Paris apartment, compiled by Jo's brother Andries Bonger. Correspondence by other individuals also remains unexplored, awaiting further investigation.

Recent studies of the galleries where Van Gogh's work was bought and sold demonstrate how useful it is to chart the sale of works and the network of buyers, collectors and dealers.⁵⁵ Comprehensive examinations of the archives of influential art dealers such as Durand-Ruel, Vollard and Wildenstein is a particularly high priority for Van Gogh scholars. Given the relatively short history of research into this field, much archive-based and document-related work remains to be done.

The notes in the new edition of Van Gogh's letters will contain extensive quotations from the family correspondence kept in the museum. However, researchers would undoubtedly also find it useful to have greater access to this part of the collection; electronic media may prove the most suitable means, being cheaper and relatively

fig. 9
Letter from Anna Cornelia van Gogh-Carbentus to Theo van Gogh, 29 December 1888, Van Gogh Museum (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

simple to correct and supplement at a later date. The most urgent task is to produce a reliable transcription of all the passages that refer in any way to Vincent and Theo, plus a commentary on these, although complete availability of this material will certainly be desirable in the future. Hulsker's publications in this area have demonstrated the value of such work, while the point at which all relevant information has been brought to light is far from having been reached. As evidence for this we need only quote from a letter that has hitherto escaped notice, a letter that is certainly not without significance in connection with Van

53 Walter Feilchenfeldt (with Han Veenenbos), Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cassirer, Berlin: the reception of Van Gogh in Germany from 1901 to 1914, Zwolle 1988.

54 Chris Stolwijk and Han Veenenbos, The account book of Theo van Gogh and Jo van Gogh-Bonger, Leiden 2002. The account book can also play a role in debates on authenticity.

55 For example: J.F. Heijbroek and E.L. Wouthuysen, Kunst, kennis en commercie: De kunsthandelaar J.H. de Bois (1878-1946), Amsterdam & Antwerpen 1993; idem, Portret van een kunsthandel. De firma Van Wisselingh en zijn compagnons 1938-heden, Zwolle & Amsterdam 1999; Chris Stolwijk and Richard Thomson, exhib. cat. Theo van Gogh, 1857-1891: art dealer, collector and brother of Vincent, Amsterdam (Van Gogh Museum) & Paris (Musée d'Orsay) 1999-2000; a series of articles on the 19th-century art trade by various authors in Van Gogh Museum Journal (2000), and Feilchenfeldt, op cit. (note 53)

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Gogh's intriguing history of illness. The passage comes from a letter written by Vincent's mother in Leiden to Theo, on 29 December 1888 (fig. 9), several days after Vincent had cut off part of his ear in Arles. Referring to earlier times, she writes: ‘Oh Theo, if it's confirmed, you remember Prof. Ramaar in The Hague, don't you, when Father really wanted to go with him as a neuropath, and Vincent declared he was willing to ask for medicines and at the moment they were to leave refused to go and Father went anyway to tell him, [Prof. Ramaar] said what I'm now hearing, something is lacking or wrong in the cerebellum.’⁵⁶ The event referred to probably occurred in 1879 or 1880. ‘Professor Ramaar’ was Johannes Nicolaas Ramaer (1817-1887), a leading psychiatrist in The Hague and one of the founders of mental health care in the Netherlands. He sought to establish a scientific approach to psychiatry in which disorders were interpreted as the result of physical processes in the body. The reference to ‘the cerebellum’ strongly indicates that Ramaer regarded Vincent's symptoms as a purely physical condition and not primarily psychoemotional in nature.⁵⁷ In another publication planned for the near future we shall consider more closely the implications of Mother Van Gogh's account of Ramaer's diagnosis.

Immediately after Vincent van Gogh's death Paul Gauguin wrote to Theo to express his condolences. In this letter he includes a saying Vincent apparently quoted often, and which can be interpreted as symbolic of the importance of documents as historical evidence: ‘La pierre périra, la parole restera.’⁵⁸ We cannot say when we will have found the last word, but a century of research has demonstrated that it is still worth the effort to keep searching.

56 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vincent van Gogh Foundation, b 2425 V/1962.

57 With thanks to Erik Fokke, Amsterdam.

58 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vincent van Gogh Foundation, Paul Gauguin to Theo van Gogh, Le Pouldu, 2 August 1890, b 1481 V/1962 See also ‘A great artist is dead,’ cit. (note 7), p 133.