Van goghs ear, p.31
Van Gogh's Ear, page 31
18 Letter 614, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 27 May 1888 (VGM).
19 The Ginoux charged thirty francs a month, the rental of the Yellow House was fifteen francs a month and Vincent’s lunch and evening meal cost one franc fifty per day.
20 Marguerite Favier (1856–1927) married (François) Damase Crévoulin (1844–1903) in 1881. Marguerite was the daughter of Pétronille Julien-Favier (1826–1900), Marie Julien-Ginoux’s sister (ACA).
21 Land registry: Q397. It was purchased on 9 July 1887. Maître Rigaud, Cote: 404, E1356 (AD).
22 The Café de l’Alcazar was subject to a compulsory purchase order in 1963 and was demolished a few years later (ACA).
23 The Alcazar was most notably declared to be Vincent’s café interior by art historian Marc Edo Tralbaut in Van Gogh: Le Mal Aimé. This was picked up by many other art historians, including Martin Bailey in his article ‘Van Gogh’s Arles’, Observer magazine, 8 January 1989 and Ronald Pickvance. See Van Gogh in Arles and The Letters, note 2, Letter 676, Vincent Van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 8 September 1888 (VGM).
24 Interview, Siletto family descendants, June 2014.
25 Letter 691, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 29 September 1888 (VGM).
26 Reverend (Louis) Frédéric Salles (1841–97).
27 Interview with the Reverend Salles’ daughter, Madame Jean Paul Lazerges, née Lucie Antoinette Salles (1874–1941), by Gustave Coquiot, in the Coquiot notebook, p. 38 (VGM). Though she is not named directly by Coquiot, Madame Lazerges was the wife of Frédéric Salles’ successor as Protestant pastor of Arles. When Coquiot visited the region, her sister Eugénie (Mme Jaulmes) was living in Nîmes, where her husband – also a pastor – was working in the 1920s. Eugénie stated that her father received a letter from Theo mentioning that his brother was in Arles. Unpublished ‘Souvenirs de Vincent Van Gogh’ from Madame Edmond Jaulmes, née Eugénie Gabrielle Salles (1878–1966). Courtesy of the Salles’ family descendants.
28 Letter of 26 January 1882, Frédéric Salles to Mr Brunning in London (the father of his children’s nurse), written in English. Summary of letters of Reverend Salles, 17 December 1874 to 7 February 1886, compiled by Madame Marie Prouty, 1988 (VGM).
29 Unpublished ‘Souvenirs de Vincent Van Gogh’ by Madame Edmond Jaulmes, October 1964 (Salles family archives).
30 Letter 836, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 4 January 1890 (VGM).
31 This painting was ‘sold to a bric-a-brac salesman in Nîmes’, according to Reverend Salles’ daughter, Madame Edmond Jaulmes, in her unpublished account (Salles family archive). This is also quoted by Benno Stokvis, ‘Vincent van Gogh in Arles’, in Kunst und Künstler (Berlin, 1929), where he recounts that the painting was ‘sold for 200 francs’ (VGM).
32 Joseph Etienne Roulin (1841–1903).
33 Marcelle Roulin mentioned the fact that they lived in the same street, in the only recorded interview she gave, for the French Postal Service magazine in 1955: J.-N. Priou, ‘Van Gogh et la famille Roulin’, Revue des PTT de France, Vol. 2, No. 3, mid-June 1955, p. 27 (Musée de la Poste, Paris). As Marcelle was a baby when her parents knew Vincent, she must have heard this. This detail is confirmed by the Arles electoral register. Roulin lived on rue Amédée Pichot during 1888 and moved to 10 rue Montagne des Cordes at Michaelmas. Vincent remarks in his letters that the family had moved many times. Augustine Roulin would have stayed in Lambesc after the birth of Marcelle and probably met Vincent in late August on her return to the city with her children, who were of school age. Vincent mentions Augustine Roulin for the first time in Letter 667 to Theo of 9 September 1888. Arles Electoral Registers 1888 Cote: K38 and 1889 Cote: K39 (ACA).
34 The couple had five children altogether. Roulin’s first daughter, Josephine Antoinette, was born in 1869. I can find no record of her death, which must have been prior to 1872 – she does not appear on the 1872 census returns or anywhere after that date. The other children were Armand Joseph (1871–1945); Camille Gabriel (1877–1922), who died from the wounds he received in the First World War; Marie Germaine Marcelle (1888–1980). The couple’s fifth child was a daughter, Cornelie (1897–1906). Archives Communales de Lambesc, Archives Communales de Nice, Archives Communales de Le Beausset.
35 Roulin called the baby that would be born on 31 July 1888 (Marie Germaine) Marcelle – the same name as the daughter of General Georges Boulanger, the leader of the ultra-nationalist ‘Boulangist’ party and a well-known political figure in France at the time.
36 Julien François Tanguy (1825–1894), seller of artists’ materials in Paris Letter 652, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 31 July 1888 (VGM).
37 Letter 656, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 6 August 1888 (VGM).
38 Letter 723, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 1 December 1888 (VGM).
Chapter 8: A Friend in Need
1 Émile Bernard, French artist (1868–1941).
2 Émile Bernard, La Mercure de France, Paris, April 1893, pp. 328–9.
3 (Claude) Émile Schuffenecker (1851–1934) met Paul Gauguin in 1872 when they both worked on the stock exchange. Gauguin encouraged him to become a painter. He became Gauguin’s great friend. The artist stayed with Schuffenecker in Paris after returning from his trip to the Caribbean in 1887, and fled to his home after returning to the capital from Arles in late December 1888.
4 Mette-Sophie Gad (1850–1920).
5 Alphonse Portier (1841–1902), Parisian art dealer.
6 From April to October 1887 Gauguin travelled to the Caribbean with the painter Charles Laval (1861–94).
7 Vincent organised an exhibition in Le Grand Bouillon Restaurant du Chalet in November–December 1887.
8 Letter 576, Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh, December 1887 (VGM). Cluzel’s store was at 33, rue Fontaine Saint-Georges, Montmartre, Paris.
9 Paul Gauguin’s painting is called Among the Mangoes, Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum.
10 Letter 581, Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh, 29 February 1888 (VGM).
11 The accepted dates for the trip to Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer are 30 or 31 May to 4 or 5 June. I suggest that these dates may be incorrect. While on this trip Van Gogh painted a seascape showing a fairly strong wind whipping across the waves. The mistral blew at Les Saintes-Maries on 27 May and again on 7 June. Marie Julien-Ginoux had her fortieth birthday on Friday 8 June – Vincent may have had to give up his room at the Café de la Gare where he was staying in May 1888, if she was putting up friends and family for a few days. This would explain why he planned his return from Saturday, the day after her birthday. As this is only a hypothesis, I have chosen to maintain the dates for this trip and the letters put forth by the Van Gogh Museum. Carriages left for Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer every day at 6 a.m. from rue Saint-Roch. L’Homme de Bronze, 30 May 1888 (MA); Annales Arles mai et juin 1888, Météo-France, Région Sud-Est.
12 Letter 619, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, Arles, 3 or 4 June 1888 (VGM).
13 The gypsies camping in allée de Fourques on the opposite side of the river were moved by the police on 21 and 22 August. L’Homme de Bronze, 26 August 1888, p. 3 (MA).
14 Letter 619, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 3 or 4 June 1888 (VGM).
15 Émile Bernard, Paul Gauguin, Louis Anquetin, Armand Guillaumin were amongst the painters that Van Gogh admired in Brittany.
16 Letter 616, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 28 or 29 May 1888 (VGM).
17 The fellow artist was Auguste Joseph Bracquemond, called Félix Bracquemond (1833–1914), painter and ceramist. Letter from Camille Pissarro (1830–1903) to his son Lucien Pissarro, 23 January 1887. Janine Bailly-Herzberg (ed.), Correspondance de Camille Pissarro, 1886–90, Vol. 2 (Editions du Valhermeil, Paris: 1986), pp. 120–2.
18 Letter 646, Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh, 22 July 1888 (VGM).
19 Letter 653, Vincent van Gogh to Willemien van Gogh, 31 July 1888 (VGM).
20 Letter 672, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 1 September 1888 (VGM).
21 Letter 674, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 4 September 1888 (VGM).
22 Letter 682, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 18 September 1888 (VGM).
23 For confirmation that Gauguin was the artist Van Gogh intended to paint, see note 8 of Letter 663, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 18 August 1888 (VGM).
24 Letter 693, Vincent van Gogh to Eugène Boch, 2 October 1888 (VGM).
25 L’Homme de Bronze, 30 September 1888 (MA). On 6 January 1884 the town newspaper had reported that the level of illumination in front of the café was the equivalent of thirteen Carcel lamps or fifteen ordinary gas jets. L’Homme de Bronze, 6 January 1884 (MA).
26 Letter 688, Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh, on or about 26 September 1888 (VGM).
27 The surimonos tradition was explained in L’Art japonais by Louis Gonse, Paris, 1883. See note 16, Letter 695, Vincent van Gogh to Paul Gauguin, 3 October 1888 (VGM).
28 Letter 692, Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh, 1 October 1888 (VGM).
29 Letter 697, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 4 or 5 October 1888 (VGM).
30 Letter 701, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 10 or 11 October 1888 (VGM).
31 Letter 706, Vincent van Gogh to Paul Gauguin, 17 October 1888 (VGM).
Chapter 9: A Home at Last
1 Among the first historians to go to Arles in the early decades of the twentieth century were Julius Meier–Graefe, Benno Stokvis and Gustave Coquiot.
2 A full list of the plants and shrubs can be found in the archives in Arles. Cote: O31, ‘Aménagement du jardin de la Place Lamartine 1875–1876’ (ACA).
3 Letter 626, Vincent van Gogh to Willemien van Gogh, between 16 and 20 June 1888 (VGM).
4 Vincent calls these briques rouges, a local term for unglazed floor tiles. They can be seen in several of his paintings (e.g. Vincent’s Chair, The Bedroom in Arles, The Zouave).
5 A ‘petticoat episode’ meant having a relationship with a woman. See note 18, Letter 602, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 1 May 1888 (VGM).
6 In 1881 Vincent had proposed marriage to his cousin Kee Vos, and he considered marrying Margot Begemann in 1884. For Vincent’s views on marriage, see note 2 in Letter 181, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 18 November 1881; and Letter 227, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 14 or 15 May 1882 (VGM).
7 Letter 574, Vincent van Gogh to Willemien van Gogh, late October 1887 (VGM).
8 Two public bathhouses were situated on quai de la Gare, one run by Pierre Trouche and the other by Antoine Chaix; Indicateur Arlésien, 1887 (MA). The quai de la Gare ran alongside the Rhône from the train station to the bridge. The respective addresses of these bathhouses were 38, rue des Vers (Land Registry: F66) and 18, rue du Grand Prieuré (Land Registry: H96); Indicateur Marseillais, 1888 and 1889 (ACA). Vincent would probably have gone to Pierre Trouche’s establishment, which was much closer to place Lamartine. See also note 4, Letter 657, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 8 August 1888 (VGM).
9 ‘Moi je le rencontrais souvent avec sa serviette sous le bras. Il me semble que je le vois devant moi.’ Alphonse Robert in his letter of 11 September 1929, in Doiteau and Leroy, ‘Vincent van Gogh et le drame de l’oreille coupée’.
10 Letter 677, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 9 September 1888 (VGM).
11 The suitable age that I chose was anyone thirty-five or above.
12 Thérèse Balmossière (née Brémond) (1839–1924). The surname is occasionally spelt Balmoussière.
13 She was Madame Crévoulin’s second cousin. Her paternal grandmother, Jeannette Favier (née Brémond), was Thérèse’s aunt. Bernard Soulè and Joseph Balmossière held the same job, chef des trains, on the census returns, prior to their retirement.
14 Letter 649, Vincent van Gogh to Émile Bernard, 29 July 1888 (VGM).
15 Anne Zazzo, Palais Galliera Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris, 4 April 2014.
16 The Balmossières came from Tarascon (who do not of course wear Arlésienne dress) and appeared to be a Catholic family. P14 List of Protestants in Arles, Etat Civil (ACA).
17 Thérèse Antoinette Balmossiere (1874–1961) was the cleaning lady’s daughter. Her niece was Thérèse Catherine Mistral (1875–?), who lived at 37, avenue Montmajour (ACA).
18 Letter 650, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 29 July 1888 (VGM).
19 Dr Rey mentioned that Vincent blinked constantly, and Adéline Ravoux that he smoked his pipe non-stop.
20 The illustrations of the Yellow House are a painting, The Yellow House (The Street), F464, JH1 569, where the shutters are wide open. In the watercolour, The Yellow House (The Street), F1413, JH1591 and drawing F1453, JH1590, only Vincent’s bedroom shutters are open.
21 Letter 653, Vincent van Gogh to Willemien van Gogh, 31 July 1888 (VGM).
22 Paul Eugène Milliet (1863–1943).
23 Letter 660, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 13 August 1888 (VGM).
24 François Casimir Escalier (1816–89). Vincent wrote that Patience Escalier worked on a small farm on the Crau Plain (Letter 663, Vincent van Gogh to Theo, 18 August 1888 (VGM)). There was one other Escalier family living in Arles at this time, also from Eyragues, who lived on the Crau Plain at the Mas Niquet. They do not seem to be related to François Casimir Escalier, and the father could not be the famous shepherd, as he was only forty-six in 1888.
25 Letter 663, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 18 August 1888 (VGM).
26 Ibid.
27 The Bompard & Fils shop was at 14, place de la République, the main square in Arles. Indicateur Arlésien, 1887, p. 23 (MA).
28 Letter 660, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, on or about 13 August 1888 (VGM).
29 Vincent paid 15 francs a month to rent the Yellow House as a studio from 1 May 1888 to 29 September 1888. When he took over the whole house his rent increased. From December 1888 to May 1889 he paid 21 francs 50 per month, because of the extra two rooms. See 3.3 Vincent’s income and expenditure, The Letters (VGM).
30 Letter 676, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 8 September 1888 (VGM).
31 Letter 677, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 9 September 1888 (VGM).
32 Letter 685, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 21 September 1888 (VGM).
33 Letter 677, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 9 September 1888 (VGM).
34 Gauguin’s small room was 8.71 metres square and Vincent’s was 9.54 metres square. Plan Ramser 1922 (VGM).
35 Letter 678, Vincent van Gogh to Willemien van Gogh, between 9 and 14 September 1888 (VGM).
36 This new purchase included the pair of simple straw-seated Provençal chairs seen in the painting of the bedroom. In Vincent’s house there was also a more formal chair with a straw seat and armrests, as seen in Vincent’s portrait L’Arlésienne and in Gauguin’s Chair. Similarly in the drawing of a seated Zouave another chair, which has a strange cross-bar for the feet, can just be made out (F1443/JH1485).
37 The importance of Christian symbolism in Van Gogh’s art has been explored by Tsukasa Kōdera in Vincent van Gogh: Christianity Versus Nature. An article on the significance of twelve figures in Café Terrace at Night is explored by Lorena Muñoz-Alonso in ‘Scholar Claims Van Gogh Hid Secret Homage to Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper In His Café Terrace at Night’, Artnet, 10 March 2015.
38 Letter 685, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 21 September 1888 (VGM).
39 Letter 682, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 18 September 1888 (VGM).
40 Letter 709, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 21 October 1888 (VGM).
41 Letter 701, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 10–11 October 1888 (VGM).
42 Décret officiel of President Carnot, 2 October 1888; L’Homme de Bronze, 14 October 1888 (MA).
43 Cote: F41, Statistiques: Mouvement de la population 1889 & 1890 (ACA).
44 The passport and birth certificate were requested in September 1887. See note 3, Letter 572, Vincent van Gogh to Johannes van Homberg, Mayor of Neunen, 1 September 1887 (VGM).
45 Letter 701, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 10 or 11 October 1888 (VGM).
46 Letter 653, Vincent van Gogh to Willemien van Gogh, 31 July 1888 (VGM).
47 Paul Signac to Gustave Coquiot, 6 December 1921, in the Coquiot notebook (VGM).
Chapter 10: The Artists’ House
1 The arrival time of 5 a.m. suggested by the 2001 Chicago Art Institute exhibition catalogue Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Studio of the South cannot be correct. The train number they suggest in fact arrived at 4.49 in the afternoon (rather than 4.49 a.m.). I believe they simply misread the timetable. During the nineteenth century, train timetables did not follow the twenty-four-hour clock, instead they indicated whether the train was in the morning or afternoon. The twenty-four-hour clock system was introduced during the Occupation of France by Germany in the Second World War. Gauguin clearly stated that he arrived early in the morning. The train between Pont-Aven and Arles involved numerous changes. The last change Gauguin needed to take would have been from Lyons. He arrived on train number 3, the express train that left Lyons at 10.43 p.m. and arrived in Arles at 4.04 a.m. (SNCF archives, Le Mans).
2 Paul Gauguin, Oviri: Ecrits d’un sauvage (Gallimard, Paris: 1903), p. 291.
3 Letter 712, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, on or about 25 October 1888 (VGM).
4 Letter 713, Theo van Gogh to Vincent van Gogh, 27 October 1888 (VGM).
5 Letter B0850, Paul Gauguin to Theo van Gogh, on or about 27 October 1888 (VGM).
6 Letter 714, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 27 or 28 October 1888 (VGM).
7 Letter 715, Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, on or about 29 October 1888 (VGM).
8 Ibid.
9 Letter 716, Vincent van Gogh to Émile Bernard, 2 November 1888 (VGM).
10 The bearded man is sometimes suggested to be the postman Roulin. The recently discovered military documents, showing that Roulin was shorter than had previously been assumed, would seem to confirm this. See Pierre E. Richard, Vincent. Documents et inédits, Nombre 7, Nîmes, 2015, p. 56.
