Letters to Friends

Van Gogh created more than forty self-portraits. “It’s difficult to know oneself. Still, it’s no easier to paint oneself,” he said. Van Gogh proved to be a talented master not only with the brush, but also with the pen. Every evening after working at the canvas, he would sit down at the table and write long letters to his family and friends. After his death, the letters were found. Without exaggeration, they can be called the best self-portrait of the famous artist. It’s a monument of literature, equivalent to Van Gogh’s pictorial legacy. He carried on an epistolary dialogue with Paul Gauguin, Anton van Rappard, Émile Bernard, and others. In his correspondence, he shared his reflections, discoveries, and plans. All his letters to friends are distinguished by a special confessional tone and the depth of inner dramatic tension, while also opening a door into the world of this brilliant madman.