The Letters of Vincent van Gogh

What sort of literary techniques does Van Gogh use throughout his letters? What sort of persona does he create in his letters?

The Letters are a notably multilingual text, with Van Gogh alternating between French, Dutch, and English, oftentimes within the same letter. What can this multilinguality reveal about Van Gogh, and about the cultural context of his work?

Compare one of the artworks described by Van Gogh in the text, either one of his own works or one by another artist, with his description of it. Does keeping the text in mind impact your viewing of the piece in any key way? What does Van Gogh’s description reveal about his own artistic views and creed?

Analyze how Van Gogh depicts the relationship between historical and contemporary art in his letters. How does he depict the dynamics between the two? What role does each play in his understanding of himself as an artist?

Van Gogh was fascinated with Japanese art. What do his descriptions of Japanese art reveal about his artistic values? What other key influences appear in his letters, and what is their wider significance?

How does Van Gogh present class relations in his society? How do his views reflect some wider assumptions about class and artistry during the period?

Track Van Gogh’s understanding of his own mental illness throughout the text. How does this self-understanding shift in response to key events? In what ways does it align with, or conflict with, how his illness has been widely understood in the 130+ years following his death?

The full collection of Van Gogh’s letters has been made available by the Van Gogh Museum here. Read one of the letters not included in the Penguin edition. Does it modify your understanding of the text in any key way? Why or why not? What, more generally, does this letter reveal about Van Gogh’s life?