IDENTITY
Letter 497 — Preparation, Memory & Rapid Execution
Nuenen, 1885
Content Summary
On 30 April 1885 at Nuenen, Van Gogh explains that The Potato Eaters was painted relatively quickly and largely from memory after a winter of preparatory studies.
CONTEXT
Topics
Working Method, Preparation, Rapid Execution, Studies, Memory, Figure Painting, Artistic Practice
Materials & Pigments
Related People
Vincent van Gogh, Theo van Gogh, Émile Zola, Charles Blanc
Paintings
The Potato Eaters (F82 / JH764)
RESEARCH
Quotation
Although I’ll have painted the actual painting in a relatively short time, and largely from memory, it’s taken a whole winter of painting studies of heads and hands.
Research Focus
The letter clarifies the relationship between preparation and execution in Van Gogh’s method: apparently rapid painting could rest on prolonged study, accumulated observation and prior calculation.
Related Work / Relevance
SOURCES & EVIDENCE
Source Type
Letter
Source
Source Edition
Vincent van Gogh — The Letters, scholarly online edition (Van Gogh Museum / Huygens ING)
Source URL
Evidence Type
Primary Source, Scholarly Annotation
Related Readings