IDENTITY

Letter 538 — Paint Handling & Permanence

Nuenen, 1885

Content Summary

On 3–4 November 1885 at Nuenen, Van Gogh discusses solid paint, oil, impasto and the scraping and reworking of painted passages.

CONTEXT

Topics

Paint Handling, Permanence, Solid paint, oil, impasto, scraping/reworking

Materials & Pigments

Oil

Related People

Vincent van Gogh, Delacroix, Théophile Silvestre

Paintings

RESEARCH

Quotation

Research Focus

The letter connects paint body and handling with questions of revision and durability, providing evidence for the physical construction and reworking of Van Gogh’s painted surfaces.

Related Work / Relevance

SOURCES & EVIDENCE

Source Type

Letter

Source

Letter 538

Source Edition

Vincent van Gogh — The Letters, scholarly online edition (Van Gogh Museum / Huygens ING)

Source URL

https://vangoghletters.org/en/let538

Evidence Type

Primary Source, Scholarly Annotation