IDENTITY
Letter 804 — Painted portrait, photography and copying Delacroix and Millet
Saint-Rémy, 1889
Content Summary
Van Gogh discusses copying Delacroix and Millet and explains why, for him, a painted portrait differs fundamentally from a photograph.
CONTEXT
Topics
Portraiture, Photography, Copying, Artistic Philosophy, Artistic Influence, Working Method
Materials & Pigments
Related People
Vincent van Gogh, Willemien van Gogh, Eugène Delacroix, Jean-François Millet
Paintings
Pietà (after Delacroix) (F630 / JH1775)
RESEARCH
Quotation
a painted portrait is a thing of feeling made with love or respect for the being represented
Research Focus
The letter clarifies Van Gogh’s belief that painted representation carries an emotional and interpretive dimension that cannot be reduced to mechanical likeness, while situating copying within his continued study of admired artists.
Related Work / Relevance
SOURCES & EVIDENCE
Source Type
Letter
Source
Source Edition
Vincent van Gogh — The Letters, scholarly online edition (Van Gogh Museum / Huygens ING; website version December 2024)
Source URL
Evidence Type
Primary Source, Scholarly Annotation
Related Readings
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