IDENTITY
Letter 805 — Copying Millet and improvising colour
Saint-Rémy, 1889
Content Summary
Van Gogh explains why he copies Millet and Delacroix and describes translating black-and-white reproductions into colour through his own improvisation.
CONTEXT
Topics
Copying, Colour, Colour from Memory, Working Method, Figure Study, Simplification, Artistic Influence
Materials & Pigments
Related People
Vincent van Gogh, Theo van Gogh, Jean-François Millet, Eugène Delacroix
Paintings
RESEARCH
Quotation
I place the black-and-white by Delacroix or Millet or after them in front of me as a subject. And then I improvise colour on it
Research Focus
The letter provides a particularly clear account of copying as creative interpretation: the source supplies structure and subject, while colour becomes an arena for Van Gogh’s independent invention.
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