Letter 3, page 4

Download image: 

Vincent van Gogh, letter to Émile Bernard, Arles, 12 April 1888, Letter 3, page 4

Pen and brown/black ink on two sheets of cream, machine-made laid paper

Thaw Collection, given in honor of Charles E. Pierce, Jr., 2007

MA 6441.3
Translation: 

that will be earth will share the same purplish
tint, that the whole sky will have a blue tonality, that the greenery will either be blue greens or
yellow greens, deliberately exaggerating the yellow or blue values in that case. Anyway, my dear
pal, no trompe l'oeil in any case. As for going to visit Aix, Marseille, Tangier, no fear; if I were to go
there, however, it would be in search of cheaper lodgings, etc. Otherwise, I'm convinced that if I
worked my whole life, couldn't do as much as half of all that is characteristic of this town alone.

By the way, have seen bullfights in the arenas, or rather, simulated fights, seeing that the bulls
were numerous but nobody was fighting them. But the crowd was magnificent, great multicolored
crowds. One on top of the other on two, three tiers, with the effect of sun and shade and the
shadow of the immense circle. Wish you bon voyage—handshake in thought, your friend

Vincent

© 2007 Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam