Van Gogh and Gauguin’s letter detailing brothel visits could sell for $282K

The item is expected to sell for 180,000 to 250,000 euros ($203,000-$282,000) when it goes under the hammer in Paris next week.

Addressed to fellow painter Émile Bernard, another key figure in the Post-Impressionist movement, the letter was handwritten by the two artists across four pages. It was composed in November 1888, shortly after Van Gogh produced some of his best-known works, including “Bedroom in Arles,” “Van Gogh’s Chair” and much of his celebrated “Sunflowers” series.

The correspondence was penned in the French city of Arles, where the Dutch painter had been staying since February of that year. At the time of writing, he had recently been joined by Gauguin, who he had first met in Paris two years earlier.

“Bedroom in Arles” (1888) by Van Gogh, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. Credit: Fine Art/Corbis Historical/Getty Images

Their message begins with Van Gogh’s impressions of Gauguin, in which he describes his friend as an “unspoiled creature with the instincts of a wild beast.”

“With Gauguin, blood and sex have the edge over ambition,” he wrote, before recounting some of the pair’s recent painting trips.

“We’ve made some excursions in the brothels, and it’s likely that we’ll eventually go there often to work,” he continued. “At the moment Gauguin has a canvas in progress of the same night cafe that I also painted, but with figures seen in the brothels. It promises to become a beautiful thing.”

Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin’s letter to Émile Bernard (November 1888) Credit: Drouot Estimations

Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin’s letter to Émile Bernard (November 1888) Credit: Drouot Estimations

Van Gogh also discusses his intention to create a new artists’ association, as well as referencing pictorial studies he was exchanging with the recipient, Bernard. Gauguin then continues with a shorter message on the third and fourth pages. “Don’t listen to Vincent,” he wrote, “as you know, he’s prone to admire and ditto to be indulgent.”

Man of letters

Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin’s letter to Émile Bernard (November 1888) Credit: Drouot Estimations

Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin’s letter to Émile Bernard (November 1888) Credit: Drouot Estimations