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October 3, 2007
Painted with Words: Vincent van Gogh's Letters to Émile Bernard
It is thought that Vincent Van Gogh wrote over 800 letters in his lifetime, mostly to his brother Theo. But of this collection, 22 were to the artist Emile Bernard, a colleague of his fifteen years his junior, who he is thought to have met when he himself was 33. Nineteen of these letters, and one additional, alongside 22 related paintings, drawings, and watercolors by both artists are the subject of the newest exhibit at The Morgan Library & Museum titled Painted with Words: Vincent van Gogh's Letters to Emile Bernard, which runs through January 6, 2008.
Van Gogh's words inspired Bernard artistically--introducing Japanese prints, discussing artists' issues--and was often critical of Bernard's paintings, which are widely considered to be mediocre. What's interesting is the expression of Van Gogh's thought process during a time when he, often considered to be emotionally volatile and indecipherable.
From the NY Sun:
"Van Gogh's letters, like his pictures, reinforce that art is visual, expressive, and intuitive; yet they also emphasize the fact that art is ordered, logical, and rational. The making of art, like the experience of art, is a titillation of the mind no less than the senses. Van Gogh's writings cannot explain or replace the experience of his paintings and drawings; but there is something reassuring about the power of the artist's word when, standing before a work of his art, words fail us."
The Morgan Library & Museum is located at 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, (212) 685-0008. Click here for information about visiting.
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