Themes in Art

Artist Letters
From the heart to the pen

I'm sending this letter along with that of your dear daughter Anna, my dear colleague in the arts, in order to tell you of my deep affection for her.

A Letter of Intent Rosa Bonheur, 1898

Now, consider carefully which you would rather do, so that later you will not regret your decision

Art school or the kitchen? Modersohn-Becker's letters to her parents Paula Modersohn-Becker, 1893

I am literally penniless here, obliged to petition people, almost to beg for my keep, not having a penny to buy canvas and paints . . .

Claude Monet to Georges Charpentier (A Desperate Plea) Claude Monet, 1878

For two months I’ve been working on a large sculpture, and I dare believe that it’s the best thing I’ve done up to now ... A monster who looks like me is taking the hand of a naked woman —

Gauguin to Vincent Van Gogh Paul Gauguin, 1889

A certain ennui is always with me, and when I forget my sorrow for a moment it’s because I’ve had a drink.

Letters between Paul Cézanne and Émile Zola Paul Cézanne, 1860

I quite like the subject of violent exercise. It makes the most surprising painting you can imagine.

Letters by Gustave Courbet Gustave Courbet, 1870

Nature has more depth than surface, hence the need to introduce in our vibrations of light, represented by reds and yellows, enough blue tints to give a feeling of air.

Letters from Paul Cézanne to Emile Bernard Paul Cézanne, 1904

The armistice has just been rejected, so the war will carry on worse than before - I've often regretted sending you away from Paris, but now I'm glad I did. I'm joining the artillery and will be stationed at the Porte de Saint-Ouen...

Letters from the front: The Franco-Prussian War Édouard Manet, 1870

I went to see Monet yesterday and found him in despair and absolutely broke...Shall we do the deal ourselves? No one, and least of all he, should know that we're in on this.

Letters to Eugene Manet & Theodore Duret Édouard Manet, 1875

It would be a long trip indeed if one stopped at every attractive town or village, at every beautiful motif —

My Dear Lucien Camille Pissarro, 1883

I am like a child at school. The new page is always going to be neatly written, and then pouf! . . . a blot. I'm still making blots . . . and I am 40 years old.

On Failure and the Renaissance: A letter to Durand and Ruel Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1881

All these celebrated men were in agreement in saying I should persevere and that notwithstanding my being forty years old it was still not too late.

On Rejection and Hard Work Henri Rousseau, 1884

Art is harmony. Harmony is the analogy of contrary elements and the analogy of similar elements of tone, color and line...

The Aesthetics of Tone, Color, and Line Georges Seurat, 1890

True relaxation, which would do me the world of good, does not exist for me.

The Daily Routine Gustav Klimt, 1900

What I am doing is no good, and in spite of your confidence I am very much afraid that my efforts will all lead to nothing.

The despair of painting nature Claude Monet, 1889

. . . this feeling of being at someone else's mercy weighs on me tremendously, and when such circumstances are prolonged I cannot find delight in art. . .

The Military is Antithetical to Art Egon Schiele, 1918

We’re in the presence of an unspoiled creature with the instincts of a wild beast. With Gauguin, blood and sex have the edge over ambition.

Van Gogh and Gauguin to Emile Bernard Paul Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh, 1888

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