On April 30, 1881, Vincent wrote,

“My best wishes for your birthday. I often think of your visit; I am glad that we saw each other again, and hope you will come back this summer.”

A few years later on April 30, 1885 Van Gogh was living in Nuenen when he wrote,

“My warmest good wishes for good health and peace of mind on your birthday. I should have liked to send the painting of the Potato Eaters for this day, but although it’s coming along well, it isn’t quite finished yet.”

By April 30th of 1890, Van Gogh was staying in the St. Paul Hospital in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence when he wrote the following in a letter to Theo,

“Until now I have not been able to write you, but being a bit better just now, I did not wish to delay wishing you a happy year, since it’s your birthday, you and your wife and child. At the same time I beg you to accept the various pictures I am sending you with my thanks for all the kindness you have shown me, for without you I should be very unhappy.”

There have been books and movies covering the lives of these two brothers including the 1990 film Vincent & Theo and the books Vincent and Theo Van Gogh: A Dual Biography by Jan Hulsker, and Theo Van Gogh 1857 to 1891: Art Dealer, Collector and Brother of Vincent by Chris Stolwijk, Richard Thomson and Sijraar Van Heugten just to name a few.

It is because of Theo van Gogh and his wife Johanna that we know so much about Van Gogh and that the world has such a vast collection of his works still today.  Thank you Theo.

Letters Source:

http://www.webexhibits.org/vangogh/letter/10/144.htm
http://www.webexhibits.org/vangogh/letter/15/404.htm
http://www.webexhibits.org/vangogh/letter/20/629.htm

While Van Gogh painted several landscapes during this time, one of the popular subjects that Van Gogh painted was a series of different paintings of the park at Asnières. View some of these paintings below:

“While I was ill I nevertheless did some little canvases from memory which you will see later, memories of the North,”

One of the memories that Van Gogh painted was cottages with thatched roofs. He seemed to long for the familiarity of home and wanted to revisit some of his earlier works. Also on April 30, Van Gogh wrote to his mother and sister for the first time in months after his illness. In the letter he wrote,

“I continued painting even when my illness was at its height, among other things a memory of Brabant, hovels with moss-covered roofs and beech hedges on an autumn evening with a stormy sky, the sun setting amid ruddy clouds.”

Even after leaving Saint-Rémy and moving North to Auvers-sur-Oise, Van Gogh continued to paint cottages and recognized them as a charming part of the surrounding landscape. In a letter to his brother Theo written shortly after his arrival in Auvers, Van Gogh stated,

“Auvers is quite beautiful, among other things a lot of old thatched roofs, which are getting rare.”

Van Gogh appreciated the peacefulness of the countryside and the beauty surrounding him. Although the landscape was different from the South of France, Van Gogh felt that his experience there taught him to see more in terms of color. On May 21, 1890 he wrote to Theo stating,

“Now I have one study of old thatched roofs with a field of peas in flower in the foreground and wheat, background of hills,. A study which I think you will like. And I already feel that it did me good to go South, the better to see the North.”

Letters Source:
http://www.webexhibits.org/vangogh/letter/20/629.htm
http://www.webexhibits.org/vangogh/letter/20/629a.htm
http://www.webexhibits.org/vangogh/letter/21/636.htm
http://www.webexhibits.org/vangogh/letter/21/635.htm

“But every day is a good day now – not meaning the weather, on the contrary there are three windy days to one that’s quiet – but those orchards in bloom that there are to paint!

I find painting hard work because of the wind, but I fasten my easel to pegs driven into the ground and work in spite of it, it is too lovely.”

While many of Vincent’s letters to Theo were conversational, about family or work, in some letters Van Gogh placed orders for paints or requests for Theo to send other supplies or money.  In one such letter from April 4, 1888, Van Gogh was in the midst of a creative rush to do as many studies of the blossoming orchards as he could while their beauty lasted.  In this letter he wrote,

“You see of course that if you buy the paints for me, my expenses here will be at 50%. So far I have spent more on my paints, canvas, etc., than on myself.

I have still another orchard for you, but for heaven’s sake send me the paints without delay. The flowering time is over so soon, and you know this kind of subject delights everybody.”

Van Gogh’s hope was that his paintings of orchards would have mass appeal and therefore would sell well.  He encouraged Theo to send more money if he could, but also expressed understanding that Theo may have other financial concerns.  On April 8, Van Gogh wrote to Theo with another plea to help him continue his paintings of the orchards.

“If you can finance a rather heavy month, so much the better, since orchards in bloom are the kind of thing one has some chance of selling or exchanging.

But it occurred to me that you have to pay your rent, so you must tell me if things are too steep.”

Unfortunately, Van Gogh’s orchard paintings did not sell, but they still appeal to the masses today as beautiful depictions of the spring season.

Letters Source:

http://www.webexhibits.org/vangogh/letter/18/472.htm
http://www.webexhibits.org/vangogh/letter/18/475.htm
http://www.webexhibits.org/vangogh/letter/18/474.htm