Israels Letters

From epistle to small note: letters and postcards from Isaac Israëls to Jo van Gogh-Bonger

Israels Letters offers a digital, fully accessible edition of all surviving letters and postcards written by the artist Isaac Israëls (1865–1934) to Jo van Gogh-Bonger (1862–1925), the wife of Theo and sister-in-law of Vincent van Gogh. The letters have been made accessible by the Huygens Institute in collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum under the direction of editor Hans Luijten.

Image: Isaac Israëls, Woman Reading with Red Hat next to Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, 1915-1920 (detail). Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum (Vincent van Gogh Foundation).

This publication provides a unique insight into their friendship and Vincent van Gogh, and the early stages of the latter’s rise to fame. Israëls pens profound reflections on art, literature, music, love, friendship and the work of Vincent van Gogh, whose art touched him deeply.

88 letters, 13 postcards and 2 picture postcards

The 103 letters (to be precise: 88 letters, 13 postcards and 2 picture postcards) come from an inheritance and were made available in 2008 for Alles voor Vincent, the biography of Jo van Gogh-Bonger. Since then, the letters have been part of the collection of the Vincent van Gogh Foundation, managed by the Van Gogh Museum. For the digital edition, all original letters have been transcribed and enriched with explanations and context. The edition also includes images of all the artworks mentioned in the letters.

The woman who made Vincent van Gogh famous

Jo married Theo van Gogh, an art dealer in Paris, in 1889. Through him, she became familiar with Vincent’s work and the art trade. It was only after his death in 1891 that Jo took on the responsibility of managing and distributing the estates of both Theo and Vincent. After Theo’s death in 1891, she devoted the rest of her life to promoting Van Gogh’s art and letters.

Isaac Israëls, Jo van Gogh-Bonger, 1924 (detail). Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum (Vincent van Gogh Foundation).

Jo moved from Paris to Bussum and started the Villa Helma guesthouse, which was frequented by many friends, artists and intellectuals. This allowed her to become more familiar with the art world. A few years later, she began corresponding with Isaac.

A cordial friendship

Isaac’s letters to Jo span more than thirty years and reveal a warm, sometimes playful relationship. In addition to long, substantive epistles, the letters also include everyday notes such as invitations and thank-you notes, for example for returning a borrowed book.

‘That fellow is very daring in the colours he chose!’

The letters show that Israëls greatly admired Vincent van Gogh’s work. He was particularly impressed by his use of colour, and is even said to have exclaimed: ‘That fellow is very daring in the colours he chose!’

Isaac Israëls in his studio, Oosterpark 82 in Amsterdam, 1903-1904. Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum.

‘Vincenting’

After 1914, Jo lent Van Gogh paintings to Isaac on several occasions. He placed them in his studio in The Hague and used them as backgrounds for his own paintings. A total of 17 works by Israëls are known to feature a work by Van Gogh, from The Bedroom to various versions of Sunflowers. Israëls even coined a verb for it: Vincenting. ‘I’m still very busy Vincenting,’ he wrote to Jo on 20 February 1916. (Letter 083)

The digital edition Israels Letters

The digital edition (Dutch and English) offers:

· Scans and readable texts of all 103 letters
· Explanations of people, places and events
· Illustrations and references to works by Israëls and Van Gogh mentioned in the letters

Artists’ Letters

The Israel Letters are part of the overarching Artists’ Letters project, alongside the correspondence of Vincent van Gogh and Piet Mondrian.

Exhibition

When the digital edition was published, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam dedicated an exhibition to Isaac Israëls’ letters to Jo van Gogh-Bonger: In de ban van Vincent (Captivated by Vincent), featuring portraits that Israëls made of her and twelve of his paintings in which a work by Van Gogh can be seen in the background.

It must have been quite something for a painter to have a work by Van Gogh in his own studio. In December 1915, after Jo had sent him a few paintings, Isaac wrote with appropriate humility and a nod to the idea of exchanging them for a work by Van Gogh: ‘I think it’s very kind of you to send me these paintings, although – once they’re here it’s very tedious to have to send them back again! It’s adorning oneself with borrowed plumes. Don’t you want to swap anything else??????’ And he later added: ‘It’s strange to see the things here’. (Letter 079)

Isaac Israëls, Woman in front of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, 1915-1920 (detail). Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum (Vincent van Gogh Foundation).

Israëls used Van Gogh’s paintings as a backdrop for portraits, to make the people and objects in the foreground stand out more. He did this by using strong colour contrasts, such as bright red, blue and purple against the yellow that Van Gogh often used. At the same time, he gave his work more allure by linking it to the work of Van Gogh, who, thanks to Jo’s efforts, was a rising star in the art world posthumously.

Apparently, the paintings inspired him to get the best out of himself as an artist. In October 1916, he wrote to Jo: ‘I recently actually had a commission to paint a lady, but since I didn’t have the sunflowers any more to paint her head against it was a total failure, so be glad you weren’t here, otherwise I’d have asked to borrow that painting again.’ (Letter 092)