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576 Paul Gauguin to Vincent van Gogh. Paris, December 1887.

METADATA

No. 576 (Brieven 1990 -, Complete Letters -)

From: Paul Gauguin
To: Vincent van Gogh
Date: Paris, December 1887

Source status
Original manuscript

Location
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, inv. no. b882 V/1962

Date
On the basis of the kind of paper and the handwriting, Merlhs dates the letter to December 1887. See Merlhs 1989, p. 56. This dating is supported by the
contents of the letter: the exchange, which was prompted by the exhibition held in Restaurant du Chalet (see letter 640) and Gauguins remark that he is seldom
in Montmartre (at the time he was living at Schuffeneckers in rue Boulard; see n. 3). We have therefore adopted the same dating.

Additional
Cooper assumed that this letter was addressed to Theo. See Gauguin lettres 1983, p. 180 (GAC 24).

ORIGINAL TEXT

1r:1
Cher Monsieur
En venant de ma part vous trouverez chez Cluzel encadreur Rue Fontaine 1 un tableau que jai remis votre intention (pour notre change). 2 Si il ne vous convenait

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pas faites men part en venant vous-mme choisir. Excusez-moi si je ne viens pas moi-mme chercher les vtres, je vais si peu dans votre quartier. 3 Je les prendrai 19
Boulevd Montmartre 4 si vous voulez bien les dposer cet endroit.

Tout vous
Paul Gauguin

TRANSLATION

1r:1
Dear Sir,
If you come on my behalf you will find at Cluzels, the framer in rue Fontaine, 1 a painting that I have delivered for you (for our exchange). 2 If you do not consider it
suitable, let me know, and come and choose yourself. Forgive me if I do not come to collect your paintings myself, I am so rarely in your part of town. 3 I shall collect
them from 19 boulevard Montmartre 4 if you will be so kind as to leave them there.

Yours,
Paul Gauguin

NOTES

1. The frame-maker Pierre Cluzel had his shop at 33 rue Fontaine Saint-Georges, in Montmartre. See Frdric Destremau, Pierre Cluzel (1850-1894), encadreur de
Redon, Pissarro, Degas, Lautrec, Anquetin, Gauguin, Bulletin de la Socit de lHistoire de lArt Franais 1995, pp. 239-247.

2. As a result of the exhibition held in Restaurant du Chalet in November-December 1887 (see letter 640), Van Gogh exchanged his Sunflowers gone to seed (F 375 / JH
1329 ) and Sunflowers gone to seed (F 376 / JH 1331 ) for Gauguins On the shore of the lake, Martinique, 1887 (W252/W222) (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum) Ill. 100 .
See Annet Tellegen, Vincent en Gauguin, Museumjournaal 11 (1966), pp. 42-45. Cf. also letters 653 and 736.

3. Gauguin had been staying since his return from Martinique in mid-November 1887 with Emile Schuffenecker, 29 rue Boulard. This street is located in the south of
Paris, below Montparnasse, and was therefore quite some distance from Montmartre, where the Van Gogh brothers lived.

4. The art dealers Boussod, Valadon et Cie, for whom Theo worked, had their gallery at 19 boulevard Montmartre.

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