Letter 027 Paris, 31 May 1875
Dear Theo,
Thanks for the letter I received this morning. Yesterday I saw the Corot exhibition. In it was the picture,
鈥淭he Garden of Olives鈥? I am glad he painted that. To the right, a group of olive trees, dark against the glimmering blue sky; in the background, hills covered with shrubs and a few large ivy-grown trees over which the evening star shines.
At the Salon there are three very fine Corots; the best of them, painted shortly before his death, 鈥淟es B没cheronnes鈥?[female woodcutters], will probably be reproduced as a woodcut in L鈥橧llustration or Le Monde Illustre.
Of course I have also been to the Louvre and the Luxembourg. The Ruysdaels at the Louvre are splendid,
especially 鈥淟e Buisson,鈥?鈥淟鈥橢stacade,鈥?and 鈥淟e Coup de Soleil.鈥?I wish you could see the little Rembrandts there, 鈥淭he Men of Emmaus鈥?and its counterpart, 鈥淭he Philosophers.鈥?p style="line-height:25px;text-indent:32px"> Some time ago I saw Jules Breton with his wife and two daughters. His figure reminded me of J. Maris, but he had dark hair. As soon as there is an opportunity I will send you a book of his, Les Champs et la Mer,
which contains all his poems. He has a beautiful picture at the Salon, 鈥淪t. John鈥檚 Eve.鈥?Peasant girls dancing on a summer evening around a St. John鈥檚 fire; in the background, the village with a church and the moon over it.
Dansez, dansez, oh jeunes filles,
En chantant vos chansons d鈥檃mour,
Demain pour courir aux faucilles,
Vous sortiez au petit jour.
There are now three pictures of his at the Luxembourg: 鈥淎 Procession among the Cornfields,鈥?鈥淲omen Gleaning鈥?and 鈥淎lone.鈥?脌 Dieu.
Vincent