漏 Copyright 2001 R. G. Harrison Letter R42 Nuenen, 2nd half March 1884
Amice Rappard,
Herewith a few more poems by Jules Breton; if you don't have them, I feel sure you will be greatly impressed by them. Today, or rather during the past few days, I painted a study of the weaving loom of which you have the sketch. 1 I am also trying to find the colour of the winter garden. But it is already a spring garden by now; it has changed into something quite different.
Goodbye,
Ever yours, Vincent
You are now in for a little scolding 鈥?that is to say 鈥?when I was with you last winter you were opposed to 鈥渆nthusiasm鈥?鈥?I mean, you said that Jaap [Jacob] Maris said that enthusiasm was I don鈥檛 know what. But he,
that is, Jaap, didn鈥檛 exactly put this into practice in his own life 鈥?even though he may have said something like that, applying it to some special case 鈥?since he himself continued to paint under all circumstances. If it were so,
then birds would stop singing and painters would stop painting if they were forever asking themselves whether or not they were too ardent.
And now read 鈥淟es Cigales鈥?[The Crickets] 鈥?and 鈥?I am not going to add another word.
1. See letter 363 to Theo.