Vincent to Theo · 16 March 1888
Letters from Vincent · Chapter I The South · Arles
Listen to the first sentence (French)
The letter and its translation
Pour ce qui est du travail, j'ai rapporté une toile de 15 aujourd'hui, c'est un pont-levis sur lequel passe une petite voiture, qui se profile sur un ciel bleu.
As for work, today I brought back a size 15 canvas: a drawbridge with a little carriage going over it, outlined against a blue sky.
La rivière bleue également, des berges orangées avec verdure, un groupe de laveuses aux caracos et bonnets bariolés.
The river blue as well, orange banks with greenery, a group of washerwomen in bright smocks and bonnets.
Mais, mon cher frère — tu sais je me sens au Japon — je ne te dis que cela et encore je n'ai encore rien vu dans la splendeur accoutumée.
But, my dear brother — you know, I feel I'm in Japan — that's all I'll say, and I haven't yet seen anything in its usual splendour.
Ici je vois du neuf, j'apprends, et étant traité avec un peu de douceur, mon corps ne me refuse pas ses services.
Here I see new things, I learn, and treated with a little gentleness, my body doesn't refuse to serve me.
Selected sentences from the letter. The translation is our own.
The Langlois bridge was a drawbridge on the canal south of Arles, named after its keeper. Vincent drew and painted it several times; the picture here is one of his pen drawings of it.
In the app the letter arrives line by line like a message, with the meaning under each word, and you can talk with the writer. Chapter I is free.
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Credits
- Picture: Vincent van Gogh · Le Pont de Langlois · 1888 (dessin à la plume) · Los Angeles County Museum of Art · Public domain · Public domain · source
- Letter text: Brieven 1914, n° 469 · Brieven aan zijn broeder (J. van Gogh-Bonger, 1914), deel III, brief 469 · public domain · archive.org
- Narration: made with Supertonic 3 (Supertone Inc.), model licence OpenRAIL-M.
- All sources: Lingua Museum sources and licences