Letter 18, page 1

My dear old Bernard,
This time you deserve bigger compliments for the little sketch of the two Breton women in your
letter than for the other six, since the little sketch has a great style. I'm behind myself as far as
sketches go, being so totally absorbed these recent superb days with square no. 30 canvases, which
wear me out considerably and I intend to use to decorate the house.

You will have received my letter explaining the serious reasons for advising you to try to
persuade your father to give you a little more freedom as far as your purse is concerned, should
he pay your fare to Arles. I believe that you would repay him through your work. And that way you
would stay longer with Gauguin, and leaving to do your service, you would leave for a good artistic
campaign. If your father had a son who was a prospector and discoverer of raw gold among the
pebbles and on the pavement, your father would certainly not look down on that talent. Now in
my opinion, you have absolutely the equivalent of that.

Your father, while he might regret that it wasn't shiny new gold, minted in louis, would set
out to make a collection of your finds, and to sell them only for a reasonable price. Let him do the
same thing for your paintings and drawings, which are as rare and as valuable on the market as rare
stones or rare metal. That's absolutely true—a painting is as difficult to make as a large or small
diamond is to find.

Now while everyone acknowledges the value of a gold louis or a real pearl, unfortunately those
who set store by paintings and believe in them are few and far between. But they do exist. And in
any case, there's nothing better to do than to wait without getting impatient, even if one has to wait
for a long time. On your side, think a little about what I'm telling you about the cost of living here,
and should you have a strong wish to come to Arles with Gauguin and me,

© 2007 Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam