Letter 2, page 1

My dear Bernard,
Having promised to write to you, I want to begin by telling you that this part of the world seems to
me as beautiful as Japan for the limpidity of the atmosphere and the gay color effects. The stretches
of water make patches of a beautiful emerald and a rich blue in the landscapes, as we see it in the
Japanese prints. Pale orange sunsets making the fields look blue—glorious yellow suns. So far,
however, I've hardly seen this part of the world in its usual summer splendor. The women's costume
is pretty, and especially on the boulevard on Sunday you see some very naive and well-chosen
arrangements of color. And that, too, will doubtless get even livelier in summer.

© 2007 Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam