My Friend Van Gogh

by Émile Bernard, Martin Bailey (Introduction)

An intimate testament to the power of friendship between two creative forces—available again in English after more than a century

“I exaggerate, I sometimes make changes to the subject, but I still don’t invent the whole of painting; on the contrary, I find it ready-made, but to be untangled, in the real world.”
—Vincent van Gogh

The painter and poet Émile Bernard’s firsthand account of the beloved Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh’s life offers a close perspective into the difficulties the artist faced. First published in French in 1911, and presented here in English for the first time, Bernard details van Gogh’s approach to painting, his tools, his style, his love of the medium. Moreover, he chronicles his attempts to have van Gogh’s work recognized after his death, a sign of a true friend. Shedding light on the artistic community they were part of, Bernard also discusses notable figures such as Claude Monet, Paul Gauguin, and Émile Zola, in his storied account of his friend’s life and work.

Letters written by van Gogh to a young Bernard, some of which are included in this volume, further the import of the friendship between the two men. Van Gogh’s words of advice to Bernard as well as ruminations on his own practice, inspirations, and creative struggles are revealed in these pages.

Brought together and introduced by preeminent van Gogh scholar Martin Bailey, these texts present a sensitive and discerning portrait of van Gogh that goes beyond his reputation as a troubled genius.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1911

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book under the somewhat deluded impression that it would contain a wealth of Van Gogh’s correspondence with Emile Bernard, and that I would gain insights into the artist’s inner self. Sadly, the first 100 pages are solely the work of Bernard himself and his description of his relationship with Van Gogh, as well as his appreciation of him and his quest after Van Gogh’s death to have his dear friend recognised by the world. It’s possible that Van Gogh’s posthumous recognition was partly due to Bernard’s tireless pursuit of this goal, but also that the world was always going on eventually wake up to his brilliance. A lot of what Bernard writes is very fascinating;however, he includes several introduction chapters written for different editions of the letters being published and these get repetitive. Likewise, he starts to talk a lot about his own theories of art (not surprising for a man more famous for his art criticism than his own works). When he writes about Gaugin, you can feel the jealousy and also the anger at his believe that Gaugin copied him and did not acknowledge it. It’s an interesting book, and for someone better versed in the world of art than myself, I imagine a lot of what turned me off would interest them. The letters by Van Gogh (sadly only spanning around 15 pages) do portray Vincent as a kind, hopeful and naive man, someone who cared about others and who wished more than anything to create a community where artists could inspire one another. Perhaps if this dream had become a reality, he would not have suffered the fate that he did.

[ladydill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pros:
- Vincent’s letters. They’re beautiful, thoughtful, honest, kind, and thought provoking.
- Learning the story of Vincent’s journey as an artist
- Learning about art through the lens of artists of that time
- Bernard’s pettiness and hatred towards Gauguin is unintentionally hilarious. Bernard even dedicates a whole section to it.

Cons:
- not enough of Vincent’s letters! The ratio of letter to everything else is 1:5

This book is best read with Google in hand. Be ready to look up painters and paintings so that you can relate to everything that is referenced. And in parts of the book where opinions of art or artists are expressed, you can decide for yourself if you agree with them or not. It really is a very informative, educational, and interesting experience.

[David Macpherson · Rating 3 out of 5]

THis was interesting as a book format. This was memoir as seen as a collection of introductions this guy wrote over the years for collections of van gogh letters. They go through the mindset of van gogh pretty well, but the self-aggrandizement, and this sense of importance is either a deal breaker for believing him or it just made it a really fun bit of reading. I think it was both. To be fair, the best part of the book were the letters by Van Gogh that ended the book. That guy understood his vision of what art should be.

[Julia Brukx · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Gauguin has no haters then Emile Bernard is dead.

In all seriousness, what a pleasure it is to read the output of a friendship so steeped in love and art. How can a person be so inspired by another that in an attempt to describe them they instead try to define art, because that seems like an easier task to take on.

[Sarah. G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love van gogh man. He loved art and his friends so much.