Lot Essay
Van Gogh made this drawing in early- to mid-December 1882 while he was residing in The Hague. In a letter to his brother Theo he explained that his intention was to evoke the spirit of Christmas and New Year's:
...what I said on another occasion is still true, too--that there are things which are worth doing one's utmost for, because whether people like them or not, they have in themselves a raison d'être. Blessed is he who has found his work, says Carlyle, and that is decidedly true.
And as for myself, when I say I want to make types of the people for the people, of course the state of affairs influences me only indirectly, insofar as to make my work harder or easier, but making the drawings themselves is what preoccupies me the most. And so, in contrast to a feeling of depression, there is the delightful sense of working at something which becomes more and more interesting the deeper one goes into it.
I have two new drawings now, one of a man reading his Bible [de la Faille, no. 1001], and the other of a man saying grace before his dinner, which is on the table [the present work]. Both are certainly done in what you may call an old-fashioned sentiment--they are figures like the little old man with his head in his hands. La prière is, I think, the best, but they complement each other. In one there is a view of the snowy fields through the window. My intention in these two...is one and the same. Namely, to express the peculiar sentiment of Christmas and New Year's. Both in Holland and England this is always more or less religious, in fact, it is that way everywhere, at least in Brittany, and in the Alsace, too. Now one need not agree exactly with the form of that religious sentiment, but if it is sincere, it is a feeling one must respect. And personally, I can fully share it and even need it, at least to a certain extent, just the way I have a feeling for such a little old man and a belief in quelque chose là-haut [something on high] , even though I am not exactly sure how or what it may be. I think it a splendid saying of Victor Hugo's, "les religions passent, mais Dieu demeure" [religions pass away but God remains]; and another beautiful saying of Gavarni's is "il s'agit de saisir ce qui ne passe pas, dans ce qui passe" [what matters is to grasp what does not pass away in what passes away].
One of the things "qui ne passeront pas" is the "quelque chose là-haut" and the belief in God, too, though the forms may change--a change which is just as necessary as the renewal of the leaves in spring. But you understand from this that it was not my intention to pay homage to the form in this drawing, but to show that I highly respect the Christmas and New Year's sentiment.
And if it has any sentiment or expression, it is because I feel it in myself. (The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh, op. cit., no. 253)
...what I said on another occasion is still true, too--that there are things which are worth doing one's utmost for, because whether people like them or not, they have in themselves a raison d'être. Blessed is he who has found his work, says Carlyle, and that is decidedly true.
And as for myself, when I say I want to make types of the people for the people, of course the state of affairs influences me only indirectly, insofar as to make my work harder or easier, but making the drawings themselves is what preoccupies me the most. And so, in contrast to a feeling of depression, there is the delightful sense of working at something which becomes more and more interesting the deeper one goes into it.
I have two new drawings now, one of a man reading his Bible [de la Faille, no. 1001], and the other of a man saying grace before his dinner, which is on the table [the present work]. Both are certainly done in what you may call an old-fashioned sentiment--they are figures like the little old man with his head in his hands. La prière is, I think, the best, but they complement each other. In one there is a view of the snowy fields through the window. My intention in these two...is one and the same. Namely, to express the peculiar sentiment of Christmas and New Year's. Both in Holland and England this is always more or less religious, in fact, it is that way everywhere, at least in Brittany, and in the Alsace, too. Now one need not agree exactly with the form of that religious sentiment, but if it is sincere, it is a feeling one must respect. And personally, I can fully share it and even need it, at least to a certain extent, just the way I have a feeling for such a little old man and a belief in quelque chose là-haut [something on high] , even though I am not exactly sure how or what it may be. I think it a splendid saying of Victor Hugo's, "les religions passent, mais Dieu demeure" [religions pass away but God remains]; and another beautiful saying of Gavarni's is "il s'agit de saisir ce qui ne passe pas, dans ce qui passe" [what matters is to grasp what does not pass away in what passes away].
One of the things "qui ne passeront pas" is the "quelque chose là-haut" and the belief in God, too, though the forms may change--a change which is just as necessary as the renewal of the leaves in spring. But you understand from this that it was not my intention to pay homage to the form in this drawing, but to show that I highly respect the Christmas and New Year's sentiment.
And if it has any sentiment or expression, it is because I feel it in myself. (The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh, op. cit., no. 253)