Vincent in Paris
(Summer 1887)

…don’t study and swot too much, because that makes for sterility. Enjoy yourself too much rather than too little, and don’t take art or love too seriously either — one can do little about it oneself, it’s mostly a matter of temperament. If I were living near you, I’d try to make you understand that it might be more practical for you to paint with me than to write, and that you might be more able to express your feelings that way.
From a letter to his sister Willemien, October 1887

Undergrowth
Summer 1887
Oil on canvas
46 x 38 cm
Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum
https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection/s0079V1962