902 Van Gogh Letters Go Digital

Want to lend an ear to the personal musings of Vincent Van Gogh? More than 900 of the artist’s letters have just been published online in English for the first time. Thanks to Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum, the vast collection is searchable by keyword, city, and other preferences for free. Visitors to the museum’s site can now view the original-language images of the letters, some of which include rough sketches, next to the English translations, with annotations. In one letter, for example, dated July 23, 1890, and addressed to Van Gogh’s brother Theo, the artist writes, “I’d really like to write you many things, but I sense the pointlessness of it.” Six days later, at the age of 37, Van Gogh turned a gun on himself and fired. Though he may not give insight into what led him to make such a drastic decision, the extensive collection of correspondence does give new insight into one of the art world’s most famous men.