Without his younger brother Theo, Vincent van Gogh is unlikely to have become an artist.
Theo gave Vincent his unconditional support, both financial and emotional, even if it was not always easy for him. So why did he keep doing it? Did he spot Vincent’s talent early on? Or was it simply out of love for his brother?
Growing up together in Zundert
1 May 1857: Theo, son of Anna and Theodorus van Gogh, is born at the vicarage in Zundert, a village in the province of Brabant. He is the family’s third child after brother Vincent and sister Anna. Two more sisters will follow, Lies and Willemien, and a little brother called Cor. The Van Goghs are middle class. Theodorus’s job as a minister means that the family has to play an exemplary role in the Protestant community of the otherwise largely Catholic village.
Theo is Vincent’s junior by four years – a big gap when you are young. All the same, the brothers are drawn together. As soon as Theo is old enough, they share an attic bedroom. Theo admires his big brother, who tells him all about nature. They build a sand fort together in the garden. Theo is seven when Vincent has to leave the family home to attend boarding school. They now only see each other during the holidays.
The Van Gogh family. Left to right: father Theodorus, mother Anna, Vincent, Anna, Theo, Lies, Willemien and Cor
Theo at the age of 13 (1871)
Theo and Vincent’s parental home in Zundert
A brother who sets the example
Theo is 12 when Vincent gets a job at the Hague branch of the international art dealers Goupil & Cie. The brothers don’t see each other very often, but they do keep in touch by letter. Theo comes to stay with Vincent from time to time during the school holidays. After one such visit, Vincent writes: ‘I missed you the first few days, and it was strange for me not to find you when I came home in the afternoon. We spent some pleasant days together […].’
This letter, dating from September 1872, is the first one from Vincent that Theo will keep. Shortly afterwards, he follows in his brother’s footsteps. In 1873, Theo embarks on his career at the Brussels branch of Goupil. He is 15 – a year younger than Vincent when he joined the dealers. Although they live and work far apart, there is still a powerful bond between the brothers and they write to each other regularly to share their news. Theo keeps all of Vincent’s letters, which are full of solicitous advice, such as visiting the art museum as often as he can.
The first letter from Vincent that Theo kept, 1872
Theo at the age of 15
Vincent at the age of 19
Each his own way
From the outset, Theo’s career goes pretty well, but Vincent’s interest in the business is waning. In 1876, he gets the sack. While Theo is going from strength to strength, Vincent is obliged to find another job. The following years are a prolonged quest for what he wants to do with his life. After several jobs and a failed attempt to study theology, he ends up as a Protestant preacher in Belgium’s industrial Borinage region. When the 21-year-old Theo pays Vincent a visit, he finds that his brother is not taking good care of himself and has no paid employment.
The Van Gogh family is deeply concerned and a disagreement arises between Vincent and his father and mother. Vincent fails to live up to his responsibilities as eldest son, such as supporting his parents financially and setting an example to his younger brothers and sisters and for the wider community. Theo is caught in the middle. The brothers go almost a year without contact, while Theo tacitly assumes the role of wiser, older son.
Art dealer Goupil in The Hague, Netherlands
A deal with Vincent
By the age of 23, Theo is well on his way to becoming a manager at Goupil’s in Paris, the centre of the art world at the time. He helps his parents by providing Vincent with financial support. As their damaged relationship gradually recovers, Theo advises his brother on taking an important decision: it is now that Vincent becomes an artist.
Besides advice and encouragement, Theo’s letters to Vincent contain the money his brother needs to live on. In this way, he ensures that Vincent can concentrate fully on practising his drawing and painting. Because he wants to become a successful artist and that takes time. ‘[I] hope to do as much as I can to help you’, Theo writes, ‘until you can start earning yourself […]’.
Theo is as good as his word. As the years pass, he provides his brother with a generous monthly allowance. Vincent draws and paints constantly, but unfortunately sells nothing. He is not happy about this, as he is working hard and views Theo’s assistance as a debt to be repaid. In early 1884, he thus proposes a new ‘deal’: he will treat the money he receives from Theo as earnings and in return, all the drawings and paintings he sends will become Theo’s property.
Theo agrees, albeit less enthusiastically than Vincent would have liked. Vincent expresses his frustration in a letter: ‘You have never yet sold a single thing of mine – not for a lot or a little – and IN FACT HAVEN’T TRIED TO YET.’ Theo remains sympathetic in the face of his brother’s complaints, but as an art dealer, he has a clear message in return: Vincent’s work is too dark and will have to improve before potential purchasers will show an interest.
‘What do you think of the croquis?’ Vincent asked Theo in August 1880
Vincent van Gogh, Winter Landscape with Hut and Figure, 1881
Vincent van Gogh, Donkey and Cart, 1881
Sharing a flat in Paris
Theo thinks Vincent’s work would sell better if it were less dark. He is keen to introduce his brother to the successful and colourful French painting he sees all around him in Paris. Theo invites Vincent to join him once he has found a bigger apartment. But Vincent decides not to wait:
‘My dear Theo, Don’t be cross with me that I’ve come all of a sudden. I’ve thought about it so much and I think we’ll save time this way. Will be at the Louvre from midday, or earlier if you like. A reply, please, to let me know when you could come to the Salle Carrée […] Vincent’
Vincent painted the view from the apartment on Rue Lepic which he shared with Theo. Vincent van Gogh, View from Theo’s Apartment , 1887
The brothers spend two years living together in Paris, eventually in a larger apartment. But the first year is not an easy one for Theo. He writes to their sister Willemien that at times life at home is impossible. Vincent is untidy and argumentative. Theo feels there are two people in his brother: ‘one marvellously gifted, refined and gentle, and the other selfish and unfeeling’. For the first time, Theo begins to doubt the unconditional love and support he offers his brother. Does he still have it in him?
Fortunately, Vincent himself is aware that things cannot go on like this. It also helps that the brothers increasingly value each other’s qualities. Theo can see that Vincent is growing in his work and is convinced that one day it will sell. For his part, Vincent admires Theo’s skill as a dealer in modern art. He also realizes that he will never make it as an artist without Theo’s help.
Vincent leaves
After two years, Vincent has had his fill of the big city. Theo pays his train fare to the south of France where Vincent hopes to fulfil his dream of living and working with other artists. Theo sends him the money he needs to rent a house and pay his bills. In the end, the only artist who will join Vincent there is Paul Gauguin.
Gauguin is less than enthusiastic about the idea, but Theo agrees to fund his travel and living expenses too. Theo is doing everything in his power to make a success of Vincent’s dream, while Gauguin is keen to hold onto Theo, his art dealer, as a friend. No one could have foreseen the drama with which Gauguin’s stay in Arles will end. Theo has other things on his mind too: he has fallen in love with Jo Bonger, sister of one of his friends, and has asked her to marry him.
Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin lived and worked together at the yellow house with green shutters. A steam train arrives in Arles in the background. Vincent van Gogh, The Yellow House (The Street) , 1888
Vincent van Gogh painted the first of five sunflower paintings as a welcome gift for Gauguin. He wanted to decorate the yellow house with it to make his colleague feel at home. Vincent van Gogh, Sunflowers , 1889
Paul Gauguin painted this portrait of Vincent van Gogh in Arles. Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh Painting Sunflowers , 1888
Dash to Provence
It’s Christmas Eve 1888 and Jo has travelled from the Netherlands to Paris for a visit. Theo is looking forward to spending time with her after work before she returns home. But a telegram suddenly arrives from Gauguin in Arles: Vincent has been injured. Theo grabs the night train to be at his brother’s side, a journey of 750 kilometres. He can’t see Jo off at the station, but he sends her a letter when he arrives to inform her about the situation in Arles:
I found Vincent in the hospital in Arles (...) An attack of high fever, when he injured himself with a knife, was the reason he was taken to hospital. (…) Had he just once found someone to whom he could pour his heart out, it might never have come to this.
Theo to Jo, Paris, 28 December 1888
Vincent van Gogh, Zelfportret met verbonden oor, 1889, The Samuel Courtauld Trust
In a state of utter confusion following a row with Gauguin, Vincent cuts off part of his own left ear. Theo is extremely concerned: has his brother lost his mind? Will he recover? All the same, he can’t stay with Vincent for long as his future in-laws are waiting for him in Amsterdam. Having reassured himself that his brother is being properly cared for, Theo leaves the hospital and takes the next train back to Paris. Eager to get away, Gauguin accompanies him. Vincent’s dream is now shattered.
Anxiety mixed with joy
Theo continues to worry about his brother. Fortunately, a doctor and a friend of Vincent’s keep him informed about developments in Arles. In January 1889, the artist is allowed to go home. His wounded ear has healed, but his mental health remains precarious. As a precaution, he is admitted to a psychiatric hospital for a year, during which he suffers several major breakdowns.
While Theo is worried, he experiences great joy too when he and Jo marry in April 1889. Vincent does not attend the wedding, but sends the couple his warmest congratulations in a letter. Meanwhile, Theo continues his efforts to promote his brother’s work in the art world. Little by little, appreciation grows. One of Van Gogh’s paintings actually sells in Brussels!
Theo then becomes a father when Jo gives birth to a son in late January 1890. They name the baby after his uncle: Vincent Willem van Gogh. It is a particular honour, since the custom at the time was to name your first son after your father (in this case Theodorus). Vincent is absolutely delighted by the news. He paints his baby nephew a large canvas with almond branches against an intense blue sky. The early-blossoming tree is a symbol of new life.
Jo van Gogh-Bonger with her son Vincent, 1890.
Mutual visits
‘Baby Vincent’ is almost four months old when his uncle meets him for the first time. ‘Big Vincent’ leaves Provence in May 1890 en route to the artists’ village of Auvers-sur-Oise, not far from Paris. He is eager to see his nephew and breaks his journey to visit Theo and Jo.
‘Then Theo took him to the bedroom, where our little boy lay in his cradle... the brothers silently contemplated the peacefully sleeping child – they both had tears in their eyes', Jo will later write about this meeting.
Theo is pleased to see that Vincent likes being in Auvers. His brother takes great pleasure in drawing and painting in the countryside around the village. And there’s a doctor on hand to keep an eye on the artist if his health takes a turn for the worse. One fine day in June, the Van Gogh brothers, accompanied by Jo and ‘Baby Vincent’, have lunch in this Dr Gachet’s garden.
‘[...] the day was so peacefully calm, so joyful, that nobody could have imagined how tragically, just a few weeks later, our happiness would forever be destroyed.’
Jo van Gogh-Bonger in the book Vincent van Gogh: Letters to his Brother , 1914
Vincent van Gogh, Daubigny's Garden, 1890
Vincent van Gogh, View of Auvers-sur-Oise, 1890
Bold move
Theo has been experiencing problems at work for some time now. He considers handing in his notice and setting up as a dealer in his own right. It would be a bold move and would mean a lot of financial uncertainty. Theo tells his brother about his plans when they meet in Paris in July. As he takes the train back to Auvers, Vincent is worried. He is afraid of becoming a burden on Theo and his family, given that he is living at their expense.
Theo and Jo do their best to reassure him. He needn’t worry about his allowance. It is an extraordinary gesture, considering that the amount Theo gives to Vincent is more than the postman Joseph Roulin earns to keep his wife and three children. In the weeks after visiting his relatives, Vincent goes back to work. He produces a substantial number of paintings and drawings, which Theo takes as a sign that things are going well. Before long, however, it all gets too much for Vincent and he makes a heart-rending decision.
Vincent van Gogh, Wheatfield with Crows, 1890
Final hours together
On 28 July 1890 Theo receives word from Auvers that Vincent tried to kill himself with a gun the previous day. Theo rushes to his brother’s side, where he will remain until the end. Vincent dies on 29 July. Theo is with him until the very last moment.
Theo is left with a broken heart and a house full of paintings. He describes his grief in a letter to his mother: ‘One cannot write how sad one is, nor find solace [...] It is a sadness which will weigh upon me for a long time and will certainly not leave my thoughts as long as I live, but if one should want to say anything it is that he himself has found the rest he so much longed for. [...] Life weighed so heavily upon him, but as happens more often everyone is now full of priase for his talent too. Oh Mother, he was so very much my own brother.'
Unconditional support
Theo’s judgement as an art dealer proved correct: Vincent’s work came to be recognized, admired, sought after and ultimately world famous. All the same, this was not his primary motivation for continuing to support his brother, as we see in the closing words of his final letter to Vincent:
‘Enclosed I’m sending you 50 francs – write to me quickly, and believe me your brother who loves you.’
Theo to Vincent, Paris, 22 juli 1890
Vincent van Gogh had an eventful life. It wasn’t always easy. Do you have dark feelings or suicidal thoughts? It helps to talk. Find an international helpline near you.