It Was the 'Letters' That Made Van Gogh's Paintings Sell

People are not moved by logical arguments.

・This product is wonderful
・This product has value
・Therefore, you should buy it

No matter how much you say things like that,
you won't sell to customers.

People loosen their purse strings
when their emotions are stirred.

Van Gogh took his own life at the age of 37.
His younger brother, Theo, was an art dealer.

In exchange for taking all the paintings his brother painted,
he had an agreement with his brother
to send him living expenses every month.

By making it a form of equal trade rather than charity,
he respected his brother's pride.

That is why Van Gogh's paintings
were in Theo's possession.

But Theo himself also passed away from illness
six months after Van Gogh died.

Theo's widow, Jo, was left at 28 years old,
and their son had just turned one.

In Europe at that time, there was a strong perception
that women belonged in the home,
and it was almost unthinkable for a woman
to earn a living alone and raise a child.

Her husband had died, and her income was cut off.

All she had on hand
was a large number of Van Gogh's paintings,
which had been harshly criticized as not worth even one franc.

Her family and those around her told her,
'Throw away those ominous paintings and face reality.'

At the time, Jo wrote this in her diary.

Jo's family home was wealthy,
and if she returned, her life would be secure.

But if she returned to her family home,
those paintings would have to be disposed of.
If that happened, Theo's dream would also vanish.

That is why she
did not rely on her family despite her financial struggles,
and started a boarding house in a rural town in the Netherlands.

Also, she utilized her talent for languages
to take on translation work.

In an era when it was said that a woman could not live on her own,
she built a foundation to earn her own living.

At first, it was to survive.
She needed money to raise her child.

All she had on hand was a mountain of paintings that wouldn't sell.
People around her were telling her to get rid of them.

But her husband, Theo, was a skilled art dealer.

There might have been some bias because they were family, but
Theo, with his discerning eye,
believed that his brother's paintings had value.

And Jo began to read the vast number of letters
exchanged between her husband Theo and Van Gogh.

As she read on,
Jo herself found her heart moved by Van Gogh's words.

The image of her brother-in-law, who could not fit into society,
struggled in loneliness, and poured his life into pursuing his own style
because he believed his paintings had value.

The trust of her late husband, a skilled art dealer who believed
in his brother's talent and continued to support him.

Jo made a decision.

That the bond between these two and Vincent's art
must never be allowed to be buried.

At this point, for her, selling the paintings changed
from a "means of living" to a "mission to which she would dedicate her life."

That said, it was clear that they wouldn't sell just like that.

At the time, Van Gogh's paintings were criticized by the art world as:

・The outlines are jagged
・The colors are too flashy
・The paint is lumpy

They were harshly criticized.

She knew that, too.

So, Jo used the letters instead of the paintings.

The letters contained what Van Gogh saw, what he suffered from,
and why he painted with those colors and those brushstrokes.

Knowing that changes how you see the paintings.

The rough brushstrokes are no longer just rough.
The intense colors are no longer just eccentric.

Van Gogh's loneliness and passion
begin to look as if they have been transferred directly into the paintings.

Jo used these letters differently depending on the recipient.

To critics and art dealers,
she showed not only the paintings but also Van Gogh's inner thoughts through his letters.
Once they understood Van Gogh's inner world,
their evaluation of the paintings would change.

Jo believed that if influential people recognized them,
that recognition would spread to the public.

At art exhibitions, she displayed the paintings and letters as a set.
Visitors would view those paintings with the knowledge of his suffering.

Then, the paintings would look as if his soul had been transferred into them.
And in 1914, she published the letters themselves as a collection.

She made them readable as the drama of a single human being,
even for those with no interest in art.

She took the single material of the letters
and tailored their presentation to suit the recipient.

And while it is true that Jo wanted money,
she had a line she would not cross.

That was'Never sell them cheaply.'.

If money had been her only goal,
she would have disposed of them just as the art dealers told her to.

But she strictly separated the paintings she sold little by little for a living
from the paintings she kept to increase their value.

To ensure the value of the paintings was properly recognized,
she focused on selling them to famous museums rather than individuals.

The buyers were stimulated by a sense of mission,
feeling that they had to protect the legacy of this great painter.

Van Gogh's paintings had not changed at all.
What she changed was
'the way they were sold, displayed, and communicated.'

Instead of showing only the paintings,
'the background from which those paintings were born—the letters—'
were shown alongside them.

People are not moved by logical arguments.
They are not moved even if you explain, 'This painting has value.'

People are moved by emotion.
I knew that, too.

But what was amazing about Jo
was not just that she conveyed Van Gogh's suffering.

It was that he changed 'to whom and how' he communicated it.

To critics, he sent letters before the paintings. At art exhibitions, he presented paintings and letters together. To those uninterested, he offered them as a book.

He changed the same letters depending on the recipient.

I knew that people are moved by emotion.

But because I was so desperate for money, I was broadcasting to a vague crowd instead of
'one specific person'.

I understand now that is why it didn't reach anyone.

Marketing is not about pushing products on people.

It only sells when that product resonates with the customer's heart.

What Jo showed was not the paintings.
It was the reason why those paintings were born.