More about Self-Portrait Dedicated to Paul Gauguin

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A buddy tries to convince you to come for a visit. He sends you this self-portrait. Do you answer with 'I know a good therapist,' 'you must be very very lonely,' or 'I'm just so busy right now ...' 

When Vincent van Gogh sent Gauguin this self-portrait the poor Frenchman wasn't sure what to do. He tried to do the 'I'm just too busy right now...' routine, and sent a self-portrait back to Vincent called...Self-Portrait dedicated to Van Gogh. Encouraged, Vincent sent one letter after another asking Gauguin to come visit him in the south of France. When van Gogh's brother Theo offered to pay Gauguin for a visit, the Frenchman suppressed his misgivings and went.

 

The brilliantly creative men spent two hard months together, mostly drinking and arguing about art. Then Gauguin finally had enough and went back to Paris. He still loved Vincent's work and called him the 'Painter of Sunflowers' and tried to buy the masterpiece Sunflowers (no.4).