“I tell you, the more I think, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people”. —Vincent Van Gogh

After Vincent’s death’ it became obvious that Theo was as much in need of his brother as his brother had been in need of him. Theo mourned hard for his brother’ and felt lost without him. Though the two brothers hadn’t always lived near one another once they were adults’ they always remained very close. Theo managed one last tribute to his brother’ an exhibition of Vincent’s art in Paris. Theo wanted his brother’s artwork to be seen and remembered’ so he held this exhibition in his own apartment in Paris.

Even if Theo could not count on anything else in the world’ he knew he could count on Vincent to write and fill his soul with love and family. The brothers corresponded constantly’ and today it’s known that Vincent wrote more than six hundred letters to him during his life. While Theo and those around him may not have known it’ Theo became emotionally dependant upon these letters’ as they were a link to his beloved brother.

It was in these recovered letters that we can now get to know Vincent Van Gogh’ the man’ a bit better. Though his paintings and even his sketches are remarkable’ they take on a new life when you read even a portion of these letters. Through his paintings you might imagine Vincent Van Gogh to be a creative man’ even an emotional man’ but through these letters to Theo Vincent really poured his soul onto paper about life’ love’ and art and everything in between. Vincent Van Gogh seemed to view the most mundane things with interest and spirit’ though things of importance were often overlooked. Through reading the masses of letters’ the reader really get a look at the man behind the beautiful’ odd’ and even awe-inspiring artist’ Vincent Van Gogh.

Though Theo hadn’t been well before Vincent’s death’ after his brother had died and been buried’ his health took a drastic turn for the worse and Theo died in January of the next year. Many speculate that when Vincent died Theo literally felt like a part of him had died and felt no need or desire to nurse himself back to health and he literally faded away. Though the brothers were initially buried apart’ in 1914 Theo’s body was exhumed and buried by that of his dearly loved brother’ Vincent.