![Vincent van Gogh - Still Life with Bible [1885]](http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1503/24035984294_2371e5e50e_o.jpg)
This hefty Bible belonged to Van Gogh’s father, a Protestant minister who died shortly before the painting was done. Vincent has placed his own copy of Emile Zola’s La joie de vivre next to it as a kind of Bible for modern life. The books symbolise the different world-views of Van Gogh and his father, who regularly clashed with one another. Van Gogh described this work to Theo as ‘a still life of an open, hence an off-white Bible, bound in leather, against a black background with a yellow-brown foreground, with an additional note of lemon yellow.’ He seemingly wanted to demonstrate that use of the colour black could work effectively – something the brothers had previously discussed at length. Theo thought Van Gogh’s canvases were too dark and gloomy, and encouraged his brother to use brighter tones like those of the Impressionists. Vincent responded by citing 17th-century Dutch masters like Frans Hals, who used a considerable amount of black in their work. He later admitted in Paris, however, that his dark palette was old-fashioned and adjusted his use of colour accordingly.
[Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam - Oil on canvas, 65.7 cm x 78.5 cm]