On May 1, 1888, Vincent van Gogh settled in the famous Yellow House, at 2 Place Lamartine in Arles. He lived and worked there for several months, painting intensely and writing just as much, with letters serving as an essential vehicle for his thoughts.

On the very site of this house, now gone, a mailbox sculpture invites people of all ages and backgrounds to write freely to Vincent van Gogh.

Letters may be deposited starting on February 20 at 6:00 pm.
Mail processing by La Poste will begin on February 21.

An homage to Vincent van Gogh’s epistolary talent, this initiative is open to people of all generations, from near and far, who wish to write to him freely about the subjects that move them and resonate with his life, his work, and his correspondence.
At a time when letter writing is becoming increasingly rare, the project reactivates a practice that was essential to the artist, inviting participants to rediscover its freedom, intimacy, and joy.

PARTICIPATION GUIDELINES

Letters may be deposited directly into the mailbox or sent by post to the following address:

Vincent van Gogh
La Maison jaune
2, place Lamartine
13200 Arles
France

All letters received will be read by a committee appointed by the Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles. They will serve as a public, literary testimony to the painter that is expansive in content, impact, and scope.

The letters will also be archived at the Fondation and will be shared with the public in various ways – through readings and publications or educational and artistic projects. The initiative will thus be extended to enable the rediscovery of Vincent van Gogh’s correspondence and to encourage letter writing on a broader scale.

• Anyone can participate, regardless of age, and can write freely on any topic
• In order to contextualize each letter, it is recommended to include your first name, your age, and your city and country of residence. It is, however, also possible to write anonymously.
• Including an email address is strongly recommended. This will be used to confirm receipt of the letter and to communicate any further use of your letter.
• Letters may be written in any language; however, only those written in French, English, Italian, German, or Spanish will be able to be read.
• Only letter format is acceptable (no packages).
• Letters sent by regular post must have sufficient postage attached.
• Depositing or mailing a letter constitutes permission for publication or public reading.
• Personal information is handled in conformity with European GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations)

ORIGINE OF THE INITIATIVE

Vincent van Gogh maintained a close connection with his loved ones through his dedication to letter writing – to date, there are 820 known letters. In them, he shared details of his daily life, his professional highs and lows, his artistic and literary inspirations, his friendships, and his passion for art, which was at the core of his decision to lead the life of an artist, with the unwavering support of his brother Theo. Today, these letters constitute a major literary legacy: they are both inseparable from his paintings and key to an understanding of his thinking.

The Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles focuses on the influence of Van Gogh’s work and thought on contemporary artistic production, drawing specifically on his letters to explore how the Dutch painter’s practice and the challenges he faced resonate with contemporary artists.

The exhibition To Vincent : A Winter’s Tale, presented at the Fondation until April 26, 2026, is a perfect illustration of this. It brings together the work of twenty-one artists whose work aligns with the themes explored in Van Gogh’s letters, helping to fulfill his desire to be “a link in the chain of artists” and recalling his wish to make the Yellow House a collaborative space for artists.

In addition, writer and musician Louise Chennevière and novelist and journalist Sylvain Prudhomme were invited by the Fondation to write to Vincent van Gogh, and their letters to him are published in the exhibition catalogue.

EXPLORE THE COMPLETE CORRESPONDENCE OF VAN GOGH AT VANGOGHLETTERS.ORG 

A WORK BY DOMINICO DE CLARIO
PRODUCED BY THE FONDATION VINCENT VAN GOGH ARLES

Jean de Loisy, Artistic Director of the Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles, invited interdisciplinary artist Domenico de Clario to design the mailbox.

Writing, memory, and communication are key elements in the work of Domenico de Clario, who is now based in Arles. He was born in Trieste, Italy, in 1947 and his family moved to Australia when he was a child. There he studied architecture and fine arts and has been developing a body of work that combines performance, music, installation, and writing since the mid-1960s.

His connection to Vincent van Gogh began at an early age and is a very personal one: he wrote his first letter to Vincent at the age of eight, a gesture that would inform his whole artistic career.

The sculpture designed for this initiative is made up of two brass boxes, stacked on top of one another, symbolizing the two floors of the Yellow House, engraved with quotes from letters written by both Vincent van Gogh and Domenico de Clario.

Domenico de Clario