Van Gogh wrote enthusiastically to Theo a few days after completing the painting, and included a sketch. The letter, on faded brown paper, hangs next to the completed painting in the museum.

This photo released by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Thursday, May 10, 2012, shows an 1882 water color of a pollard willow by Vincent van Gogh from his early Dutch period.

AMSTERDAM — A young Vincent van Gogh was so struck by a dead willow leaning “lonely and melancholy” over a pond near The Hague that he knew at once he had to paint it. “I’m going to ...

A Blacksburg watercolor artist traveled with students to a village in southern France in late summer to trace the steps of one of Western civilization’s most celebrated artists, Vincent Van Gogh ...

The scientists ran the same tests on fresh paint made according to the 19th century recipe, and on fragments of Van Gogh’s lesser-known "Bank of the Seine" and "View of Arles with Irises." ...

This photo released by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Thursday, May 10, 2012, shows an 1882 water color of a pollard willow by Vincent van Gogh from his early Dutch period. The ...

AMSTERDAM (AP) — A young Vincent van Gogh was so struck by a dead willow leaning “lonely and melancholy” over a pond near The Hague that he knew at once he had to paint it.“I’m going to ...

AMSTERDAM (AP) -- A young Vincent van Gogh was so struck by a dead willow leaning "lonely and melancholy" over a pond near The Hague that he knew at once he had to paint it. "I'm going to attack ...