Focus on Langlois Bridge at Arles and discuss the Drawings.
Soon after arriving in Arles, van Gogh asked his brother to send him a copy of Armand Cassagne's Guide to the Alphabet of Drawing. His request was generated by an interest to return to foundational drawing practices, such as his use of a perspective frame for the drawings and paintings that he made of Langlois Bridge. A letter dated March 18, 1888, to his friend Émile Bernard contains a sketch of the bridge (JH 1370 below) and the color scheme he is considering adopting, clearly showing his use of sketching and drawing as a preliminary to his painting. He spoke of how the town (Arles) "projects the strange silhouette of its drawbridge against a huge yellow sun."
Émile Bernard Arles perspective Langlois Bridge drawbridge