Andries Bonger


Andries Bonger, nicknamed "Dries", was Johanna van Gogh-Bonger's favorite brother. Bonger was a friend of his future brother-in-law Theo van Gogh in Paris. It was through Andries that Johanna and Theo met. He also knew Vincent van Gogh who called him André in letters.
In a letter that Bonger wrote to his parents on March 31, 1885, he describes van Gogh as having received unexpected news the prior week that his father had died due to a "stroke of apoplexy" after having received a letter the previous day that he was in perfect health. He mentioned that Van Gogh was not very strong, and so this was a very melancholy circumstance. In several letters over the remainder of the year, Bonger comments on a growing appreciation for and friendship with Theo.
Vincent van Gogh arrived in Paris in 1886 which meant that Bonger saw less of Theo. Bonger expressed his concern that Vincent van Gogh was harsh with his brother Theo, who had begun to look haggard. Theo met Bonger's parents during a visit to the Netherlands about August, 1886.
Bonger went into the insurance business later in Amsterdam. He was an intimate friend of Bertrand-Jean Redon, better known as artist Odilon Redon, and owned a large collection of his works. His collection also included works by Van Gogh, Paul Cézanne and Émile Bernard, whom he knew well. He is buried at Zorgvlied cemetery.