A letter written by Vincent van Gogh and fellow artist Paul Gauguin describing visits to brothels and discussing the future of art has been sold at auction for €210,600 ($343,500), Reuters reports.

The letter was bought in Paris by the Vincent van Gogh Foundation which will display it in its museum in Amsterdam.

The artists wrote the letter to French painter Emile Bernard in late 1888 during their stay in the French city of Arles, where the foundation also has a museum.

The letter, written a week after Frenchman Gauguin joined Van Gogh at the Dutchman's house in Arles, tells Bernard of their discussions on art and their work.

"Now something that will interest you — we've made some excursions in the brothels, and it's likely that we'll eventually go there often to work," the letter says.

"At the moment Gauguin has a canvas in progress of the same night cafe that I also painted, but with figures seen in the brothels. It promises to become a beautiful thing."