I read this book, with much pleasure I must say, over the past few months. This is the collection of letters that Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) exchanged from 1872 until his death. Those letters were mostly addressed to his brother Theo, with whom Vincent had a very close connection. I won't copy and paste here the details of van Gogh's life, but one thing that I want to keep in mind is the fact that his path started as a failed pastor, with delusions here and there, and mostly, with a long and intense training of himself (by himself for the most of it) as an artist. I jot down here few of the passages that I liked the most.
When I compare the state of the weather to our state of mind and our circumstances, subject to change and fluctuations like the weather, then I still have some hope that things may get better (pg.64)
And I don't think it ever occurs to her that God may only appear once we say the words, those words with which Multatuli ends his prayer of an unbeliever:`Oh God, there is no God.' [...] but you see, I love, and how could I feel love if I were notalive myself or if others were not alive, and if we were alive there is something wondrous about it. Now call that God or human nature or whatever you like, but there is a certain something I cannot define systematically, although it is very much alive and real, and you see, for me that something is God or as good as God. (pg.124)
What is drawing? How does one come to it? It is working through an invisible iron wall that seems to stand between what one feels and what one can do. How is one toget through that wall--since pounding at it is of no use? In my opinion one has to undermine that wall, filing through it steadily and patiently. (pg. 206)
I tell you, if one wants to be active, one must not be afraid of making mistakes now and then. Many people think that they will become good just by doing no harm--but that's a lie, and you yourself used to call it that. That way lies stagnation, mediocrity. (pg.281)
[About one of his paintings] So the last thing I would want is for people to admire or approve of it without knowing why. (pg. 291)
Enjoy yourself too much rather than tool little, and don't take art or love too seriously--there is very little one can do about it, it is chiefly a question of temperament. [...] For me, for instance, it's a relief to do a painting, and without that I should be unhappier that I am. (pg. 338)
And if, deprived of the physical power, one tries to create thoughts instead of children, one is still very much part of humanity. And in my pictures I want to say something consoling as music does. I want to paint men and women with a touch of eternal, whose symbol was once the halo, which we try to convey by the very radiance and vibrancy of our colouring. (pg.394)
The day will come, however, when people will see they are worth more that the price of the paint and my living expenses, very magre on the whole, which we put into them. [about his paintings] (pg. 419)
Even though some of the letters are not particularly interesting, I still enjoyed the book very much. The life of Vincent van Gogh has been a real adventure: the struggles, doubts, and reflections of this painter are very intense, and very much close to what human beings in general experience, making it a source of comfort and inspiration. We feel less lonely in our little life, if we that know that other people, at some point, posed the same question which righ now seems to be so hard to ourself.
When I compare the state of the weather to our state of mind and our circumstances, subject to change and fluctuations like the weather, then I still have some hope that things may get better (pg.64)
And I don't think it ever occurs to her that God may only appear once we say the words, those words with which Multatuli ends his prayer of an unbeliever:`Oh God, there is no God.' [...] but you see, I love, and how could I feel love if I were notalive myself or if others were not alive, and if we were alive there is something wondrous about it. Now call that God or human nature or whatever you like, but there is a certain something I cannot define systematically, although it is very much alive and real, and you see, for me that something is God or as good as God. (pg.124)
What is drawing? How does one come to it? It is working through an invisible iron wall that seems to stand between what one feels and what one can do. How is one toget through that wall--since pounding at it is of no use? In my opinion one has to undermine that wall, filing through it steadily and patiently. (pg. 206)
I tell you, if one wants to be active, one must not be afraid of making mistakes now and then. Many people think that they will become good just by doing no harm--but that's a lie, and you yourself used to call it that. That way lies stagnation, mediocrity. (pg.281)
[About one of his paintings] So the last thing I would want is for people to admire or approve of it without knowing why. (pg. 291)
Enjoy yourself too much rather than tool little, and don't take art or love too seriously--there is very little one can do about it, it is chiefly a question of temperament. [...] For me, for instance, it's a relief to do a painting, and without that I should be unhappier that I am. (pg. 338)
And if, deprived of the physical power, one tries to create thoughts instead of children, one is still very much part of humanity. And in my pictures I want to say something consoling as music does. I want to paint men and women with a touch of eternal, whose symbol was once the halo, which we try to convey by the very radiance and vibrancy of our colouring. (pg.394)
The day will come, however, when people will see they are worth more that the price of the paint and my living expenses, very magre on the whole, which we put into them. [about his paintings] (pg. 419)
Even though some of the letters are not particularly interesting, I still enjoyed the book very much. The life of Vincent van Gogh has been a real adventure: the struggles, doubts, and reflections of this painter are very intense, and very much close to what human beings in general experience, making it a source of comfort and inspiration. We feel less lonely in our little life, if we that know that other people, at some point, posed the same question which righ now seems to be so hard to ourself.
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