Theo Van Gogh Quotes

How rich art is, if one can only remember what one has seen, one is never empty of thoughts or truly lonely, never alone.

There was a sentence in your letter that struck me, “I wish I were far away from everything, I am the cause of all, and bring only sorrow to everybody, I alone have brought all this misery on myself and others.” These words struck me because that same feeling, just the same, not more nor less, is also on my conscience.

That is how I look at it; to continue, to continue, that is what is necessary.

I know well that healing comes-if one is brave-from within, through profound resignation to suffering and death, through the surrender of your own will and of your self-love. But that is of no use to me; I love to paint, to see people and things and everything that makes our life-artificial, if you like. Yes, real life would be a different thing, but I do not belong to that category of souls who are ready to live and also at any moment to suffer. I am everything but courageous in sorrow, and everything but patient when I am not feeling well, though I have rather a good deal of patience in keeping to my work.

Well, right now it seems that things are going very badly for me, have been doing so for some considerable time, and may continue to do so well into the future. But it is possible that everything will get better after it has all seemed to go wrong. I am not counting on it, it may never happen, but if there should be a change for the better I should regard that as a gain, I should rejoice, I should say, at last! So there was something after all!

It is a sad and very melancholy scene, which must strike everyone who knows and feels that we also have to pass one day through the valley of the shadow of death, and “que la fin de la vie humaine, ce sont des larmes ou des cheveux blancs.” What lies beyond this is a great mystery that only God knows, but He has revealed absolutely through His word that there is a resurrection of the dead.

(D)ying is hard, but living is harder still. —Vincent van Gogh

Quick work doesn't mean less serious work, it depends on one's self-confidence and experience. In the same way Jules Guérard, the lion hunter, says in his book that in the beginning young lions have a lot of trouble killing a horse or an ox, but that the old lions kill with a single blow of the paw or a well-placed bite, and that they are amazingly sure at the job... I must warn you that everyone will think that I work too fast. Don't you believe a word of it. Is it not emotion, the sincerity of one's feeling for nature, that draws us, and if the emotions are sometimes so strong that one works without knowing one works, when sometimes the strokes come with a continuity and coherence like words in a speech or a letter, then one must remember that it has not always been so, and that in time to come there will again be hard days, empty of inspiration. So one must strike while the iron is hot, and put the forged bars on one side.

Aspiro alle stelle che non posso raggiungere.

I keep on making what I can't do yet in order to learn to be able to do it.

What a mystery life is, and love is a mystery within a mystery. -Vincent Van Gogh

How much there is in art that is beautiful, if only one can remember what one has seen, one is never empty or truly lonely, and never alone. -Vincent Van Gogh

It is better to be fervent in spirit, even if one accordingly makes more mistakes, than narrow-minded and overly cautious. —Vincent van Gogh

Citizenship of a democratic state means living by the laws of the country. A liberal democracy cannot survive when part of the population believes that divine laws trump those made by man.

Dear brother, I feel what Pa and Ma instinctively think about me (I don’t say reasonably). There’s a similar reluctance about taking me into the house as there would be about having a large, shaggy dog in the house. He’ll come into the room with wet paws — and then, he’s so shaggy. He’ll get in everyone’s way. And he barks so loudly. In short — it’s a dirty animal. Very well — but the animal has a human history and, although it’s a dog, a human soul, and one with finer feelings at that, able to feel what people think about him, which an ordinary dog can’t do. And I, admitting that I am a sort of dog, accept them as they are. Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo, Nuenen, 15 December 1883

Es bueno amar tanto como se pueda, porque ahí radica la verdadera fuerza. Y el que mucho ama realiza grandes cosas y se siente capaz, y lo que hace por amor está bien hecho

…I have a feeling of being at home when I am with Sien, a feeling that she gives me my own hearth, that our lives are interwoven. This is a heartfelt, deep feeling, serious, and not without a dark shadow of her gloomy past and mine, as if some evil threatened us, against which we should have to struggle all our lives. At the same time, I feel a great calm and brightness and cheerfulness at the thought of her, and the straight path that is lying before me.

În fine, nu mă pot lăsa pradă melancoliei, trebuie să găsesc o ieșire, căci datoria mea e să lucrez. Sunt clipe când nu-mi găsesc liniștea decât în certitudinea că nenorocirea nu mă va cruța nici pe mine.

Iată de ce, înainte de toate, sunt îndemnat să cred că hotărârea cea mai bună pe care aș putea-o lua, ca și cea mai înțeleaptă, este aceea de-a pleca și de-a rămâne la distanța cuvenită, să fiu ca și cum n-aș fi.

Așa stau lucrurile, dar oare ce se petrece înlăuntrul nostru se vede și din afară? Un om poartă în suflet un foc imens și nimeni nu vine niciodată să se încălzească la el, iar trecătorii nu deslușesc decât un firicel de fum, sus la gura hornului, și-și caută mai departe de drum.

Success is sometimes the outcome of a whole string of failures,

Islam may soon become the majority religion in countries whose churches have been turned more and more into tourist sites, apartment houses, theatres, and places of entertainment. The French scholar Olivier Roy is right: Islam is now a European religion.

Dar din tulburarea de nedescris a sufletului meu a țâșnit în mine o idee, aidoma unei lumini strălucitoare în noapte: cine se poate resemna să se resemneze, dar, dacă ești în stare să crezi, atunci crede! Și m-am ridicat de jos, nu ca un om resemnat, ci ca un credincios și n-am mai avut alt gând decât: ea, nimeni alta.

Who a person becomes later in life, how he lives, how he dies, cloud's people's memories of him, spinning and skewing-distorting-their portraits of him as a child. But we will draw Vincent as clearly as we can using not only impressions but also strong lines, sharp details. A picture will emerge.

The problem for US officials is the same problem that filters through all the other sections of our societies. It goes something like this. Since we know – thanks to Salman Rushdie, who was forced into hiding for his life because of his novel about Islam, The Satanic Verses, Theo van Gogh, the Dutch film-maker who was murdered after making a critical film about Islam, and others – that there is a potentially high price to pay for criticising Islam, what reaction are we able to make in response to the religion? If we cannot criticise it at all, ever, for fear of being ‘phobic’ at best and beheaded at worst, we have to find some other attitude towards it.

Ah, scumpul meu frate, uneori îmi dau atât de bine seama de ceea ce vreau! Pot foarte bine, în viață ca și în pictură, să mă lipsesc de bunul Dumnezeu, dar nu pot, eu, cel suferind, să mă lipsesc de ceva mult mai mare decât mine, care este viața mea: puterea de-a crea. Și dacă, frustrat de această putere din punct de vedere fizic, încerci să zămislești idei în loc de copii, faci parte, totuși, datorită acestui lucru, dintre oameni.

Avevo incominciato a firmare i quadri, ma ho smesso subito, mi sembrava troppo cretino.

Mi occorre anche una notte stellata con dei cipressi,

Spero di avere un po’ di fortuna con quel quadro dei mangiatori di patate.

The solution to the Muslim problem is a Muslim Voltaire, a Muslim Nietzsche—that

But precisely because love is so strong, we are, especially in our youth...usually not strong enough to maintain a straight course. —Vincent van Gogh

We have raging fires in our souls with no one to stop by and warm themselves, though some may notice a wisp of smoke in the chimney as they pass. What can we do with this? Shall we tend this inner fire, “salt among ourselves” so to speak, and wait patiently—with such impatience—for that hour when those who feel inclined visit, sit, perhaps even stay? We who believe in God wait for that hour, trusting it will come sooner or later. — Vincent van Gogh, June 1880 Read more __________ “Tel a un grand foyer dans son âme,” Vincent to Theo van Gogh, Cuesmes, 22-24 June 1880, Lettres de Vincent Van Gogh à son frère Théo (Grasset, 1914). Translation © 2020 David Bannon.

Theo, do not become materialistic like Tersteeg. The problem is, Theo, my brother, not to let yourself be bound, no matter by what, especially not by a golden chain.

and to think that such in human life: to be born, to work, tolove, to grow and to disappear.

Aslında zorlukların üstünde fazla düşünmüyorum, çünkü bunlar üstünde gereğinden fazla durdun mu sersemliyorsun ya da iyice bozuluyorsun.

Admire as much as you can; most people do not admire enough.

If one really loves nature, one can find beauty everywhere.

One must never trust the occasion when one is without difficulties.

So I have a horror of success.

All I ask in painting is a way of escaping from life.

The world would not have Vincent without Theo.

But sometimes a person who seems easy is one whose calm outside belies a troubled and turbulent inside.

della strana circostanza che Gauguin abbia preferito non parlarne più, mentre si eclissava,

The years between 20 and 30 are full of all sorts of dangers, full of great danger, yea, the danger of sin and death. —Vincent to Theo, early September

Aștept în cel mai desăvârșit calm să ia o hotărâre.

Пут је узак, врата су уска и мало је оних који их нађу.

O Lord, join us intimately to one another and let our love for Thee make that bond ever stronger.

Pure in mezzo a difficoltà finanziarie sento che niente è più solido di un mestiere manuale.

Cerchiamo di non dimenticare, carissimo, che le piccole emozioni sono le grandi guide della nostra vita e che ad esse obbediamo senza saperlo.

It is always easier, particularly in what was once a deeply religious country, to erect memorials and deliver sermons than to look the angel of history directly in the face.

Uncle Cor once had asked Vincent if he would feel anything for a woman or a girl who was beautiful, 'but I said I would have more feeling for and would prefer to be involved with one who was ugly or old or impoverished or in some way unhappy, who has acquired understanding and a soul through experience of life and trial and error, or sorrow.' -Vincent Van Gogh

Without ideology, and with nothing but jobs for the boys at stake, party politics was losing its raison d’être, and trust in the old democratic order could no longer be taken for granted.

In the first place, it pleased me enormously that Theo and Mr. Tersteeg have entered into business relations in order to make the work of the painters here who are called impressionists known in Holland too.

И не надо принимать слишком близко к сердцу свои недостатки, ибо тот, у кого их нет, все же страдает одним - отсутствием недостатков; тот же, кто полагает, что достиг совершенной мудрости, хорошо сделает, если поглупеет снова.

The Dutch will tolerate anything, even intolerance. In the past few decades they have welcomed, with open arms, immigrants from around the world, including those from nations that don’t tolerate things like religious freedom and women who work or drive or show their faces. Dutch tolerance comes at a cost, as the murder of the filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a Muslim extremist highlighted. But Veenhoven’s research shows that tolerant people tend to be happy.

One night I went for a walk by the sea along the empty shore. It was not gay, but neither was it sad; it was- beautiful. The deep blue sky was flicked with clouds of a blue deeper than the fundamental blue of intense cobalt, and others of a clearer blue, like the blue whiteness of the Milky Way. On the blue depth the stars were sparkling, greenish, yellow, white, rose, brighter, flashing more like jewels than they do even in Paris. The sea was a very deep ultramarine.

Hier j'étais au soleil couchant dans une bruyère pierreuse où croissent des chênes très petits et tordus, dans le fond une ruine sur la colline, et dans le vallon du blé. C'était romantique, on ne peut davantage, à la Monticelli, le soleil versait des rayons très jaunes sur les buissons et le terrain, absolument une pluie d'or. Et toutes les lignes étaient belles, l'ensemble d'une noblesse charmante. On n'aurait pas du tout été surpris de voir surgir soudainement des cavaliers et des dames, revenant d'une chasse au faucon, ou d'entendre la voix d'un vieux troubadour provençal. Les terrains semblaient violets, les lointains bleus. J'en ai rapporté une étude d'ailleurs, mais qui reste bien en dessous de ce que j'avais voulu faire.

Güç işe girişmek iyi geliyor bana. Ama gene de - açıkça söyleyeyim mi? - korkunç bir din ihtiyacı duyuyorum - onun için de geceleri sokağa çıkıp yıldızları boyamaya gidiyorum, hep de böyle bir resim tasarlıyorum kafamda bir grup canlı arkadaş figürüyle…

He doesn’t talk about his past, or his future. He passionately wants to make something of his life, to make an offering to the world. And to his family. He doesn’t want to make letterheads! How can he be true to himself and keep the bond with his family?

Theo thought he knew the answer: Vincent was the victim of his own fanatic heart. “There’s something in the way he talks that makes people either love him or hate him,” he tried to explain. “He spares nothing and no one.” Long after others had put away the breathless manias of youth, Vincent still lived by their unsparing rules. Titanic, unappeasable passions swept through his life. “I am a fanatic!” Vincent declared in 1881. “I feel a power within me … a fire that I may not quench, but must keep ablaze.

Osecaj, cak i istancan osecaj za lepotu prirode nije jednak religioznom osecanju, mada verujem da su oba intimno povezana... gotovo svako poseduje osecaj za prirodu... ali samo malo njih oseca: Bog je duh, i onoi koji u njega veruju, moraju to ciniti i u duhu i u stvarnosti.

Ben bunların hiçbirini bilmem ama ruhunda kendini yenileyebilecek kadar enerjisi olan insana saygı göstermesini bilirim. Tanrım yaşadığımız çağ bir tembeller, ayaklar çağıdır diye yakınamayız, madem cennete pek inanamadıkları halde bu çeşit bir hayat süren bu tip inanlar yaşıyor dünyamızda.1

În sfârșit, spre marea bucurie a proprietarului, a poștașului pe care l-am și pictat, a vagabonzilor de noapte și a mea însumi, trei nopți la rând am pictat fără întrerupere, dormind în timpul zilei. Fiindcă am impresia adeseori că noaptea e mai plină de viață și mai din belșug colorată decât ziua.

I’d wish that everyone had what I’m gradually beginning to acquire, the ability to read a book easily and quickly and to retain a strong impression of it. Reading books is like looking at paintings: without doubting, without hesitating, with self-assurance, one must find beautiful that which is beautiful.

I am on the point of going to Brussels. Mr. Plugge wrote me about Vincent. He is weak and thin - it seems he was not given any prospects, and I am worried. According to Mr. Plugge’s letter, he cannot sleep and seems to be in a nervous condition. Therefore I want to go and see for myself what we should do.

Theo, I am a man with faults and errors and passions, but I don’t think I ever tried to deprive anyone of his bread or his friends. I have sometimes fought people with words, but attempting a man’s life because of a difference of opinion is not the work of an honest man - at least, these are not honest weapons.

Dichiaro solennemente di non saperne nulla, ma dico che la vista delle stelle, mi fa sognare tanto semplicemente quanto quei punti neri che nelle carte geografiche rappresentano città e villaggi. E mi dico: perché i punti luminosi del firmamento dovrebbero esserci meno accessibili che i punti neri della carta di Francia?

During the past few years he has been working at home with us; after my father’s death, Anna thought it would be more peaceful for Mother if he stopped living at home, and saw to it that he left us. He took that so badly that from then on he has not been in touch with us, and it is only through Theo that we have news of him.

And do come as soon as you possibly can! P.S. to Gauguin. If you are not ill, do please come at once. If you are too ill, a wire and a letter, please. P.S. to Theo. Perhaps you will think the P.S. to Gauguin too curt, but let him say whether or not he is ill, and anyhow he will recover better here. Have you received my canvases???

Mai lasciare estinguere il fuoco della propria anima, ma alimentarlo. E chi continua a custodire la povertà e ad amarla, possiede un grande tesoro e sentirà sempre chiara la voce della propria coscienza; chi ascolta e segue questa voce interiore, che è il maggiore dono di Dio, finirà per trovarvi un amico e non si sentirà mai solo.

According to Theo, he is definitely making a name for himself. But we are under no illusions, and are only too grateful that he is having some slight success. You don’t know what a hard life he has had, and who can say what is still in store for him. His disappointments have often made him fell bitter and have turned him into an unusual person.

Quanto più cercheremo di specializzarci in una data attività e in una data arte e adotteremo un metodo di pensare e di agire relativamente indipendente e ci atterremo a regole fisse, tanto più si rinsalderà il carattere e non per questo correremo il rischio di fossilizzarci. È saggio agire così perché la vita è breve e il tempo passa rapidamente: se ci si perfeziona in una cosa sola in modo da impadronirsene bene si acquista in più la comprensione e la conoscenza di molte altre cose. [...] Colui che preferisse la solitudine e il lavoro in raccoglimento e si accontentasse di uno scarso numero di amici, sarebbe proprio quello che, con la massima padronanza, saprebbe vivere con gli altri uomini.

La nostra nevrosi, amico mio, è un prodotto del nostro modo di vivere un po' troppo artistico; ma è anche una fatale eredità, che la civiltà rende di generazione in generazione sempre più onerosa. Se vogliamo diagnosticare lo stato del nostro temperamento dobbiamo annoverarci fra quelli che soffrono di una nevrosi la cui origine è già molto lontana.

Non mi meraviglierebbe chela tua malattia fosse una conseguenza di questo odioso inverno che è durato un'eternità. Allora dovresti prendere le mie stesse medicine: cioè quanto più aria primaverile puoi; coricati molto presto, perché è necessario dormire, abbi cura dei cibi, mangia legumi freschi e non bere vini cattivi o altri pessimi alcolici. Infine pochissime donne e moltissima pazienza.

Trebuie să înțelegi că eu, care cunoșteam deja mai multe limbi străine, eram în stare să le vin de hac lecțiilor acelora de latină etc., dar am declarat că nu pot face față unui efort atât de mare. Nu era decât un subterfugiu, deoarece în momentul acela preferam să nu le spun protectorilor mei că văd în universitate, cel puțin în facultatea de teologie, o tărășenie de nedescris, ca o pepinieră în care sunt crescuți farisei.

Deoarece există pierde-vară și pierde-vară, două tipuri care contrastează unul cu altul. Există acel tip de pierde-vară care se comportă astfel din pricina lenei și a slăbiciunii de caracter, din pricina josniciei firii sale, așa încât poți, dacă vei găsi de cuviință, să mă socotești ca atare. Există, apoi, și celălalt tip de pierde-vară, care se comportă astfel împotriva voinței sale, un ins mistuit pe dinăuntru de o nestăvilită dorință de acțiune, care nu face nimic deoarece se află în imposibilitatea de-a face ceva, fiindcă e ca și întemnițat, fiindcă nu are ceea ce i-ar trebui ca să fie productiv, fiindcă soarta potrivnică îi impune această situație; un astfel de om nu știe nici chiar el întotdeauna ce-ar putea să facă, dar simte din instinct: totuși sunt bun la ceva, presimt că am o rațiune de-a trăi! Știu c-aș putea fi un om complet diferit! La ce, oare, aș putea folosi, la ce, oare, aș putea sluji? Există ceva înlăuntrul meu, dar ce-o fi oare?

Che cosa rende straordinaria l'arte egiziana, se non che quei re, calmi e sereni, saggi e miti, pazienti, buoni sembrano non poter essere diversi da quello che sono, cioè agricoltori che adorano in eterno il sole? Gli artisti egiziani con la loro grande fede, lavorando di sentimento e d'istinto, sono riusciti ad esprimere tutte queste cose inafferrabili (la bontà, la pazienza infinita, la saggezza, la serenità) soltanto con qualche curva sapiente governata da proporzioni meravigliose.

Per il momento tutte le mie faccende a quanto pare vanno male, e ciò è già avvenuto per un periodo di tempo non trascurabile; questo potrà durare ancora per un periodo di durata più o meno lunga, ma può accadere che, quando tutto sembra andare di traverso, vada poi bene in un secondo tempo. Non ci faccio più conto, forse non succederà mai, ma nel caso che avvenga qualche cambiamento in meglio, farò conto di aver tutto guadagnato, ne sarò contento, dirò: «Finalmente! allora vuol dire che c'era qualcosa».

Anch'io dunque spero di non perdere di vista mai una sola cosa, e cioè che si tratta di arrivare camminando sugli zoccoli; e cioè, in sostanza, che si tratta sempre d'essere contenti di avere da mangiare, da bere, da dormire e da vestirsi, di contentarsi, insomma, di quanto basta ai contadini. Bisogna esprimere il contadino nella sua azione, ecco, lo ripeto ancora, con una figura essenzialmente moderna, che sia il centro anzi dell'arte moderna, come né i Greci, né la Rinascenza, né gli Olandesi antichi hanno mai fatto.

Ceea ce demonstrează destul de bine că, dacă vrem să luăm în considerare starea reală a temperamentului nostru, trebuie să recunoaștem că locul nostru se află printre cei care suferă de-o nevroză care vine de departe. Cred că Gruby are dreptate când vine vorba de asemenea cazuri: să mănânci bine, să trăiești bine, să fii cumpătat când e vorba de femei, într-un cuvânt, să trăiești încă dinainte ca și cum ai avea deja o maladie cerebrală și o maladie a măduvei, fără a pune la socoteală și nevroza pe care o ai în mod sigur.

The concern about Vincent oppresses us heavily. I foresee that again a bomb is going to burst. It is apparent that the beginning of his studies are disappointing to him, and his heart seems to be torn by conflicting forces. He has now tied up connections with English and French clergymen of ultra-orthodox views - and as a result the number of faults in his work has increased again. I am afraid he has no idea what studying means, and now I fear the remedy he will choose will be again a proposal for a change, for instance to become a catechist! But that doesn’t bring in any bread! We sit and wait, and it is like the calm before the storm

Così mi trovo sempre nel corso di due correnti di idee; la prima sono le difficoltà materiali, questo girarsi e rigirarsi per crearsi faticosamente un'esistenza; e la seconda, lo studio del colore. Non perderò mai la speranza di riuscire a scoprire qualcosa lì dentro. Poter esprimere l'amore di due innamorati mediante l'accoppiamento, il miscuglio e la opposizione di due complementari, mediante le vibrazioni misteriose dei toni ravvicinati. Poter esprimere il pensiero di una fronte con lo splendore di un tono chiaro su sfondo scuro. Poter esprimere ancora la speranza per mezzo di una stella; l'ardore di un essere, con gli ultimi sprazzi di un tramonto. Sembra un trucco realista; e non è invece qualcosa che realmente esiste?

Van Gogh completed two series of still life paintings of sunflowers. The earlier series was executed in Paris in 1887, depicting the flowers lying on the ground, while the second series was undertaken a year later in Arles, portraying bouquets of sunflowers in a vase. Van Gogh had hoped to welcome and impress his artist friend Gauguin with a Sunflowers work, which he hung in the guestroom of his Yellow House where Gauguin stayed. In a letter to his brother Theo, van Gogh wrote, “It is a kind of painting that rather changes in character, and takes on a richness the longer you look at it. Besides, you know, Gauguin likes them extraordinarily. He said to me among other things, ‘That...it’s...the flower.’ You know that the peony is Jeannin’s, the hollyhock belongs to Quost, but the sunflower is somewhat my own.

A me basterebbe che si trovasse qualcosa che ci rendesse tranquilli e ci consolasse senza più sentirci colpevoli o sventurati. E che tuttavia ci consentisse di camminare senza mai allontanarci dalla solitudine o dal nulla e senza dover temere o dover calcolare nervosamente ad ogni passo il male, che anche senza volerlo, potremmo cagionare agli altri. Quel bel tipo di Giotto, il biografo del quale afferma che era sempre sofferente e tuttavia pieno di ardore e di idee, ecco, vorrei poter arrivare a uno stato come il suo, che rende felici allegri e pulsanti in tutte le occasioni. Però è più facile raggiungerlo stando in campagna o in una piccola cittadina, piuttosto che in questa fornace parigina. Non mi stupirebbe che tu preferissi La notte stellata e I campi arati perché in esse c'è una calma superiore a quella delle altre tele.

Oh might I be shown the way to devote my life more completely to the service of God and the Gospel. I keep praying for it and I think I shall be heard, I say it in all humility. Humanly speaking, one would say it cannot happen, but when I think seriously about it and penetrate under the surface of what is impossible to man, then my soul is in communion with God, for it is possible to Him, who speaks and it is done; who commands and it stands fast. Oh! Theo, Theo boy, if I might only succeed in this, if that heavy depression because everything I undertook failed, that torrent of reproaches which I have heard and felt, if it might be taken from me, and if there might be given to me both the opportunity and the strength needed to come to full development and to persevere in that course for which my father and I would thank the Lord so fervently.

The sacred icons of Dutch society were broken in the 1960s, as elsewhere in the Western world, when the churches lost their grip on people’s lives, when government authority was something to challenge, not obey, when sexual taboos were publicly and privately breached, and when—rather in line with the original Enlightenment—people opened their eyes and ears to civilizations outside the West. The rebellions of the 1960s contained irrational, indeed antirational, and sometimes violent strains, and the fashion for such far-flung exotica as Maoism sometimes turned into a revolt against liberalism and democracy. One by one the religious and political pillars that supported the established order of the Netherlands were cut away. The tolerance of other cultures, often barely understood, that spread with new waves of immigration, was sometimes just that—tolerance—and sometimes sheer indifference, bred by a lack of confidence in values and institutions that needed to be defended.

Completed in Arles late in 1888 and now housed in the National Gallery, London, this painting depicts the artist’s humble chair and pipe. The work was completed shortly after Gauguin’s departure from the Yellow House. The two artists had quarrelled bitterly, causing Gauguin to write to Theo, “The incompatibility of both our characters means that Vincent and I cannot live together peacefully. It is imperative that I leave.” Vincent was devastated, seeing his dreams of establishing an artists’ commune with Gauguin shatter and disappear. In response, he painted his and Gauguin’s empty chairs, symbolising the loneliness and isolation that he felt. Van Gogh’s wooden chair is more modest, with the pipe and tobacco adding to its humble image; whilst Gauguin’s more elaborate chair, holding a book and candle, suggests learning and ambition. Van Gogh’s choice of colours for his chair include yellow and violet, hinting at daylight and a metaphorical idea of hope for the future. In contrast, Gauguin’s chair is depicted in darker colours of red and green, which along with the candle, enforce the idea of night-time. Together, the pictures represent day and night, with the painting of Gauguin’s chair suggesting that the absent friend had brought light and happiness to van Gogh’s evenings.

That is why I would ask you to consider not going to Holland this year; the journey is always very, very expensive, and it never does any good. Yes, it will surely delight Mother, who will like to see the little one - but she will understand, and will prefer the well-being of the little one to the pleasure of seeing him. Besides, she would lose nothing, she will see him later. But - without daring to say that this is enough - however it may be, it is certainly preferable that father, mother and child should take a month of absolute rest in the country. On the other hand, I very much fear that I too was distressed, and I think it strange that I do not in the least know under what conditions I left - if it is at 150 francs a month paid in three installments, as before. Theo fixed nothing and so to begin with I left in confusion. Would there be a way of meeting each other again more calmly? I hope so, but I fear that the journey to Holland will be the last straw for all of us. I always foresee that the child will suffer later on for being brought up in the city. Does Jo think this exaggerated? I hope so, but anyway I think that one ought to be cautious all the same. And I say what I think, because you quite understand that I take an interest in my little nephew and am anxious for his well-being: since you were good enough to name him after me, I should like him to have a less troubled soul than mine, which is foundering.

Sembra che nel libro “La mia religione”, Tolstoj insinui che si sarà accanto ad una violenta rivoluzione una rivoluzione intima e segreta nell'intimo delle persone, da cui verrà fuori una nuova religione o piuttosto qualcosa di completamente nuovo che non avrà un nome definito e pure avrà lo stesso effetto, di consolare e di rendere la vita possibile, il che spettava in altri tempi alla religione cristiana. [...] Come ci si arriverà? Sarebbe straordinario poterlo già predire; ma è certo preferibile avere simili intuizioni che vedere nell'avvenire nient'altro che catastrofi; anche se queste, tuttavia, potranno abbattersi come terribili fulmini sul mondo moderno e sulla civiltà, traverso una rivoluzione, una guerra o la bancarotta degli stati in disfacimento. Se studiamo l'arte giapponese, ci troviamo di fronte a persone incontestabilmente sagge, amanti della filosofia e intelligenti, le quali trascorrono il loro tempo non a calcolare la distanza dalla terra alla luna, né a definire la politica di Bismark, ma a compiere studi su di un sol filo di erba. Ma questo filo di erba li porta poi a disegnare tutte le piante e quindi le stagioni, le grandi linee del paesaggio, gli animali e infine la figura umana. Così trascorre la sua vita l'artista giapponese e la vita gli sembra troppo breve per riuscire a fare tutto. Quel che ci insegnano questi giapponesi tanto semplici e che vivono nella natura come se essi fossero dei fiori, ha molto di una vera religione. E non si potrebbe, mi sembra, studiare l'arte giapponese senza diventare molto più gai e più felici. Occorre rifarci alla natura a dispetto della nostra educazione e del nostro lavoro impostato in un mondo di convenzioni.

Od trenutka kada pocnemo da se trudimo da zivimo iskreno, sve ce biti dobro, mada cemo neizbezno prolaziti kroz teske patnje i istinska razocaranja; verovatno cemo ciniti i krupne greske, pa i losa dela, ali cinjenica je da je bolje imati vatren duh, makar zbog njega vise gresili, nego biti uskogruf i previse oprezan. Treba voleti sto vise mozemo, jer u ljubvi pociva istinska snaga, a onaj koji mnogo voli sposoban je za velika dela i ono sto se cini iz ljubavi, dobro je; kada nam se mnogo svidi neka knjiga, to je zato sto su te knjige pisane od srca, u jednostavnosti duha. Bolje je izgovoriti svega nekoliko reci, ali koje imaju smisao, nego mnogo onih koje su samo suplji zvuci i cija je lakoca izgovaranja u srazmeri sa njihovom beskorisnoscu. Ako nastavimo iskreno da volimo ono sto je zaista dostojno ljubavi, postacemo prosvetljeni i jaci. Sto pre pokusavamo da se osposobimo u nekoj oblasti, nekom zanatu i usvojimo relativno nezavisan nacin misljenja i delanja, to ce jaci postati nas karakter, a necemo zbog toga postati ograniceni. Mudro je ciniti ove stvari, jer zivot je kratak i vreme brzo prodje; ako se usavrsimo u samo jednoj stvari i dobro je shvatimo, to nam onmogucava da shvatimo i mnoge druge stvari. (...) Nikada ne smemo dopustiti da zgasne plamen u nasoj dusi, moramo ga stalno odrzavati. A onaj kome je i dalje drago vlastito siromastvo poseduje veliko blago i uvek ce jasno cuti glas svoje savesti; onaj koji slusa i sledi taj unutrasnji glas, koji je najlepsi boziji dar, na kraju ce pronaci prijatelja i nikada nije sam... Neka to bude nasa sudbina, decace moj, neka te uspeh prati na tvom putu i neka Bog bude s tobom i omoguci ti da uspes, to je ono sto ti zelim, srdacno se rukujuci s tobom dok polazis. Voli te tvoj brat, Vinsent

One rainy summer's day in 2007, I had the opportunity to visit a village on the bank of a river where Van Gogh spent his final days. Walking through a field of wheat, I came to a quiet village cemetery. The artist shot himself in the chest at the age of 37. He had sold only one painting while he was alive. Next to him lies his brother Theo, who died just six months after him. After leaving Van Gogh's very tiny room on the second story of the Auberge Ravoux, I walked on and on, down the country road. The rain stopped and the sunflowers swayed in the breeze.

Me pregunto por qué los brillantes puntitos del cielo no nos resultan tan asequibles como los puntos negros que llenan el mapa de Francia. Cogemos un tren para ir de Tarascón a Ruán, pero para llegar hasta una estrella hemos de morir. Sin duda, hay algo cierto en este razonamiento: no podemos alcanzar estrella alguna mientras sigamos vivos, igual que ya no podemos coger el tren una vez muertos. (Vincent Van Gogh, en una carta a tu hermano Theo).

keep on making what I can’t do yet in order to learn to be able to do it.

Just a few months before his fateful train trip, Theo had sent a grateful note to the first critic who dared to praise his brother’s work: “You have read these pictures, and by doing so you very clearly saw the man.

What is drawing?" Vincent van Gogh asked in an 1882 letter to his brother Theo. "How does one learn 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 to get 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.

Theo van Gogh was well known in the Netherlands, both as a descendant of the famous painter who shared his surname and as a critic of Islam even more provocative than Fortuyn.

after the first year. But he has decided he doesn’t want to go to school anymore. We don’t know why, but he’s done. Back home in Zundert, he spends his time as he used to when he was a boy. He reads, he walks on the moors, in the fields. He’s content. But he can’t stay home forever. Ma and Pa want Vincent to go out into the world, get a job. It is time for him to support himself, and maybe soon, help the family. Dorus and Anna and Dorus’s brother Vincent, Uncle Cent, will

As summer turns to fall, Vincent, at twenty-six, is alone.

(p. 59) In a letter to Theo he wrote around 28 October 1885, Van Gogh explained at great length how he saw nature and how he tried to use color to express an enormous diversity of mood. Van Gogh studied nature (and the landscape), he wrote, "so as not to do anything silly" [537]. He did, though, reserve the freedom not to work exactly from nature, not to follow it "slavishly", when it came to color, and to use different colors, for "COLOUR EXPRESSES SOMETHING IN ITSELF. One can't do without it; one must make use of it. What looks beautiful, really beautiful — is also right.

(p. 129) When Van Gogh began in September 1889 at the asylum in Saint-Rémy to entertain ideas of returning to the north, he wrote to Theo: "You know that I came the south and threw myself into work for a thousand reasons. To want to see another light, to believe that looking at nature under a brighter sky can give us a more accurate idea of the Japanese way of feeling and drawing. Wanting, finally, to see this stronger sun, because one feels that without knowing it one couldn't understand the paintings of Delacroix from the point of view of execution, technique, and because one feels that the colors of the prism are veiled in mist in the north. All of this remains somewhat true" [801].