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!

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

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.

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

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

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

…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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

The world would not have Vincent without Theo.

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

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

Mi occorre anche una notte stellata con dei cipressi,

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

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

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.

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.

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

Aștept în cel mai desăvârșit calm să ia o hotărâre.

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

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

எனக்கு கிட்டத்தட்ட முப்பது வயது ஆகிவிட்டது. காதல் என்ற ஒன்று எனக்கு அவசியம் வேண்டும் என்று நான் ஏங்கித் திரிவதை உன்னால் உணர முடிகிறதா?

அவளைச் சந்தித்த பிறகு, என் படைப்புகள் மேலும் சிறப்பானவையாக இருக்கின்றன என்ற உண்மையையும் நான் இங்கு ஒத்துக்கொள்ள வேண்டும்.

வெகு சீக்கிரமே உன் கடிதம் வரும் என்று எதிர்பார்க்கிறேன். இந்தக் கடிதத்தின் தபால் தலைக்காக என்னிடமிருந்த கடைசி காசையும் செலவழித்து விட்டேன்.

சில நேரங்களில் இந்தப் பாழாய்ப் போன ஓவியம் வரைவதற்காக என் மீதே எனக்கு வெறுப்பு உண்டாகி விடுகிறது.

உங்களுக்கு நான் பெரிய அளவில் இல்லையென்றாலும், சிறிதளவிலாவது சுமையாக இருக்கிறேனோ என்றும், அதனால் என்னை நீங்கள் விலக்கி வைப்பீர்களோ என்றுகூட பல நேரங்களில் நான் பயப்படுகிறேன்.

நான் பார்த்த வியாபாரிகளைப் போல உள்ள மனிதன் நீ இல்லை. உன் பாதையை நீயே தேர்ந்தெடுத்துக் கொண்டாய் - முடிந்தவரை மனிதாபிமானத்துடன் இருப்பது என்று. ஆனால், அதற்குரிய பலன் என்ன?

அவர்கள் என்னை வெளியேறும்படி கூறுகிறார்கள். அங்கு நான் ஏதாவது சேதம் உண்டாக்கலாமா என்று பார்க்கிறேன். ஆனால், அதை செய்யும் மனம்தான் எனக்கு இல்லை.

என்னுடைய முழுமையில்லாத ஓவியங்களில்கூட பாராட்டக்கூடிய அம்சங்கள் பலவும் இருக்கத்தான் செய்கின்றன.

அப்பா பத்து கில்டாருக்கு போஸ்டல் ஆர்டர் அனுப்பியிருந்தார். அதோடு சேர்ந்து நீ அனுப்பியிருந்த பணமும் வந்தது. இதை வைத்து நான் கொஞ்சம் படங்களை வரையலாம்.

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.

இப்போதிருக்கும் என்னுடைய மனநிலையில் நான் பாரீஸுக்கு வருகிறேன் என்று வைத்துக்கொள். ஒரு கருப்பு படத்திற்கும் பிரகாசமான இம்ப்ரஸனிஸ்ட் ஓவியத்திற்கும் எந்த வித்தியாசத்தையும் இப்போது என்னால் பார்க்க முடியாது.

நாம் வரையும் ஓவியம் மிகப்பெரிய பாராட்டையும் வெற்றியையும் பெற்றாலும்கூட, அதற்காக நாம் செலவழித்த பணம் கூட நமக்கு திரும்பி வருவதில்லை என்பதை நினைத்துப் பார்க்கும்போது மனதில் உண்மையிலேயே விரக்திதான் உண்டாகிறது.

உன்னுடைய உதவியும் கருணையும் எந்தவித காரணத்தைக் கொண்டும் என்னைவிட்டு விலகிப் போய்விடக்கூடாது. இந்த உலகமே எதிர்த்து நின்றாலும் நம் இருவருக்குமிடையில் இருக்கும் நெருக்கம் எப்போதும் தொடர்ந்து கொண்டே இருக்க வேண்டும்.

என் வழியில் நான் பார்த்த விஷயங்களை வைத்து பல ஓவியங்களை வரைய என் மனம் விழைகிறது. ஆனால், அவற்றை வரைவதாக இருந்தால், என்னுடைய அன்றாட வேலைகள் மிகவும் பாதிக்கப்படும் என்பதால், அவற்றை ஆரம்பிக்காமல் இருப்பதே நல்லதென்று நினைக்கிறேன்.

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.

கண்களைத் திறந்து வைத்துக் கொண்டு ஒரு மனிதன் இருந்தால், பார்க்கும் எல்லாமே இங்கு அழகாகத்தான் இருக்கின்றன. ஆனால், அந்தக் கண்களில் ஒரு உயிர்ப்பு இருக்க வேண்டும். அது முக்கியம். அது மட்டும் இருந்தால், கண்களில் தெரியும் எல்லாமே அழகானவைதாம்.

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.

Derwatt was from some dreary northern industrial town, Tom forgot which. It was the talking up that had done it, Tom realized. Curious. But then van Gogh had suffered from the lack of talking up. Who had talked Vincent up? No one, maybe only Theo.

நான் மருத்துவமனையை விட்டு வெளியே வந்தபிறகு என்னுடைய பழைய பாதையில் திரும்பவும் நான் நடை போட வேண்டும். மீண்டும் நல்ல காலம் பிறக்கும் என்ற நம்பிக்கை எனக்கு இருக்கிறது. மலர்கள் பூத்துக் குலுங்கும் தோட்டத்தில் அமர்ந்து நான் மீண்டும் ஓவியம் வரைய வேண்டும்.

Hemos visto una viña roja, toda roja como el vino rojo. En la lejanía se volvía amarilla y después un cielo verde con un sol, terrenos, después de la lluvia, violetas y centelleantes de amarillo por aquí y por allá, donde se reflejaba el sol poniente.

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.

நீ இங்கிருந்து போன பிறகு நான்கு ஓவியங்களை வரைந்தேன். தற்போது என் கைவசம் ஒரு பெரிய ஓவியம் இருக்கிறது. பெரிய ஓவியங்களைப் பொதுவாக விற்பனை செய்வது மிகவும் சிரமமான காரியம் என்பதை உணர்கிறேன். ஆனால், எதிர்காலத்தில் அதற்கு நல்ல வரவேற்பு இருக்கும் என்று நினைக்கிறேன்.

நீ எப்போதாவது காதல் வலையில் விழ நேர்ந்து, நீ காதலிக்கும் பெண் ‘நான் உன்னை ஒருபோதும் காதலிக்கவில்லை, காதலிக்கவும் மாட்டேன்’ என்று சொல்வாளேயானால், அதற்காக நீ கவலைப்படாதே. ஆனால், நீ அதிர்ஷ்டசாலி. உனக்கு அத்தகைய நிலை எப்போதும் உண்டாகாது என்று எனக்கு நன்றாகவே தெரியும்.

Esta mañana he trabajado en un vergel de ciruelos en flor; de pronto, ha comenzado a soplar un viento formidable, un efecto que yo no había visto jamás hasta aquí y que volvía por intervalos. De tiempo en tiempo, el sol, que hacía resplandecer todas las florecillas blancas.

நான் மிகவும் கஷ்டப்பட்டு வரைந்து கொண்டிருக்கிறேன். படிப்படியாக நான் முன்னேறுகிறேன் என்பதை நீ நம்பு. முன்பைவிட நான் இப்போது பிரஷ்ஷை அதிகமாக பயன்படுத்துகிறேன். இங்கு மிகவும் குளிர்ச்சியாக இருக்கிறது. வேலைக்காரி, கூடை பின்னும் மனிதன் போன்றவர்களை அறைக்குள் அமர்ந்துகொண்டே வரைகிறேன்.

வாழ்க்கை சாதாரணமாக போய்க் கொண்டிருக்கிறது என்பதற்காக நீ வருத்தப்படாதே. என் வாழ்க்கை கூட அப்படித்தான் போய்க் கொண்டிருக்கிறது. வாழ்க்கை என்பது நீண்டது. வெகு சீக்கிரம் ஒரு நல்ல நேரம் வந்து சேரும். அப்போது அந்த நேரம் உன்னை நீ நினைத்துப் பார்க்க முடியாத உயரத்திற்குக் கொண்டு செல்லும்.

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.

இந்த சமூகத்தில் ஒரு பெண் தனியாக இருக்கக்கூடாது. பாதிக்கப்பட்ட நிலையில் இருக்கும் பெண்களுக்கு இந்த உலகம் உதவி செய்வதைவிட காலில் போட்டு நசுக்கவே முயற்சி செய்கிறது. ஒரு பெண் சந்தர்ப்ப சூழ்நிலையால் தரையில் விழுந்து கிடந்தால், அவள் மேல் வண்டியை ஏற்றி சாகடிக்கத்தான் இங்குள்ள ஒவ்வொருவரும் நினைக்கிறார்கள்.

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.

La lucha con la naturaleza tiene muchas veces algo de lo que Shakespeare llama taming the shrew (es decir: vencer a aquello que resiste, por medio de la tenacidad, "de buen o mal grado"). con respecto a muchas cosa, pero muy especialmente para el dibujo, yo creo que "apretar demasiado vale más que aflojar".

நான் உனக்கு அதிக சுமையாக இருக்கக் கூடாதென்று எண்ணுகிறேன். எதிர்காலத்தில் அது ஓரளவுக்கு சாத்தியமாகும் என்றும் நினைக்கிறேன். அந்த அளவுக்கு ஒரு வளர்ச்சியை நான் அடைவேன் என்ற நம்பிக்கை இருக்கிறது. எந்தவித பாரபட்சமும் பார்க்காமல், என் ஓவியங்களை நீயே பாராட்டக்கூடிய அளவிற்கு நான் வளர்வேன் என்ற நம்பிக்கை எனக்கு இருக்கிறது.

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?

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.

நானும் பைபிளை அவ்வப்போது வாசிக்கிறேன். மிச்லே அல்லது பால்ஸாக் அல்லது எலியட்டை எப்படி படிக்கிறேனோ அந்த மாதிரிதான் பைபிளையும் படிக்கிறேன். அப்பா வாழ்க்கையில் எப்படி நடந்து கொள்கிறாரோ அதிலிருந்து மிகவும் மாறுபட்ட பல விஷயங்களை நான் பைபிளில் பார்க்கிறேன். அப்பா அதிலிருந்து என்ன எடுத்துக் கொண்டிருக்கிறாரோ, அதை என்னால் பைபிளில் பார்க்கவே முடியவில்லை.

இயற்கையின் வனப்பு என்னை மிகவும் பாதித்துவிட்டிருந்தாலும், நான் இன்னும் வேலையை ஆரம்பிக்கவில்லை. காரணம் - நல்ல ஒரு மாடல் எனக்கு கிடைக்காததே. பாதி விளைந்திருக்கும் சோள வயல்கள் அடர்த்தியான பொன் நிறத்தில் ஜொலித்துக் கொண்டிருக்கின்றன. வானத்தின் நீல வர்ணத்திற்கு ஏற்றபடி இந்தப் பொன்நிறத்தை எந்த அளவுக்கு வேண்டுமானாலும் ஓவியத்தில் அதிகமாக்கிக் காட்டலாம்.

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.

நான் அப்பாவைப் பற்றி நினைத்துப் பார்க்கிறேன். இரவு நேரங்களில் கூட நீண்ட தூரம் கையில் விளக்குடன் நடந்து சென்று நோய் வாய்ப்பட்ட மனிதர்களையும், மரணத்தின் பிடியில் சிக்கிக் கிடக்கும் மனிதனையும் போய்ப் பார்த்து அவர்களிடம் கடவுளைப் பற்றி அவர் பேசிக் கொண்டிருப்பதை என் மனம் அசைபோட்டுப் பார்க்கிறது. அப்படிப்பட்ட ஒருவர் ரெம்ப்ராண்டின் ‘தி ஃப்ளைட் டூ ஈஜிபட் இன் தி நைட்’, ‘பரியல் ஆஃப் ஜீசஸ்’ போன்ற ஓவியங்களைப் பார்க்கும்போது என்ன நினைப்பார்? ட்ரிப்பென்ஹ்யூவில் இருக்கும் அந்த ஓவியங்கள் மிகவும் உன்னதமானவை.

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.

நான் தீவிரமாக ஓவியம் வரைவதில் ஈடுபட்டிருக்கும்போது, கலையைப் பற்றி எனக்கு அளவில்லாத நம்பிக்கை உண்டாகிறது. என்னால் நிச்சயம் வெற்றி பெற முடியும் என்ற திடமான எண்ணமும் எனக்கு ஏற்படுகிறது. அதேசமயம் என்னுடைய உடல்நலத்திற்கு ஏதாவது கேடு உண்டானாலோ அல்லது பொருளாதார ரீதியாக நான் பாதிக்கப்பட்டுவிட்டாலோ, எனக்குள்ளிருக்கும் அந்த நம்பிக்கை இருந்த இடம் தெரியாமல் போய் மறைந்துவிடுகிறது. என்னுடைய மனதில் அப்போது பலவித சந்தேகங்களும் வந்து புகுந்து கொள்கின்றன. நான் உடனடியாக ஓவியம் வரைவதில் உட்காருவதன் மூலம் அந்த அவநம்பிக்கையை வெற்றி கொள்ள முயல்கிறேன்.

செயல் வடிவில் பல விஷயங்களை நான் நடைமுறைப்படுத்த வேண்டியிருக்கிறது. முதல் காரியமாக நான் ஒரு பெரிய அறையைப் பார்க்க வேண்டும். அப்படி ஒரு அறை கிடைத்தால்தான் நான் தூரத்தில் அமர்ந்து படம் வரைய முடியும். என்னுடைய ஓவியங்களைப் பார்த்த மவ் சொன்னார்- ‘நீ உன்னுடைய மாடலுக்கு மிகவும் அருகில் அமர்ந்திருக்கிறாய்’ என்று. இந்த விஷயம் எனக்கு பல விதத்திலும் இடைஞ்சலாக இருப்பதையும், சரியான அளவு படத்தில் சில நேரங்களில் வராமல் போவதையும் என்னால் உணர முடிகிறது. இந்த விஷயத்தை உடனடியாக நான் கவனித்தே ஆக வேண்டும். அதனால்தான் சொல்கிறேன், உடனடியாக நான் ஒரு பெரிய அறையை எங்காவது கண்டுபிடித்து வாடகைக்கு எடுத்தே ஆக வேண்டுமென்று.

இப்போதிருப்பதைவிட சிறந்த ஒரு இடத்தை வாடகைக்கு எடுத்து என்னால் படம் வரைய முடியும் என்றும், இப்போது பயன்படுத்துவதைவிட சிறந்த பெயின்ட்டையும் சிறந்த தாளையும் நான் இனிமேல் பயன்படுத்தப் போவதாகவும் மவ்விடம் கூறியிருக்கிறேன். படம் வரைவதற்கு இங்க்ரெஸ் தாள் நன்றாகவே இருக்கிறது. கடைகளில் ஏற்கனவே தயார் பண்ணி வைத்திருக்கும் புத்தகங்களை வாங்குவதை விட நானே வரைந்து ஸ்கெட்ச் புத்தகங்களாக வைத்துக் கொள்வது மிகவும் விலைக் குறைவாக இருக்கிறது. என்னிடம் கொஞ்சம் இங்க்ரெஸ் தாள்கள் இருக்கின்றன. என்னுடைய ஓவியங்களைத் திருப்பி அனுப்புகிறபோது, அவற்றுடன் இங்க்ரெஸ் தாள்களையும் சேர்த்து அனுப்பி வைத்தால் உதவியாக இருக்கும். அதற்காக வெள்ளை நிறத்தில் அந்த தாள்கள் இருக்க வேண்டும் என்ற அவசியமில்லை.

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.

என்னுடைய இதயத்தில் இருக்கும் ஒரு விஷயத்தை நான் உன்னிடம் சொல்லியே ஆக வேண்டும். ஒரு விதத்தில் பார்க்கப் போனால், இந்த விஷயம் உனக்கு ஏற்கனவே நன்கு தெரிந்ததுதான், புதிதான ஒன்றுமல்ல. இந்தக் கோடையில் கீ மீது எனக்கு ஒரு ஆழமான காதல் பிறந்துவிட்டது என்பதை உன்னிடம் சொல்ல நான் பிரியப்படுகிறேன். என் காதலை அவளிடம் வெளிப்படுத்தியபோது அதை அவள் ஏற்றுக் கொள்ள மறுத்துவிட்டாள். கடந்த காலம், எதிர்காலம் எல்லாமே தனக்கு ஒன்றுதான் என்கிறாள் அவள். அவள் அப்படிச் சொன்ன பிறகு எனக்கு என்ன செய்வது என்றே தெரியவில்லை. அவள் என் காதலை ஒரேயடியாக மறுத்துவிட்டாள் என்பதை ஏற்றுக்கொண்டு வெறுமனே இருந்துவிடுவதா, இல்லாவிட்டால் அவள் இன்னும் சரியான முடிவெடுக்கவில்லை என்று நினைத்து, மேலும் நம்பிக்கையை மனதில் வைத்துக்கொண்டு என் காதலைக் காற்றில் பறக்கவிடாமல் இருப்பதா? இன்னும் நம்பிக்கையுடன் இருப்பதே நல்ல ஒரு விஷயமாக இருக்கும் என்ற எண்ணத்துடன் என் காதலை மனதிற்குள்ளேயே வைத்துக் கொண்டு நான் நாட்களை ஓட்டிக் கொண்டிருக்கிறேன்.

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.

மாதக் கணக்கில் ஏகப்பட்ட கஷ்டங்களை அனுபவித்துவிட்டு மார்ச் மாதத்தில் மவ்வை நான் சந்தித்தபோது, நன்கு விலை போகக்கூடிய ஓவியங்களை இனிமேல் நான் வரைவேன் என்று அவர் சொன்னார். ஆனால், இங்கோ நிலைமை மிகவும் மோசமாக இருக்கிறது. மாடலுக்கான சம்பளம், ஸ்டுடியோ, ஓவியம் வரைய பயன்படுத்தும் பெயிண்ட் மற்றும் இதர பொருட்களின் விலை எல்லாமே மிகவும் அதிகமாக இருக்கின்றன. நான் எதுவுமே சம்பாதிக்கவில்லை என்பதுதான் உண்மை. அத்தியாவசிய செலவுகளைப் பற்றி நான் கவலையே பட வேண்டாம் என்று அப்பாகூட கூறினார். மவ் நான் கொண்டு சென்ற ஓவியங்களைப் பற்றி சொன்ன அபிப்ராயத்தைக் கேட்டு அப்பாவுக்கு உண்டான மகிழ்ச்சிக்கு அளவே இல்லை. ஆனால், அப்பா இதற்காக செலவழிக்க வேண்டி இருக்கிறதே என்பதை நினைத்துப் பார்க்கும்போதுதான் மனதிற்கு மிகவும் வருத்தமாக இருக்கிறது. நிலைமை வெகு விரைவில் சரியாகும் என்ற நம்பிக்கை இருக்கிறது. எனினும், மனதில் என்னவோ பாரம் போட்டு அழுத்தவே செய்கிறது. நான் இங்கு வந்ததிலிருந்து என்னால் அப்பாவுக்கு எந்த விதத்திலும் லாபம் இல்லை என்பதே உண்மை. பலமுறை எனக்காக அவர் கோட், கால்சட்டை என்று எதையாவது வாங்கித் தந்து கொண்டுதான் இருக்கிறார். எனக்கு அவை தேவையாகவும் இருக்கின்றன. அதே நேரத்தில் எனக்காக அவர் பணம் செலவழிப்பதைப் பார்க்கும்போது மனதில் கவலைதான் உண்டாகிறது. வாழ்க்கையின் மிகவும் தர்மசங்கடமான விஷயங்கள் இவை என்பதை நான் உணராமல் இல்லை.

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.