Van Gogh on his life’s mission
From one of Van Gogh’s letters to his beloved brother Theo:
What am I in the eyes of most people – a nonentity, an eccentric or an unpleasant person – somebody who has no position in society and never will have, in short, the lowest of the low.
All right, then – even if that were absolutely true, then I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart.
That is my ambition, based less on resentment than on love malgré tout [in spite of everything], based more on a feeling of serenity than on passion.
Though I am often in the depths of misery, there is still calmness, pure harmony and music inside me. I see paintings or drawings in the poorest cottages, in the dirtiest comers. And my mind is driven towards these things with an irresistible momentum.
I’m a writer (largely unpublished as of this writing), not a painter; but I can identify.
Neo,
Thank you – so much – for posting this.
Thank you for this. My best friend since childhood has always loved VanGogh, first for his art and later for the writings he left behind. I shared the link with her.
In return, I share this link about previously-unreleased Robert Frost recordings (on the odd chance you haven’t seen it):
https://jacket2.org/commentary/new-pennsound-previously-unreleased-robert-frost
I love Van Gogh, and his writings only make me appreciate his paintings more. I can only pray, in the after world, Van Gogh was able to see how much his works touched the world, it had to help his tortured soul.
Thank you for posting this! I am always intrigued by the dichotomy of Van Gogh’s vision vs the disinterest of his time and the subsequent embrace of his work as the most popular and beloved of artists. In his isolation from the conventional and academic strictures of his era he was able to express a seemingly universal humanity.
Edgar Allen Poe wrote some words–well worth reading–on the theme “My Heart Laid Bare.” Maybe Van Gogh came as close as anyone to painting that.
What am I in the eyes of most people — a nonentity, an eccentric or an unpleasant person — somebody who has no position in society and never will have, in short, the lowest of the low.
that pretty much describes me…
except that i doubt my paintings, art, science stuff, chip designs and so on will go anywhere…
just waiting to die…