Quotessence
Home / Authors / Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh Quotes

Painter

Filter quotes by topic

AllArtIfsPaintingArtistKnowsFeelsWantPainterThinkingMenWellsColorMayPaintPeopleWayDrawingImpressiveHeartLove

Famous Vincent Van Gogh Quotes

“I believe that it may happen that one will succeed, and one must not begin to despair, even though defeated here and there; and even though one sometimes feels a kind of decay, though things go differently from the expected, it is necessary to take heart again and new courage. For the great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together. And great things are not something accidental, but must certainly be willed. What is drawing? 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.”

FeelsBelieveHeartKindMayDoeSometimesDoneSeemsHappensTogetherI BelieveCan DoWallSucceedDespairSeriesExpectedDrawingInvisibleGreat ThingsImpulseIronDecayDefeatedSmall ThingsHere And There
Author:Vincent Van Gogh
Create image

“When I have a model who is quiet and steady and with whom I am acquainted, then I draw repeatedly 'til there is one drawing that is different from the rest, which does not look like an ordinary study, but more typical and with more feeling.”

LooksDoeDifferentFeelingsStudyQuietModelsDrawsOrdinaryDrawingSteadyTypical
Book:Letters to an artist: from Vincent van Gogh to Anton ridder van Rappard, 1881-1885
Create image

“But I must work on in full calmness and serenity... The world concerns me only in so far as I feel a certain debt and duty towards it, because I have walked on the earth for thirty years, and out of gratitude want to leave some souvenir in the shape of drawings or pictures, not made to please a certain tendency in art, but to express a sincere human feeling. So this work is the aim-and through concentration upon that one idea, everything one does is simplified. Now the work goes slowly-a reason the more to lose no time.”

WorldWantFeelsYearsHumansDoeArtMadeIdeasReasonFeelingsEarthCertainLosesDutyGratitudePleaseShapesConcernAimDebtDrawingTendenciesThirtyConcentrationSincereSerenityCalmnessThirty YearsSouvenirs
Author:Vincent Van Gogh
Create image

“The world concerns me only in so far as I have a certain debt and duty to it, because I have lived in it for thirty years and owe to it to leave behind some souvenir in the shape of drawings and paintings – not done to please any particular movement, but within which a genuine human sentiment is expressed.”

WorldYearsHumansDoneCertainBehindsMovementParticularPaintingDutyPleaseShapesConcernDebtDrawingGenuineThirtySentimentsThirty YearsSouvenirsDrawing And Painting
Author:Vincent Van Gogh
Create image

“As practice makes perfect, I cannot but make progress; each drawing one makes, each study one paints, is a step forward.”

ArtPerfectStepsPracticeStudyProgressPaintDrawingMasterySteps ForwardPractice Makes PerfectDrawing And Painting
Book:The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh to His Brother, 1872-1886: With a Memoir by His Sister-in-law, J. Van Gogh-Bonger ...
Create image

“It constantly remains a source of disappointment to me that my drawings are not yet what I want them to be. The difficulties are indeed numerous and great, and cannot be overcome at once. To make progress is a kind of miner’s work; it doesn’t advance as quickly as one would like, and as others also expect, but as one stands before such a task, the basic necessities are patience and faithfulness. In fact, I do not think much about the difficulties, because if one thought of them too much one would get stunned or disturbed.”

IfsThinkingWantKindFactsToo MuchProgressSourceTasksOvercomingDifficultyRemainsDisappointmentDrawingWorking ItFaithfulnessDisturbedStunnedMiners
Book:Letters
Create image

“I felt my energy return and that I said to myself, in any event I'll recover from it, I'll pick up my pencil that I put down in my great discouragement and I'll get back to drawing, and from then on, it seems to me, everything has changed for me.”

SaidSeemsEnergyFeltEventsChangedReturnPicksDrawingGet BackPencilsImpressiveDiscouragementThings Have Changed
Book:Saint-Rémy-de-Provence - Auvers-sur-Oise, 1889-1890, [772-902]
Create image