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Vincent Van Gogh Quotes

Browse 20 quotes about Vincent Van Gogh.

Vincent Van Gogh Quotes

“You see when you are selling under ten books and stories a year and you have zero likes on most of your quotes, that is the special time where you have a very close relationship with your art. I mean you still have total trust in your art and your art still has total trust in you. And so does the universe, or God. That is the reward. The relationship or connection with your art is untainted, pure, beautiful. I mean who is the most famous painter in the world? You see, distractions like fame destroy all that. It is just a shame that he did not live long enough to celebrate his success as a creator, though I am sure he did in his own way. This is related to your ego or label that you later accept when you are known by the masses, because when you are unknown, unread, unseen, un-smelled, unfelt, unheard, you are not yet labelled. Bukowski talked about that, how young authors were destroyed when they became famous early, their art being corrupted by their ego, and how others turned to political commentary. Bukowski was grateful that he never made it when he was young. So, he could carry on creating undisturbed, as it were, by society. Of course they came for him eventually, but as he famously said, they came for me too late. The remarkable thing about Van Gogh and Bukowski was how they both kept creating great art until their deaths. The fact that you are reading this quote and I am still unknown, and more importantly unlabelled is a blessing to you and me.”

“This is the intangibility of genius--to create work that transfers from the canvas, the page, or the instrument into the heart of another person, arousing a longing for beauty and an end to sadness. This was what Vincent wanted to create--art that would transfer from his easel into someone else's soul to work as a balm of healing for the broken.”

“He smiles and his wavy haired, bright eyed head scoops me in but quickly lands on Mimi. It lingers a bit long, his chest frozen as if the breath's been knocked out; he already loves her. Mothers know these things. It's the kind of love that springs from awe, attraction, intellectual curiosity, and finding a woman mom approves of... the girl next door with exciting fangs. I wonder if their offspring will have fangs.”

“Oh, I am no friend of present-day Christianity, though its founder was sublime- I have seen through present-day Christianity only too well. That icy coldness mesmerized even me, in my youth- but I have taken my revenge since then. How? By worshipping the love which they, the theologians, call sin, by respecting a whore, etc, To some, woman is heresy and diabolical. To me she is the opposite.ov”

“He smiles and his wavy haired, bright eyed head scoops me in but quickly lands on Mimi. It lingers a bit long, his chest frozen as if the breath's been knocked out; he already loves her. Mothers know these things. It's the kind of love that springs from awe, attraction, intellectual curiosity, and finding a woman mom approves of... the girl next door with exciting fangs. I wonder if their offspring will have fangs. - Holly Carter”

“I’m happy to just be able to come across things. I don’t need to be happy. Happiness is a kind of cheap word. Let’s face it, I’m not the kind of cat that’s going to cut off an ear if I can’t do something. I would commit suicide. I would shoot myself in the brain if things got bad. I would jump from a window…you know, I can think about death openly. It’s nothing to fear. It’s nothing sacred. I’ve seen so many people die. Life’s not sacred either”

“Hannah do you even know the meaning of evening silences? Watching the ebb, the halo hanging upon your eyes? Hannah do we even know the love we twined in those pines? We walked with veils like of virgin shyness? Those constellation, those stars that gleam and thrill, those seamless touches, those eyes, shyness and sheen, those Hannah, those nights painted by Vincent Van Gogh, those nights I took you in my arms and held you like an eg”

“In the following days the twins went all over the city; they visited more museums, particularly the avant-garde ones. Whenever Magda spotted a Van Gogh her eyes would fill with tears, remembering the aberrational agony this great artist had gone through. The work that stirred her most was one of those many self-portraits of the artist in a sober and tormented mood; a painting built by many heavy brushstrokes of dense undiluted paint applied spirally giving the impression that the image was materializing from a turquoise background. Magda spent a full ten minutes before one such portrait. When she returned back to earth she noticed a young man beside her, as absorbed with the painting as she was and whose face looked familiar.”

“« Siempre he creído que cuando un artista muestra su trabajo a la gente tiene el derecho de no hablar de su lucha en su propia vida, a menos que decida desahogarse con un amigo de confianza. […] el trabajo de un artista y su vida privada son como una mujer que acaba de dar a luz y su hijo. Puedes mirar a su hijo, pero no levantarás su camisón para ver si hay manchas de sangre. Sería un gesto poco cortés. » (Carta 211, La Haya, 11 de marzo de 1882)”

“« Después de todo puede que mi vida (y quizá también la tuya) no sea tan buena como era, pero tampoco querría volver atrás, porque a través de los problemas y la adversidad veo que surgen cosas buenas, como la expresión de los sentimientos. » (Carta 235, La Haya, 3 de junio de 1882)”

“« Es muy probable que vaya a sufrir más y la verdad, eso no me gusta. No deseo una vida de mártir bajo ninguna circunstancia. Siempre he buscado algo del heroísmo que no tengo. Admiro mucho a las personas que lo tienen, pero repito, no creo que sea mi deber ni mi ideal.» (Carta 764, Arlés, 28 de abril - 2 de mayo de 1889)”

“En Arlés vivió durante tres semanas a base de galletas náuticas, huevos y leche, porque era más importante tener dinero para pagar a sus modelos. Esto es tan sólo una muestra de lo que podemos encontrar en las cartas. El cansancio físico y la abnegación parecen haber sido los pilares sobre los que asentó su carrera. Creía firmemente que su carrera tenía un único fin: hacer buenas pinturas y dibujos.”

“« Para poder hacer algo en el mundo, hay que olvidarse de uno mismo (...) Los hombres no están en la tierra sólo para ser felices u honrados. Estamos en este mundo para hacer cosas por la sociedad, para ser nobles y para dejar atrás la simpleza en la que vivimos. » (Carta 33, Londres, 8 de mayo de 1875)”

“Suurin osa lähimmistä työtovereistani oli kaltaisiani koulutettuja väliinputoajia, jotka olivat lähteneet Suomesta työttömyyttä pakoon. Heidän ammatillisessa osaamisessaan ei ollut mitään vikaa, vaikka esimerkiksi yritysvalmentaja Jari Sarasvuo on sanonut, että ammattitaidon tunnusmerkki on se, että sille löytyy ostaja, eikä ilman ostajaa ole ammattitaitoakaan. Olisipa Sarasvuo ollut kertomassa tämän viisauden vaikkapa Vincent van Goghille, joka myi eläessään vain yhden taulun.”

“«Es verdad que es presuntuoso sentirse seguro del éxito de uno mismo. Uno puede pensar: mi lucha no será en vano, así que no pararé. A pesar de mis debilidades y fracasos, voy a luchar hasta el fin. No importa que caiga noventa y nueve o cien veces, ¡me levantaré! ¿Por qué hablan del significado de 'existencia' como si yo no lo supiera? ¿Qué artista no ha luchado y se ha dejado la piel? ¿Existe otra manera que no sea luchar y luchar para crearse un porvenir? ¿Desde cuándo alguien con la mano de un pintor no puede ganar dinero? » (Carta 187, Etten, 19 de noviembre de 1881)”

“Consciousness is our gateway to experience: It enables us to recognize Van Gogh’s starry skies, be enraptured by Beethoven’s Fifth, and stand in awe of a snowcapped mountain. Yet consciousness is subjective, personal, and famously difficult to examine.”