The Joy of Trump

Vancouver Island Eyes on the World






Sunday, September 2, 2012

Hard Luck and Trouble

Never Sold a Painting in his Lifetime

Vincent van Gogh:

 "I'd like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart"

How a genius feels:

 "I'm a nonentity, an eccentric, an unpleasant person"


March 30th is the birthday of Vincent van Gogh, born in Holland in 1853, a famous painter and also great letter-writer.

His letters were lively, engaging, and passionate; they also frequently reflect his struggles with bipolar disorder.

He wrote:  

"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 will never 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."

He wrote thousands of letters to his brother Theo over the course of his life. 

Theo's widow published the van Gogh's letters to her husband in 1913.
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.

            - Plato Greek author and  philosopher in Athens (427 BC - 347 BC)  



















Image source: Vincent van Gogh's 1890 painting At Eternity's Gate. Wikipedia, public domain.





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