Van Gogh Quotes

“The sadness will last forever.”
― Vincent van Gogh

“There may be a great fire in our soul, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke.”
― Vincent van Gogh

“When Van Gogh was a young man in his early twenties, he was in London studying to be a clergyman. He had no thought of being an artist at all. he sat in his cheap little room writing a letter to his younger brother in Holland, whom he loved very much. He looked out his window at a watery twilight, a thin lampost, a star, and he said in his letter something like this: "it is so beautiful I must show you how it looks." And then on his cheap ruled note paper, he made the most beautiful, tender, little drawing of it.

When I read this letter of Van Gogh's it comforted me very much and seemed to throw a clear light on the whole road of Art. Before, I thought that to produce a work of painting or literature, you scowled and thought long and ponderously and weighed everything solemnly and learned everything that all artists had ever done aforetime, and what their influences and schools were, and you were extremely careful about *design* and *balance* and getting *interesting planes* into your painting, and avoided, with the most astringent severity, showing the faintest *acedemical* tendency, and were strictly modern. And so on and so on.

But the moment I read Van Gogh's letter I knew what art was, and the creative impulse. It is a feeling of love and enthusiasm for something, and in a direct, simple, passionate and true way, you try to show this beauty in things to others, by drawing it.

And Van Gogh's little drawing on the cheap note paper was a work of art because he loved the sky and the frail lamppost against it so seriously that he made the drawing with the most exquisite conscientiousness and care. ”
― Brenda Ueland, If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit

“Do you know why we have the sunflowers? It’s not because Vincent van Gogh suffered. It’s because Vincent van Gogh had a brother who loved him. Through all the pain, he had a tether, a connection to the world. And that is the focus of the story we need – connection.”
― Hannah Gadsby

“And the memories of all we have loved stay and come back to us in the evening of our life. They are not dead but sleep, and it is well to gather a treasure of them.”
― Vincent van Gogh, The Letters of Vincent van Gogh

“I hope to depart in no other way than looking back with love and wistfulness and thinking, oh paintings that I would have made..”
― Vincent van Gogh

“My great longing is to learn to make those very incorrectnesses, those deviations, remodellings, changes of reality, so that they may become, yes, untruth if you like - but more true than the literal truth.”
― Vincent van Gogh, The Letters of Vincent van Gogh

“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.”
― Daniel Bor, The Ravenous Brain: How the New Science of Consciousness Explains Our Insatiable Search for Meaning

“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”
― Bob Dylan, The Essential Interviews

“Dans chaque vie où de la pluie doit tomber, quelques jours seront sombres et lugubres – c'est vrai, il ne peut en aller autrement, et pourtant je me demande si le nombre de jours sombres et lugubres peut parfois devenir trop grand ? La lutte intérieure de Van Gogh: Sa vie, son œuvre et sa maladie mentale - Liesbeth Heenk”
― Vincent Van Gogh

“A carpenter is hired- a roof repaired, a porch built. Everything that can be fixed. June, July, August. Everyday we hear their laughter. I think of the painting by van Gogh, the man in the chair. Everything wrong, and nowhere to go. His hands over his eyes.”
― Mary Oliver

“If ONE MORE PERSON says "What if they'd medicated Van Gogh!?" I think I'm permitted to set things on fire. If they'd medicated Van Gogh, he'd either have painted twice as much, or he'd have been happy and unproductive. And you know what? Starry Night wasn't worth a terrible price in human misery. It's neat. It wasn't worth it.”
― Ursula Vernon

“Question : YOU HAVE DEFINED YOURSELF AS THE RICH MAN'S GURU. DON'T THE OTHER PEOPLE INTEREST YOU? ARE THE RICH PARTICULARLY IN NEED OF A GURU? OR ARE YOU THEIR GURU BECAUSE THEY HAVE MONEY?

Osho : The first thing to be understood: I have not defined myself as the rich man's guru. It is the yellow journalism, which dominates the mind of the masses around the world, which came up with the definition. I simply accepted it with my own meanings. They were saying it to be derogatory, but my meaning is totally different.

A Vincent van Gogh is far more rich than Henry Ford. Richness does not mean only wealth or money; richness is a multidimensional phenomenon. A poet may be poor, but he has a sensitivity that no money can purchase. He is richer than any rich man. A musician may not be rich, but as far as his music is concerned, no wealth is richer than his music.

To me the rich man is one who has sensitivity, creativity, receptivity. The man of wealth is only one of the dimensions. According to me the man of wealth is also a creative artist: he creates wealth.

Not everybody can be a Henry Ford. His talents should be respected, although what he creates is mundane. It cannot be compared to Mozart's music or Nijinsky's dance, or Jean-Paul Sartre's philosophy. But still, he creates something which is valuable, utilitarian, and the world would be better if there were many more Henry Fords.

So when I accepted the definition, my meaning was richness in any dimension. Only a rich being can have some connection with me. A certain sensitivity is absolutely needed, a certain vision is needed.

A poor man is one whose mind is retarded - he may have immense wealth; that does not matter - who cannot understand classical music, who cannot understand poetry, who cannot understand philosophy, who cannot understand the high flights of human spirit.

There are certain basic necessities which should be fulfilled; there is a hierarchy. First your bodily needs should be fulfilled; then your psychological needs should be fulfilled. Only then for the first time you become hungry for spiritual experiences. Now what can I do about it? - that is the nature of things. If water evaporates at one hundred degrees heat, what can I do? I cannot persuade it to evaporate at ninety-nine degrees. It is the nature of things.

And this is the hierarchy: bodily needs first, then psychological needs second, and only then spiritual needs. What I can give to you concerns your hunger for spiritual growth. If it is not there, I cannot create it. If it is there, I can show you the path.

You can see it. I have not been seeking out and going to the rich people. Those who have come to me have come on their own. Their thirst has brought them to me.

I have not been giving any promises to anybody. I have not been going after anybody. Millions of people - those who have come to me - have come on their own.

And now you can see for yourself. Those who have come have a certain richness of some kind or other; it is not only the money. I have around me people of all talents, people of different kinds of genius. Somehow my very approach prevents those people who will not be benefited from coming close to me. Even if they come accidentally, they disappear; they don't stay. They don't become part of my world. They don't share the vision with me.

..by some existential arrangement I can attract only those people who are very talented, immensely intelligent, very rich in some quality of life. Only from that angle of richness will they have a connection with me.

And the yellow journalists go on saying sensational things to people, meaningless, false, ugly - because I am not a guru. If I have to define it I will say, "I am only a friend, a friend of all those who have talents, intelligence and some urge for spiritual growth." To me they are the rich people.”
― Osho, Socrates Poisoned Again After 25 Centuries

“Pour agir dans le monde, il faut mourir à soi-même. Le peuple qui se fait le missionnaire d'une pensée réligieuse n'a plus d'autre patrie que cette pensée. L'homme n'est pas ici-bas seulement pour être heureux, il n'y est même pas pour être simplement honnête. Il y est pour réaliser de grandes choses par la société, pour arriver à la noblesse & dépasser la vulgarité où se traîne l'existence de presque tout les individus.”
― Renan

“« 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)”
― Liesbeth Heenk, Van Gogh y sus Cartas a Theo: Más allá de la Leyenda (Misterios de Van Gogh nº 2)

“« 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)”
― Liesbeth Heenk, Van Gogh y sus Cartas a Theo: Más allá de la Leyenda (Misterios De Van Gogh)

“« 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)”
― Liesbeth Heenk, Van Gogh y sus Cartas a Theo: Más allá de la Leyenda (Misterios de Van Gogh nº 2)

“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.”
― Liesbeth Heenk, Van Gogh y sus Cartas a Theo: Más allá de la Leyenda (Misterios de Van Gogh nº 2)

“Vincent quería que sus obras transmitieran emociones, por lo que necesitaba sentir melancolía para incluirla en su trabajo:
«La vida del artista es un auténtico calvario. Y aunque parezca irónico, es lo que nos mantiene vivos. La pasión nos alienta y morimos cuando no hay nada que la alimente. No nos importa atravesar un camino lleno de espinas, porque también encontramos poesía.» (Carta 675, Arlés, c.8 de septiembre de 1888)”
― Liesbeth Heenk, Van Gogh y sus Cartas a Theo: Más allá de la Leyenda (Misterios de Van Gogh nº 2)

“Vincent estaba preocupado. Sabía que necesitaba amor y cariño para vivir, tanto a nivel personal como profesional. Le habría encantado tener una vida normal o real, con una familia e hijos más que nada en el mundo, o casi nada:
«El deseo por una vida real, ideal y no alcanzable siempre está, siempre permanecerá y siempre aparecerá en medio de la vida del artista.» (Carta 611, Arlés, c.20 de mayo de 1888)”
― Liesbeth Heenk, Van Gogh y sus Cartas a Theo: Más allá de la Leyenda (Misterios de Van Gogh nº 2)

“«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)”
― Liesbeth Heenk, Van Gogh y sus Cartas a Theo: Más allá de la Leyenda (Misterios de Van Gogh nº 2)

“« 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)”
― Liesbeth Heenk, Van Gogh y sus Cartas a Theo: Más allá de la Leyenda (Misterios de Van Gogh nº 2)

“Vincent era consciente de que no era un genio, pero estaba convencido de que la práctica lo llevaría a la perfección. Parecía justificar su existencia con el trabajo duro, el que consideraba como una opción difícil pero necesaria y que lo llevaría a conseguir algo que valiera la pena. Tan sólo quería "dibujar de forma austera, con seriedad y sinceridad."

« Los inicios son duros y puede que nos hagan derramar lágrimas. No importa. Aguantaremos, porque a lo lejos podemos sentir la esperanza en la cosecha. » (Carta 403, Nueva Ámsterdam, c. 5 de noviembre de 1883)”
― Liesbeth Heenk, Van Gogh y sus Cartas a Theo: Más allá de la Leyenda (Misterios de Van Gogh nº 2)

“« La emoción y los sentimientos que nos provoca la naturaleza nos motiva (si los sentimientos son fuertes). A veces las pinceladas fluyen en un orden y encadenadas unas con otras, como las palabras de un discurso o de una carta. Esto nos demuestra que sin emociones no se trabaja igual, pero eso no nos puede parar. Hay que recordar que no todos los días las pinceladas serán así y que tendremos que enfrentarnos a días sin inspiración. » (Carta 631, Arlés, c. 25 de junio de 1888)”
― Liesbeth Heenk, Van Gogh y sus Cartas a Theo: Más allá de la Leyenda (Misterios de Van Gogh nº 2)

“«Podríamos ganar algo de dinero si pintáramos como Bouguereau, pero entonces el público nunca cambiará y sólo apreciará las cosas delicadas y planas. Con un talento más austero no puedes depender del producto de tu trabajo. La mayoría de la gente suficientemente inteligente para entender y amar las pinturas impresionistas es y seguirá siendo demasiado pobre para poder comprar. Ni Gauguin ni yo trabajaremos menos por eso, de ninguna manera, pero estamos obligados a aceptar la pobreza y la soledad. […] Ojalá algún día tengamos éxito y ojalá que estemos en una mejor situación.»
(Carta 660, Arlés, c. 13 de agosto de 1888)”
― Liesbeth Heenk, Van Gogh y sus Cartas a Theo: Más allá de la Leyenda (Misterios de Van Gogh nº 2)

“«Me siento mentalmente agotado y físicamente exprimido, pero necesito seguir creando porque no tengo ningún otro medio para recuperar nuestra inversión. No puedo hacer nada si mis cuadros no se venden. Sigo pensando que llegará el día en que la gente verá que valen más que lo que cuesta la pintura y mi existencia (muy poca en realidad) que pongo en ellas. … querido hermano, mi deuda es tan grande que cuando la haya pagado (pienso que podré hacerlo), la tarea de pintar se habrá apropiado de mi vida y parecerá que no he vivido.»
(Carta 712, Arlés, octubre de 1888)”
― Liesbeth Heenk, Van Gogh y sus Cartas a Theo: Más allá de la Leyenda (Misterios de Van Gogh nº 2)

“It's probably for the best that Van Gogh isn't around to see his work selling for squillions of dollars, as he'd probably start painting for that market. He may have lost an ear, but he'd still have that magic eye and a new nose for a deal. We're denied access to this poor man's genius by having the richest people on earth hanging his life's work in their mansions.”
― Stewart Stafford

“Van Gogh: This man is on fire or he seems to be burning for his beard is a flame of bright-orange and red. It's copper and automn and rust. It is fox perhaps, or the pelt of a deer, the sahde of fevered skin.”
― Susan Fletcher

“A real education will not teach you to compete; it will teach you to cooperate. It will not teach you to fight and come first. It will teach you to be creative, to be loving, to be blissful, without any comparison with the other..

A real education will not teach you to be the first. It will tell you to enjoy whatsoever you are doing, not for the result but for the act itself.

Just like a painter or a dancer or a musician….

You can paint in two ways. You can paint to compete with other painters; you want to be the greatest painter in the world, you want to be a Picasso or a Van Gogh. Then your painting will be second-rate, because your mind is not interested in painting itself; it is interested in being the first, the greatest painter in the world. You are not going deep into the art of painting. You are not enjoying it, you are only using it as a stepping- stone. You are on an ego trip.

And the problem is: to really be a painter, you have to drop the ego completely. To really be a painter, the ego has to be put aside. Only then can God flow through you.

Only then can he use your hands and your fingers and your brush. Only then something of superb beauty can be born.

It is never BY you but only THROUGH you. Existence flows; you become only a passage. You allow it to happen, that's all; you don't hinder, that's all.

But if you are too interested in the result, the ultimate result - that you have to become famous, that you have to win the Nobel Prize, that you have to be the first painter in the world, that you have to defeat all other painters hitherto - then your interest is not in painting; painting is secondary. And of course, with a secondary interest in painting you can't paint something original; it will be ordinary.

Ego cannot bring anything extraordinary into the world; the extraordinary comes only through egolessness. And so is the case with the musician and the poet and the dancer.

And so is the case with everybody.

In the Gita, Krishna says: Don't think of the result at all. It is a message of tremendous beauty and significance and truth. Don't think of the result at all. Just do what you are doing with your totality. Get lost into it. Lose the doer in the doing. Don't be - let your creative energies flow unhindered.

That's why he said to Arjuna, "Don't escape from the war... because I can see this is just an ego trip, this escape. The way you are talking simply shows that you are calculating: that you are thinking that by escaping from the war you will become a great mahatma.

Rather than surrendering to God, to the whole, you are taking yourself too seriously: as if, if you are not there, there will be no war."

Krishna says to Arjuna, "Listen to me. Just be in a state of let-go. Say to God, 'Use me in whatsoever way you want to use me. Use me! I am available, unconditionally available.'

Then whatsoever happens through you will have a great authenticity about it. It will have intensity, it will have depth. It will have the impact of the eternal on it. It will be signed by God, not by you. And you will rejoice because God has chosen you to be a vehicle.”
― Osho

“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.”
― Jack Freestone