maria’s Reviews > The Letters of Vincent van Gogh > Status Update

“the surroundings here are beginning to weigh me down more than i can say - heavens above, i’ve been patient for more than a year - i need some air, i feel overwhelmed by boredom and grief.”

“i like to paint, to see people and things and everything that makes our life - artificial, if you like. yes, real life would be something else, but i don’t think i belong to that category of souls who are ready to live, and also ready to suffer, at any moment.”

“to express the love of two lovers by the marriage of two complementary colours, their blending and their contrast, the mysterious vibrations of related tones. to express the thought of a brow by the radiance of a light tone against a dark background. to express hope by some star. someone’s passion by the radiance of the setting sun.”

“and yet be clearly aware of the stars and infinity on high. then life seems almost enchanted after all. ah, those who don’t believe in the sun here are quite godless.”

“is it a renaissance? is it a decline? we cannot judge, because we are too close to it not to be deceived by distorted perspectives. contemporary events, our setbacks and successes, probably assume exaggerated proportions in our eyes.”

“that mental exhaustion of mine is disappearing, i no longer feel so much need for diversion, i am less plagued by passions, and am able to work more calmly. i could be alone without getting bored. i have come out of this feeling a little older, but no sadder.”

“for what is really wretched is loneliness, worries, problems, and the unfulfilled need for kindness and sympathy.”

“when one has fire within and a soul, one cannot keep bottling them up - better to burn than to burst, what is in will out.”

“i don’t want to be included among the melancholy or those who turn sour and bitter and bilious. “tout comprendre, c’est tout pardonner”, and i believe that if we knew everything we should attain some serenity.”

“i can’t foretell the future, theo - but i do know the eternal law that all things change. (…) but what one does remains - and one does not easily regret having done it. the more active one is, the better, and i would sooner have a failure than sit idle and do nothing.”