The world according to Vincent

Abstract

"Vincent van Gogh's letters to his brother Theo form what is perhaps the most frank and unique body of artists' correspondence ever written, one that offers a rare insight into Van Gogh's mental turmoil and artistic motivations. His descriptions of everyday concerns are interspersed with highly intense passages, beautiful sentences, and wise words on subjects like ambition, love, loneliness, and his battle with mental illness. These surprising, melancholy, and sometimes funny comments continue to inspire and console many people today, some 130 years after he wrote them. This selection of Van Gogh's most beautiful quotations unites his exceptional and touching words with reproductions of his much-loved artworks. They convey the same kind of recognition and emotion that he sought to achieve with his art. He was eager to reach other people and to mean something to them, but he could never have suspected that through his immense talent for capturing personal experiences, ideas, and feelings in evocative and appealing language, that he had genuine life lessons to offer us."--Publisher's description.

Contents

Letters full of life lessons -- Van Gogh on art -- Van Gogh on colour -- Van Gogh on nature -- Van Gogh on ambition -- Van Gogh on character -- Van Gogh on illness -- Van Gogh on sorrow and consolation -- Van Gogh on life -- Van Gogh on spirituality -- Van Gogh on love and friendship -- Van Gogh on the future.