The Way of Vincent :: Vincent van Gogh

Vincent, in his own words

Not to be discouraged

More and more I believe that l'art pour l'art, to work for work's sake, l'énergie pour l'énergie - is after all the principle of all great artists, for in the case of the de Goncourts one sees how necessary obstinacy is, for society will not thank them for it.

But in painting one finds a certain rest in the histories of those painters who aimed at the most sublime through it all.

Israëls himself, for instance, was still quite unknown and poor, even to the extent of having nothing to eat but dry bread - when he nevertheless wanted to go to Paris, though the circumstances were discouraging enough.

Not to be discouraged, even though one is almost starving, and though one feels one has to say farewell to all material comfort in life!

To Theo van Gogh, from Antwerp, early February 1886,
Letter 448 (Translation courtesy of Robert Harrison.)

Read more of Vincent in his own words

Vincent van Gogh struggled with poverty and insanity, failure and anonymity - and yet somehow he managed to create art the world can’t forget.

How did he do it?

The Way of Vincent: Making art no matter what lays out his path.

In his letters Vincent left us an autobiography unique in its intimacy. It's a self-portrait as luminous as any of those he painted. The Way of Vincent explores his letters to get at the ideas that sustained him - and the simple, day-to-day things he did to keep making art no matter what.

Vincent’s genius was hard won. Talent is a gift - but persistence is a choice anybody can make.

The Way of Vincent is for visual artists, writers, performers, and anyone engaged in a creative endeavor.