Be prepared to be misunderstood
Vincent van Gogh to Anthon van Rappard, from The Hague, 1 November 1882
We must not have any illusions about ourselves, but be prepared to be misunderstood, despised and slandered, and yet - even if things become worse than they are now - we shall have to keep up our courage and enthusiasm. I believe it would be a good thing for us to focus our attention on the men and works of former days, say some twenty or thirty years ago, as otherwise it will be justly said of us afterward, “Rappard and Vincent may also be reckoned among the decadent fellows.” This is a harsh dictum, but I mean every bit of it, and I shall go my own way without paying much attention to the present school.
Letter R17
Translation courtesy of Robert Harrison.
Back to The Way of Vincent: Making art no matter what
We must not have any illusions about ourselves, but be prepared to be misunderstood, despised and slandered, and yet - even if things become worse than they are now - we shall have to keep up our courage and enthusiasm. I believe it would be a good thing for us to focus our attention on the men and works of former days, say some twenty or thirty years ago, as otherwise it will be justly said of us afterward, “Rappard and Vincent may also be reckoned among the decadent fellows.” This is a harsh dictum, but I mean every bit of it, and I shall go my own way without paying much attention to the present school.
Letter R17
Translation courtesy of Robert Harrison.
Back to The Way of Vincent: Making art no matter what
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