It seems something unattainable
Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, from The Hague, 3-5 December 1882
Do you know why I have no doubt that I should be able to do it? You know the physical law that tells us that an object immersed in a liquid loses as much in weight as the specific weight of the volume of liquid displaced by the object. That is the reason why some objects float and why those which sink are lighter under water than in the air. Something like this - a kind of fixed law of nature - seems to exist in regard to the work, by which I mean that, once well into it, one feels more energy and power than one was aware of, or rather, than one in fact possesses.
You would also experience this if you took up painting. At first it seems something unattainable, hopeless, but later things clear up, and I think you would see this in my work too.
Letter 251
Translation courtesy of Robert Harrison.
Back to The Way of Vincent: Making art no matter what
Do you know why I have no doubt that I should be able to do it? You know the physical law that tells us that an object immersed in a liquid loses as much in weight as the specific weight of the volume of liquid displaced by the object. That is the reason why some objects float and why those which sink are lighter under water than in the air. Something like this - a kind of fixed law of nature - seems to exist in regard to the work, by which I mean that, once well into it, one feels more energy and power than one was aware of, or rather, than one in fact possesses.
You would also experience this if you took up painting. At first it seems something unattainable, hopeless, but later things clear up, and I think you would see this in my work too.
Letter 251
Translation courtesy of Robert Harrison.
Back to The Way of Vincent: Making art no matter what
Labels: enterprise, hope, other, work
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