"Like an occluding light"

Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, from The Hague, c.11 January 1883

Perseverance is the great thing in love, once it has taken hold of us. That is, if the love is returned, for if it is decidedly not returned, one is literally absolutely helpless. . . .

Today I saw photos of drawings by Barnard, figures from Dickens; at the time I saw the original drawings in London. There is a force in them as in Nicolaes Maes, for instance, but quite a modern sentiment and conception. Such things warm my heart so much, and are so cheering, because I think of the models here, how they would look if they were drawn in that way, and then of course I say to myself, "Forward!" Work on till we have quite mastered the Black and White. There is a similarity between art and love, it is like swinging between "I have had it for a long time" and "I shall never have it," as Michelet expresses it, and one passes from melancholy to animation and enthusiasm; and this will always remain so - only the oscillations become stronger. Victor Hugo speaks of "like an occluding light," and that's also a good comparison.

Letter 259
Translation courtesy of Robert Harrison.
Back to The Way of Vincent: Making art no matter what