The most serious, the most beautiful
Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, from The Hague, 21-28 March 1883
How beautiful those old almshouses are, I can't find words to describe them. And though Israels does this sort of thing to perfection, so to speak, I find it strange that so relatively few should have an eye for it. Every day here in The Hague, so to speak, I see a world which very many people pass by and which is very different from what most make of it. And I shouldn't dare to say so if I didn't know from experience that figure painters, too, actually pass it by, and if I didn't remember that whenever I was struck by some figure or other I encountered while out walking with them, I would hear time and again, "oh, those dirty people," or "that kind of person" - expressions, in short, one would not expect from a painter.
Yes, that often used to make me think. . . . It is as if they deliberately shun the most serious, the most beautiful things, in short voluntarily muzzle themselves and clip their own wings. And while I am gradually acquiring greater respect for some, I cannot help thinking that others will be reduced to sterility if they go on like that.
Letter 276
Translation courtesy of Robert Harrison.
Back to The Way of Vincent: Making art no matter what
How beautiful those old almshouses are, I can't find words to describe them. And though Israels does this sort of thing to perfection, so to speak, I find it strange that so relatively few should have an eye for it. Every day here in The Hague, so to speak, I see a world which very many people pass by and which is very different from what most make of it. And I shouldn't dare to say so if I didn't know from experience that figure painters, too, actually pass it by, and if I didn't remember that whenever I was struck by some figure or other I encountered while out walking with them, I would hear time and again, "oh, those dirty people," or "that kind of person" - expressions, in short, one would not expect from a painter.
Yes, that often used to make me think. . . . It is as if they deliberately shun the most serious, the most beautiful things, in short voluntarily muzzle themselves and clip their own wings. And while I am gradually acquiring greater respect for some, I cannot help thinking that others will be reduced to sterility if they go on like that.
Letter 276
Translation courtesy of Robert Harrison.
Back to The Way of Vincent: Making art no matter what
Labels: humanity
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home