One cannot lose one's way
Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, from Drenthe, 29 October 1883
This is my firm belief. Whether one is more or less clever at the start, whether one has the advantage of favorable circumstances to a greater or to a lesser extent, is, to my way of thinking, far from being the main thing. One should start with the conviction that one is in need of intercourse with nature, with the conviction that one cannot lose one's way by taking this road, and that one's course will be straight. And ... there is that other important thing: if one should have an easy time of it, like a man living on his private means, it would be of very little help; the very fact that there is many a hard day and many an "effort of lost souls" will make one a better man.
Letter 339a
Translation courtesy of Robert Harrison.
Back to The Way of Vincent: Making art no matter what
This is my firm belief. Whether one is more or less clever at the start, whether one has the advantage of favorable circumstances to a greater or to a lesser extent, is, to my way of thinking, far from being the main thing. One should start with the conviction that one is in need of intercourse with nature, with the conviction that one cannot lose one's way by taking this road, and that one's course will be straight. And ... there is that other important thing: if one should have an easy time of it, like a man living on his private means, it would be of very little help; the very fact that there is many a hard day and many an "effort of lost souls" will make one a better man.
Letter 339a
Translation courtesy of Robert Harrison.
Back to The Way of Vincent: Making art no matter what
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