For The Love Of Vincent
VINCENT VAN GOGH
DUTCH ARTIST
In honor of Vincent van Gogh's birthday, I made my first 4K video.
While it ended up taking longer to long to export and upload than it did to curate and edit, to say I'm proud of this 14-minute love letter/video is an understatement.
I hope Vincent would be too. Since I did did make it in his honor.
GETTING TO KNOW VAN GOGH
I’ve been fascinated by Vincent Van Gogh’s work since I was a kid.
When I was in the third grade, my art teacher, an eternal Summer of 1969 bohemian in the Fall of 1979 surburbia, showed his florals and landscapes as creative “inspiration.”
When she spoke about Art, she would forget we were still third graders, waxing aesthetic and philosophic. Her language was so floral and foreign I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. But I liked the art. A lot. So I pretended to understand.
Over the years, in the pre-Internet days, I got to learn more about Vincent through books and documentaries. Most featured the “crazy” artist storyline. Leaving out the sensitive, smart man behind the manic episodes. Not to mention what all might have made him “crazy” in the first place. I’ll let you read for yourself down below.
In Vincent, I sensed a familiar longing to connect with people through his art. Maybe that says more about me than him. Or maybe that’s just a universal story and why he and his work have become so popular.
What about the “ear” incident? A dramatic, manic episode for sure. It likely doesn’t hurt his fame and infamy. Given Vincent’s mental health issues, lead poisoning, and unrequited love (for Paul Gaugin and others), it’s a sad, if not a surprising, incident.
CLASSIC ART
WORDS I WISH I WROTE
Better art historians and writers than I have filled volumes writing about the man, the myth, and the legend he became thanks to his enterprising sister-in-law who had a feeling his work might be able to support her and her children after Theo died six months after Vincent’s own death.
Young Vincent: 1853-1873
(Van Gogh Museum)Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)
(The Met)Famous Bis: Vincent Van Gogh
(Jennie Roberson/Bi.org)Inside Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin’s Nine Turbulent Weeks as Roommates
(Karen Chernick/Artsy)Vincent’s Illness and the Healing Power of Art
(Van Gogh Museum)Van Gogh's suicide: Ten reasons why the murder story is a myth
(Martin Bailey/The Art Newspaper)
IN VINCENT’S WORDS OF WISDOM
In the days before phones much less the interwebs, people relied on the written word to find out what was going on in the world. (Maybe lack of social media and wifi The Postman Always Rings Twice become a classic?)
Vincent was desperate to communicate and is famous for his voluminous correspondence, much of it to his beloved brother Theo, who moonlit as he his art dealer and art patron. He was also a regular pen pal of
I wish I could understand either Dutch or French to read his original letters. But the translations certainly inspire me…here are a few of my personal favorites quotes by Vincent himself:
“I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart.”
“I dream my painting and I paint my dream.”
“There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.”
“I don't know anything with certainty, but seeing the stars makes me dream.”
“I put my heart and soul into my work, and I have lost my mind in the process.”