Vincent van Gogh as you Never Knew Him Part 1

One reads all kinds of things about Vincent van Gogh, but not nearly enough about his work ethic, his dedication to the business of teaching himself how to draw and paint, and his thoroughly lucid understanding of his goals as a painter. This lacuna prompts me to write about the Vincent that not enough people know or write about: the intelligent, disciplined, hard working painter who articulated his work program on canvas and in prose like no other artist ever has before or since.

Vincent wrote a lot. Being both well read and a keen observer of the people and places that contributed to his life experiences, he wrote about all kinds of things. In any given letter, you could read his thoughts about God, the Bible, Shakespeare, peasant life, Millet, miners, agriculture, poverty, potatoes, the quality of soil in Holland versus France, the architecture of Breton’s studio…

He also wrote – poignantly – about his internal reality: his loneliness, his sense of alienation from society at large, his ardent desire for intimate, meaningful human relationships, and increasingly over time, he wrote about a dark melancholia that was overtaking his body, mind and soul. He fought hard against this, and his best weapon to deal with the depressing realities of his life was to just keep on painting. His dedication to his artistic work program is unparalleled. No artist has given up so much for so little in return.

If we’re going to make a case for Vincent’s lucid goals as an artist and the discipline he exercised in achieving these goals, we need to back up to 1880 – the year that he decided that he was going to commit himself fully to being an artist.

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