“Theo, I am so very happy with my paintbox, and I think my getting it now, after having drawn almost exclusively for at least a year, better than if I had started with it immediately…
For, Theo, with painting my real career begins. Don't you think I am right to consider it so?”
One of my favorite characteristics of Van Gogh is reflected so potently in this simple quote. You can almost feel the emotion coming out of each word, just from a minor letter written to his brother Theo. Even with times of hardship and financial difficulties, he was able to bring himself to paint, no matter how intense his depression had struck him. He would find joy in just seeing slight progression in his work, and would be encouraged to study and practice more diligently.
“Although I find myself in financial difficulties, I nevertheless have the feeling that there is nothing more solid than a `handicraft' in the literal sense of working with one's hands. If you became a painter, one of the things that would surprise you is that painting and everything connected with it is quite hard work in physical terms. Leaving aside the mental exertion, the hard thought, it demands considerable physical effort, and that day after day.”
He also speaks from the point of view of a physical laborer, portraying painting as a needs for physical and mental endurance. Rather than merely valuing art as a visual attraction, Van Gogh valued it on a whole different level, appreciating each color and imaging each brush stroke put into a piece of work. He was able to sympathize with the mental exhaustion emphasized by the day to day labor, as well as the immense physical effort applied to it.
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