The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh (Penguin Classics)

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Although he drew as a child, he did not paint until his late twenties; most of his best-known works were completed during the last two years of his life. In our modern world, still full of Romanticism, we are apt to see these factors as integral to his artistic vision, the source of his inspiration and style. From the beginning we see Van Gogh as an enthusiastic and earnest man, very liable to be swept up into passions. Because it's tremendous, these yellow houses in the sunlight and then the incomparable freshness of the blue. He developed his own system for colours based on correspondences with his own moods and very personal impressions.

But in all of these letters, even before he decided to take up art—which he did comparatively late, at the age of 27—Van Gogh show a keen visual awareness and appreciation. At the time he went through a stage of religious fanaticism, his letters fully reflect his thoughts; at the time he was involved with Sien Hoornik his letters reflect his feelings.

For much of his adult life he was lonely and pushed to learn as much as he could about the world around and about his craft. I am not trying to achieve this by photographic likeness but by rendering our impassioned expressions, by using our modern knowledge and appreciation of colour as a means of expressing and exalting character. Without having read every single letter, it's hard for me to know whether the choice of letters reflects and editorial slant (and I have a sneaking suspicion that many letters were chosen for biographical upheaval rather than artistic insight, but have no real grounds for that claim).

The man was authentic, and that is all one might hope to become in such a short and often confusing life we are all faced with. And I think that this book shows you one man's struggle to develop and remain true to the inner joy that art brought to him and to have that joy be useful, of service to others. He and his brother Theo, who financed Vincent, made a poor decision when they asked Gauguin to join Vincent.For whatever reason, one particular passage Van Gogh wrote about death and the stars in the sky made a lasting impression on me. It was interesting to read his opinions, criticism, analysis, and admiration of their works and find out about personal relationships with those he was acquainted with. Nhiều trang thư miên man sự miêu tả sống động những thứ mà Vincent nắm bắt được, cách dùng từ gợi cảm luôn phiên nhau như những cơn sóng từ ngữ uyển chuyển ập vào tâm trí người đọc.

He also talks of the lonely life of an artist but maintains that an isolated and solitary life is needed for a devoted artist. If even before he drew and painted he would send accounts of his visual impressions, once he began producing paintings, at a very fast rate, he would send textual versions of his painterly renditions. Not only do they throw light on Van Gogh's own complex and intriguing character, they enlighten the whole creative process as seen through his eyes. Most of all, however, these letters are immensely valuable for they give a good insight into the artistic view of the painter. In fact, his fits (most likely due to epilepsy) were debilitating, and often kept him out of commission for weeks at a time.In many ways the remarkable letters must have acted like a safety valve until the final terrible tragedy.