post-impressionisms: Ten Artists —> 1. Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) I was hesitant about choosing van Gogh as my favorite artist at first—his overwhelming popularity, even with people not familiar with art, is so strong that he has almost become a cliche. He remains to this day one of the most beloved artists of all times, despite the fact that he only sold one painting in his entire life. This man that was considered mad in his day, a former preacher with a nervous personality and unhappy, romantic nature, created some of the most inspiring paintings of all times. He went to Belgium to study art after failing to find permanent employment in Holland, and many of his early works reflect the typical darker color palette of Dutch painting. When he moved to France, his palette softened and lightened like the Impressionists’ paintings. Van Gogh fascinates me not only because of his art, which is sometimes painful to behold with its raw emotion, but because of his unfortunate life. Van Gogh lived his life like the end of a raw nerve, vibrant with emotion and prone to incredible changes of mood and tremendous feeling. He invited his friend and fellow painter, Paul Gaugin, to live with him in the south of France, in Arles, to study and paint together, and he painted an entire room with sunflowers for him. Later, in 1888, they had a falling out, when van Gogh charged him with a palette knife in a fit of rage. Gaugin stopped him but ended up leaving him, and in despair, van Gogh ended up cutting off part of his own earlobe. He later committed himself to an asylum in Arles, where he continued to paint from the window of his room. He was aware that he had some sort of mental illness, and often described it to his brother Theo, with whom he had a frequent correspondence, as a madness that threatened to consume him. Despite his illness, he painted with remarkable feeling and strength, coding emotions for colors. His paintings, while often charming to look at, reveal a much deeper side. The steeple from his famous Starry Night, outlined against the bare night sky with its impossibly large galaxies, represents his constant struggle with religion and fascination with the stars (“A starry night…that is something that I should like to paint”). He had a fondness for depicting the poor in an almost romantic way, giving them simple but honorable titles and depicting them as strong and important in their own way. His Wheatfield with Crows, the last work he completed before his suicide, is markedly different from his previous art, with jagged, slashing brushstrokes and an ominous sky that represent the turmoil he surely felt inside. It is chilling to look at, because you have to wonder what thoughts were going through his head as he jabbed those harsh yellows and blacks onto the canvas, the last canvas he would ever touch. More than anything, this man loved sunflowers, claiming them as his own. He was in love with their bright yellow hues and the warmth they brought him. I can honestly say that there is not a painter I love more than van Gogh. This man, with his child-like love of sunflowers and heartbreaking lack of self worth, created some of the most beautiful paintings, at the cost of his sanity, but he still continued to work, right up until his death. “What am I in the eyes of most people — a nonentity, an eccentric, or an unpleasant person — somebody who has no position in society and will never have; in short, the lowest of the low. All right, then — even if that were absolutely true, then I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart. That is my ambition, based less on resentment than on love in spite of everything, based more on a feeling of serenity than on passion. Though I am often in the depths of misery, there is still calmness, pure harmony and music inside me. I see paintings or drawings in the poorest cottages, in the dirtiest corners. And my mind is driven towards these things with an irresistible momentum.” — Vincent van Gogh
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post-impressionisms: Ten Artists —> 1. Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) I was hesitant about choosing van Gogh as my favorite artist at first—his overwhelming popularity, even with people not familiar with art, is so strong that he has almost become a cliche. He remains to this day one of the most beloved artists of all times, despite the fact that he only sold one painting in his entire life. This man that was considered mad in his day, a former preacher with a nervous personality and unhappy, romantic nature, created some of the most inspiring paintings of all times. He went to Belgium to study art after failing to find permanent employment in Holland, and many of his early works reflect the typical darker color palette of Dutch painting. When he moved to France, his palette softened and lightened like the Impressionists’ paintings. Van Gogh fascinates me not only because of his art, which is sometimes painful to behold with its raw emotion, but because of his unfortunate life. Van Gogh lived his life like the end of a raw nerve, vibrant with emotion and prone to incredible changes of mood and tremendous feeling. He invited his friend and fellow painter, Paul Gaugin, to live with him in the south of France, in Arles, to study and paint together, and he painted an entire room with sunflowers for him. Later, in 1888, they had a falling out, when van Gogh charged him with a palette knife in a fit of rage. Gaugin stopped him but ended up leaving him, and in despair, van Gogh ended up cutting off part of his own earlobe. He later committed himself to an asylum in Arles, where he continued to paint from the window of his room. He was aware that he had some sort of mental illness, and often described it to his brother Theo, with whom he had a frequent correspondence, as a madness that threatened to consume him. Despite his illness, he painted with remarkable feeling and strength, coding emotions for colors. His paintings, while often charming to look at, reveal a much deeper side. The steeple from his famous Starry Night, outlined against the bare night sky with its impossibly large galaxies, represents his constant struggle with religion and fascination with the stars (“A starry night…that is something that I should like to paint”). He had a fondness for depicting the poor in an almost romantic way, giving them simple but honorable titles and depicting them as strong and important in their own way. His Wheatfield with Crows, the last work he completed before his suicide, is markedly different from his previous art, with jagged, slashing brushstrokes and an ominous sky that represent the turmoil he surely felt inside. It is chilling to look at, because you have to wonder what thoughts were going through his head as he jabbed those harsh yellows and blacks onto the canvas, the last canvas he would ever touch. More than anything, this man loved sunflowers, claiming them as his own. He was in love with their bright yellow hues and the warmth they brought him. I can honestly say that there is not a painter I love more than van Gogh. This man, with his child-like love of sunflowers and heartbreaking lack of self worth, created some of the most beautiful paintings, at the cost of his sanity, but he still continued to work, right up until his death. “What am I in the eyes of most people — a nonentity, an eccentric, or an unpleasant person — somebody who has no position in society and will never have; in short, the lowest of the low. All right, then — even if that were absolutely true, then I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart. That is my ambition, based less on resentment than on love in spite of everything, based more on a feeling of serenity than on passion. Though I am often in the depths of misery, there is still calmness, pure harmony and music inside me. I see paintings or drawings in the poorest cottages, in the dirtiest corners. And my mind is driven towards these things with an irresistible momentum.” — Vincent van Gogh
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post-impressionisms: Ten Artists —> 1. Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) I was hesitant about choosing van Gogh as my favorite artist at first—his overwhelming popularity, even with people not familiar with art, is so strong that he has almost become a cliche. He remains to this day one of the most beloved artists of all times, despite the fact that he only sold one painting in his entire life. This man that was considered mad in his day, a former preacher with a nervous personality and unhappy, romantic nature, created some of the most inspiring paintings of all times. He went to Belgium to study art after failing to find permanent employment in Holland, and many of his early works reflect the typical darker color palette of Dutch painting. When he moved to France, his palette softened and lightened like the Impressionists’ paintings. Van Gogh fascinates me not only because of his art, which is sometimes painful to behold with its raw emotion, but because of his unfortunate life. Van Gogh lived his life like the end of a raw nerve, vibrant with emotion and prone to incredible changes of mood and tremendous feeling. He invited his friend and fellow painter, Paul Gaugin, to live with him in the south of France, in Arles, to study and paint together, and he painted an entire room with sunflowers for him. Later, in 1888, they had a falling out, when van Gogh charged him with a palette knife in a fit of rage. Gaugin stopped him but ended up leaving him, and in despair, van Gogh ended up cutting off part of his own earlobe. He later committed himself to an asylum in Arles, where he continued to paint from the window of his room. He was aware that he had some sort of mental illness, and often described it to his brother Theo, with whom he had a frequent correspondence, as a madness that threatened to consume him. Despite his illness, he painted with remarkable feeling and strength, coding emotions for colors. His paintings, while often charming to look at, reveal a much deeper side. The steeple from his famous Starry Night, outlined against the bare night sky with its impossibly large galaxies, represents his constant struggle with religion and fascination with the stars (“A starry night…that is something that I should like to paint”). He had a fondness for depicting the poor in an almost romantic way, giving them simple but honorable titles and depicting them as strong and important in their own way. His Wheatfield with Crows, the last work he completed before his suicide, is markedly different from his previous art, with jagged, slashing brushstrokes and an ominous sky that represent the turmoil he surely felt inside. It is chilling to look at, because you have to wonder what thoughts were going through his head as he jabbed those harsh yellows and blacks onto the canvas, the last canvas he would ever touch. More than anything, this man loved sunflowers, claiming them as his own. He was in love with their bright yellow hues and the warmth they brought him. I can honestly say that there is not a painter I love more than van Gogh. This man, with his child-like love of sunflowers and heartbreaking lack of self worth, created some of the most beautiful paintings, at the cost of his sanity, but he still continued to work, right up until his death. “What am I in the eyes of most people — a nonentity, an eccentric, or an unpleasant person — somebody who has no position in society and will never have; in short, the lowest of the low. All right, then — even if that were absolutely true, then I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart. That is my ambition, based less on resentment than on love in spite of everything, based more on a feeling of serenity than on passion. Though I am often in the depths of misery, there is still calmness, pure harmony and music inside me. I see paintings or drawings in the poorest cottages, in the dirtiest corners. And my mind is driven towards these things with an irresistible momentum.” — Vincent van Gogh
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post-impressionisms: Ten Artists —> 1. Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) I was hesitant about choosing van Gogh as my favorite artist at first—his overwhelming popularity, even with people not familiar with art, is so strong that he has almost become a cliche. He remains to this day one of the most beloved artists of all times, despite the fact that he only sold one painting in his entire life. This man that was considered mad in his day, a former preacher with a nervous personality and unhappy, romantic nature, created some of the most inspiring paintings of all times. He went to Belgium to study art after failing to find permanent employment in Holland, and many of his early works reflect the typical darker color palette of Dutch painting. When he moved to France, his palette softened and lightened like the Impressionists’ paintings. Van Gogh fascinates me not only because of his art, which is sometimes painful to behold with its raw emotion, but because of his unfortunate life. Van Gogh lived his life like the end of a raw nerve, vibrant with emotion and prone to incredible changes of mood and tremendous feeling. He invited his friend and fellow painter, Paul Gaugin, to live with him in the south of France, in Arles, to study and paint together, and he painted an entire room with sunflowers for him. Later, in 1888, they had a falling out, when van Gogh charged him with a palette knife in a fit of rage. Gaugin stopped him but ended up leaving him, and in despair, van Gogh ended up cutting off part of his own earlobe. He later committed himself to an asylum in Arles, where he continued to paint from the window of his room. He was aware that he had some sort of mental illness, and often described it to his brother Theo, with whom he had a frequent correspondence, as a madness that threatened to consume him. Despite his illness, he painted with remarkable feeling and strength, coding emotions for colors. His paintings, while often charming to look at, reveal a much deeper side. The steeple from his famous Starry Night, outlined against the bare night sky with its impossibly large galaxies, represents his constant struggle with religion and fascination with the stars (“A starry night…that is something that I should like to paint”). He had a fondness for depicting the poor in an almost romantic way, giving them simple but honorable titles and depicting them as strong and important in their own way. His Wheatfield with Crows, the last work he completed before his suicide, is markedly different from his previous art, with jagged, slashing brushstrokes and an ominous sky that represent the turmoil he surely felt inside. It is chilling to look at, because you have to wonder what thoughts were going through his head as he jabbed those harsh yellows and blacks onto the canvas, the last canvas he would ever touch. More than anything, this man loved sunflowers, claiming them as his own. He was in love with their bright yellow hues and the warmth they brought him. I can honestly say that there is not a painter I love more than van Gogh. This man, with his child-like love of sunflowers and heartbreaking lack of self worth, created some of the most beautiful paintings, at the cost of his sanity, but he still continued to work, right up until his death. “What am I in the eyes of most people — a nonentity, an eccentric, or an unpleasant person — somebody who has no position in society and will never have; in short, the lowest of the low. All right, then — even if that were absolutely true, then I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart. That is my ambition, based less on resentment than on love in spite of everything, based more on a feeling of serenity than on passion. Though I am often in the depths of misery, there is still calmness, pure harmony and music inside me. I see paintings or drawings in the poorest cottages, in the dirtiest corners. And my mind is driven towards these things with an irresistible momentum.” — Vincent van Gogh
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post-impressionisms: Ten Artists —> 1. Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) I was hesitant about choosing van Gogh as my favorite artist at first—his overwhelming popularity, even with people not familiar with art, is so strong that he has almost become a cliche. He remains to this day one of the most beloved artists of all times, despite the fact that he only sold one painting in his entire life. This man that was considered mad in his day, a former preacher with a nervous personality and unhappy, romantic nature, created some of the most inspiring paintings of all times. He went to Belgium to study art after failing to find permanent employment in Holland, and many of his early works reflect the typical darker color palette of Dutch painting. When he moved to France, his palette softened and lightened like the Impressionists’ paintings. Van Gogh fascinates me not only because of his art, which is sometimes painful to behold with its raw emotion, but because of his unfortunate life. Van Gogh lived his life like the end of a raw nerve, vibrant with emotion and prone to incredible changes of mood and tremendous feeling. He invited his friend and fellow painter, Paul Gaugin, to live with him in the south of France, in Arles, to study and paint together, and he painted an entire room with sunflowers for him. Later, in 1888, they had a falling out, when van Gogh charged him with a palette knife in a fit of rage. Gaugin stopped him but ended up leaving him, and in despair, van Gogh ended up cutting off part of his own earlobe. He later committed himself to an asylum in Arles, where he continued to paint from the window of his room. He was aware that he had some sort of mental illness, and often described it to his brother Theo, with whom he had a frequent correspondence, as a madness that threatened to consume him. Despite his illness, he painted with remarkable feeling and strength, coding emotions for colors. His paintings, while often charming to look at, reveal a much deeper side. The steeple from his famous Starry Night, outlined against the bare night sky with its impossibly large galaxies, represents his constant struggle with religion and fascination with the stars (“A starry night…that is something that I should like to paint”). He had a fondness for depicting the poor in an almost romantic way, giving them simple but honorable titles and depicting them as strong and important in their own way. His Wheatfield with Crows, the last work he completed before his suicide, is markedly different from his previous art, with jagged, slashing brushstrokes and an ominous sky that represent the turmoil he surely felt inside. It is chilling to look at, because you have to wonder what thoughts were going through his head as he jabbed those harsh yellows and blacks onto the canvas, the last canvas he would ever touch. More than anything, this man loved sunflowers, claiming them as his own. He was in love with their bright yellow hues and the warmth they brought him. I can honestly say that there is not a painter I love more than van Gogh. This man, with his child-like love of sunflowers and heartbreaking lack of self worth, created some of the most beautiful paintings, at the cost of his sanity, but he still continued to work, right up until his death. “What am I in the eyes of most people — a nonentity, an eccentric, or an unpleasant person — somebody who has no position in society and will never have; in short, the lowest of the low. All right, then — even if that were absolutely true, then I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart. That is my ambition, based less on resentment than on love in spite of everything, based more on a feeling of serenity than on passion. Though I am often in the depths of misery, there is still calmness, pure harmony and music inside me. I see paintings or drawings in the poorest cottages, in the dirtiest corners. And my mind is driven towards these things with an irresistible momentum.” — Vincent van Gogh
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post-impressionisms: Ten Artists —> 1. Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) I was hesitant about choosing van Gogh as my favorite artist at first—his overwhelming popularity, even with people not familiar with art, is so strong that he has almost become a cliche. He remains to this day one of the most beloved artists of all times, despite the fact that he only sold one painting in his entire life. This man that was considered mad in his day, a former preacher with a nervous personality and unhappy, romantic nature, created some of the most inspiring paintings of all times. He went to Belgium to study art after failing to find permanent employment in Holland, and many of his early works reflect the typical darker color palette of Dutch painting. When he moved to France, his palette softened and lightened like the Impressionists’ paintings. Van Gogh fascinates me not only because of his art, which is sometimes painful to behold with its raw emotion, but because of his unfortunate life. Van Gogh lived his life like the end of a raw nerve, vibrant with emotion and prone to incredible changes of mood and tremendous feeling. He invited his friend and fellow painter, Paul Gaugin, to live with him in the south of France, in Arles, to study and paint together, and he painted an entire room with sunflowers for him. Later, in 1888, they had a falling out, when van Gogh charged him with a palette knife in a fit of rage. Gaugin stopped him but ended up leaving him, and in despair, van Gogh ended up cutting off part of his own earlobe. He later committed himself to an asylum in Arles, where he continued to paint from the window of his room. He was aware that he had some sort of mental illness, and often described it to his brother Theo, with whom he had a frequent correspondence, as a madness that threatened to consume him. Despite his illness, he painted with remarkable feeling and strength, coding emotions for colors. His paintings, while often charming to look at, reveal a much deeper side. The steeple from his famous Starry Night, outlined against the bare night sky with its impossibly large galaxies, represents his constant struggle with religion and fascination with the stars (“A starry night…that is something that I should like to paint”). He had a fondness for depicting the poor in an almost romantic way, giving them simple but honorable titles and depicting them as strong and important in their own way. His Wheatfield with Crows, the last work he completed before his suicide, is markedly different from his previous art, with jagged, slashing brushstrokes and an ominous sky that represent the turmoil he surely felt inside. It is chilling to look at, because you have to wonder what thoughts were going through his head as he jabbed those harsh yellows and blacks onto the canvas, the last canvas he would ever touch. More than anything, this man loved sunflowers, claiming them as his own. He was in love with their bright yellow hues and the warmth they brought him. I can honestly say that there is not a painter I love more than van Gogh. This man, with his child-like love of sunflowers and heartbreaking lack of self worth, created some of the most beautiful paintings, at the cost of his sanity, but he still continued to work, right up until his death. “What am I in the eyes of most people — a nonentity, an eccentric, or an unpleasant person — somebody who has no position in society and will never have; in short, the lowest of the low. All right, then — even if that were absolutely true, then I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart. That is my ambition, based less on resentment than on love in spite of everything, based more on a feeling of serenity than on passion. Though I am often in the depths of misery, there is still calmness, pure harmony and music inside me. I see paintings or drawings in the poorest cottages, in the dirtiest corners. And my mind is driven towards these things with an irresistible momentum.” — Vincent van Gogh
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post-impressionisms:

Ten Artists —> 1. Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)

I was hesitant about choosing van Gogh as my favorite artist at first—his overwhelming popularity, even with people not familiar with art, is so strong that he has almost become a cliche. He remains to this day one of the most beloved artists of all times, despite the fact that he only sold one painting in his entire life. This man that was considered mad in his day, a former preacher with a nervous personality and unhappy, romantic nature, created some of the most inspiring paintings of all times.

He went to Belgium to study art after failing to find permanent employment in Holland, and many of his early works reflect the typical darker color palette of Dutch painting. When he moved to France, his palette softened and lightened like the Impressionists’ paintings.

Van Gogh fascinates me not only because of his art, which is sometimes painful to behold with its raw emotion, but because of his unfortunate life. Van Gogh lived his life like the end of a raw nerve, vibrant with emotion and prone to incredible changes of mood and tremendous feeling. He invited his friend and fellow painter, Paul Gaugin, to live with him in the south of France, in Arles, to study and paint together, and he painted an entire room with sunflowers for him. Later, in 1888, they had a falling out, when van Gogh charged him with a palette knife in a fit of rage. Gaugin stopped him but ended up leaving him, and in despair, van Gogh ended up cutting off part of his own earlobe. He later committed himself to an asylum in Arles, where he continued to paint from the window of his room. He was aware that he had some sort of mental illness, and often described it to his brother Theo, with whom he had a frequent correspondence, as a madness that threatened to consume him. Despite his illness, he painted with remarkable feeling and strength, coding emotions for colors. His paintings, while often charming to look at, reveal a much deeper side. The steeple from his famous Starry Night, outlined against the bare night sky with its impossibly large galaxies, represents his constant struggle with religion and fascination with the stars (“A starry night…that is something that I should like to paint”). He had a fondness for depicting the poor in an almost romantic way, giving them simple but honorable titles and depicting them as strong and important in their own way. His Wheatfield with Crows, the last work he completed before his suicide, is markedly different from his previous art, with jagged, slashing brushstrokes and an ominous sky that represent the turmoil he surely felt inside. It is chilling to look at, because you have to wonder what thoughts were going through his head as he jabbed those harsh yellows and blacks onto the canvas, the last canvas he would ever touch.

More than anything, this man loved sunflowers, claiming them as his own. He was in love with their bright yellow hues and the warmth they brought him. I can honestly say that there is not a painter I love more than van Gogh. This man, with his child-like love of sunflowers and heartbreaking lack of self worth, created some of the most beautiful paintings, at the cost of his sanity, but he still continued to work, right up until his death.

“What am I in the eyes of most people — a nonentity, an eccentric, or an unpleasant person — somebody who has no position in society and will never have; in short, the lowest of the low. All right, then — even if that were absolutely true, then I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart. That is my ambition, based less on resentment than on love in spite of everything, based more on a feeling of serenity than on passion. Though I am often in the depths of misery, there is still calmness, pure harmony and music inside me. I see paintings or drawings in the poorest cottages, in the dirtiest corners. And my mind is driven towards these things with an irresistible momentum.” — Vincent van Gogh

humansofnewyork: “I’m a Brooklyn Assistant D.A. I work on domestic violence cases— many of them homicides. Some of the crime scenes are just gruesome. It’s the same stuff soldiers see in a war. I see this stuff, I smell this stuff, it’s hard to get out of your mind. And even when I win a case, it’s hard to feel like I’m making a difference. It’s a never-ending cycle of violence. The offenders are so likely to offend again. And the women are likely to go right back to them, or find themselves in a similar relationship. The work is so tough, and it feels like I’m not even making a dent.”
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humansofnewyork:

“I’m a Brooklyn Assistant D.A. I work on domestic violence cases— many of them homicides. Some of the crime scenes are just gruesome. It’s the same stuff soldiers see in a war. I see this stuff, I smell this stuff, it’s hard to get out of your mind. And even when I win a case, it’s hard to feel like I’m making a difference. It’s a never-ending cycle of violence. The offenders are so likely to offend again. And the women are likely to go right back to them, or find themselves in a similar relationship. The work is so tough, and it feels like I’m not even making a dent.”

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