Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh was born at Groot Zundert, The Netherlands on this day in 1853. His words are not, perhaps, as oft remembered as his paintings. They probably aren't worth staring at for as long as the paintings, but they're clearly worth at least a moment of reflection.

"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together."

"It is not the language of painters but the language of nature which one should listen to.... the feeling for the things themselves, for reality, is more important than the feeling for pictures."

"One may have a blazing hearth in one's soul and yet no one ever come to sit by it. Passersbys see only a wisp of smoke from the chimney and continue on their way."

"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything? The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storms terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore."

"I dream my painting, and then I paint my dream."

- All from Vincent van Gogh, 1853 - 1890