Vincent van Gogh

And as for the causes and consequences of said illness, I think I shall be wise to leave the solving of these problems to the fortuitous discussions of the Dutch catechists, that is to say whether I am mad or not, or whether I have been mad, and am still mad, in some imagination of a purely sculptural nature.

Take our sister Wil, she has neither drunk nor led a wild life, and yet we know a photograph of her in which she has the look of a madwoman.

I was seeking 'the colour of a good dusty potato, unpeeled of course'.

The walls pale lilac, the floor in a broken and faded red, the chairs and the bed chrome yellow, the pillows and the sheet very pale lemon.

I am not an adventurer by choice but by fate.

I don't want to consider it a misfortune that it's turned out this way, on the contrary, despite all the emotion I feel a certain calm. There is safety in the midst of danger. What would life be if we didn't dare to take things in hand?

I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day; having hues of the most intense violets, blues and greens. If only you pay attention to it you will see that certain stars are lemon-yellow, others pink or a green, blue and forget-me-not brilliance. And without my expatiating on this theme it is obvious that putting little white dots on the blue-black is not enough to paint a starry sky.

I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it.

I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.

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.

I feel a need for, shall I say the word - for religion - so I go outside at night to paint the stars.

I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day.

I want to touch people with my art. I want them to say 'he feels deeply, he feels tenderly'.

The emotions are sometimes so strong that I work without knowing it. The strokes come like speech.

It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.

I am looking for the impossible. That is why I am always searching for it.

The more I think about it, the more I realize there is nothing more artistic than to love others.

For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.

If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.

I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart.