Quotes from Vincent Van Gogh

An artist needn't be a clergyman or a churchwarden, but he certainly must have a warm heart for his fellow men.

I am still far from being what I want to be, but with God's help I shall succeed.

There may be a great fire in our hearts, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke.

There is no such thing as an ugly woman.

Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.

When I have a terrible need of — shall I say the word — religion. Then I go out and paint the stars.

Those Dutchmen had hardly any imagination or fantasy, but their good taste and their scientific knowledge of composition were enormous.

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.

I can very well do without God both in my life and in my painting, but I cannot, suffering as I am, do without something which is greater than I am, which is my life, the power to create.

Painting is a faith, and it imposes the duty to disregard public opinion.

An artist needn't be a clergyman or a church warden, but he must have a warm heart for his fellow men.

Conscience is a man's compass.

Do not quench your inspiration and your inmagination do not become the slave of your model.

Even the longest journey must start with the first step

Great things are done by a seris of small things brought together.

How can I be useful, of what service can I be There is something inside me, what can it be

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

Our greatest glory consists not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall.

Paintings have a life of their own that derives from the painter's soul.

The Mediterranean has the color of mackerel, changeable I mean. You don't always know if it is green or violet, you can't even say it's blue, because the next moment the changing reflection has taken on a tint of rose or gray.

There is peace even in the storm

So often, a visit to a bookshop has cheered me, and reminded me that there are good things in the world.

There may be a great fire in our soul, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke.

Exaggerate the essential, leave the obvious vague.