Quotes About Inspiration

Mai lasciare estinguere il fuoco della propria anima, ma alimentarlo. E chi continua a custodire la povertà e ad amarla, possiede un grande tesoro e sentirà sempre chiara la voce della propria coscienza; chi ascolta e segue questa voce interiore, che è il maggiore dono di Dio, finirà per trovarvi un amico e non si sentirà mai solo.

Pois bem, este é o meu forte, fazer um homem toscamente numa única sessão.

Que afinal o artista é um homem que trabalha, e definitivamente não é o primeiro pateta a aparecer que o vencerá.

I should not be surprised if the impressionists soon find fault with my way of working, for it has been fertilized by the ideas of Delacroix rather than by theirs. Because, instead of trying to reproduce exactly what I have before my eyes, I use colour more arbitrarily so as to express myself forcibly.

I am hard at it, painting with the enthusiasm of a Marseillais eating bouillabaisse, which won't surprise you when you know that what I'm at is the painting of some great sunflowers.

Cerchiamo di non dimenticare, carissimo, che le piccole emozioni sono le grandi guide della nostra vita e che ad esse obbediamo senza saperlo.

exchanging pictures with other artists. In one word, with much energy, with a sincere personal feeling of colour in nature I would say an artist can get on here notwithstanding the many obstructions. And I intend remaining here still longer.

In Antwerp I did not even know what the impressionists were, now I have seen them and though not being one of the club yet I have much admired certain

I shall have to produce an enormous number of things against next year - when the World's Fair will be held - seeing that my friends will not fail to have many interesting things on hand by then. Not that I myself or any of the painters I hold regular or special intercourse with are going to exhibit along with the others, but it is to be expected that there will be a free exhibition besides the official one. Now, for

In short it is not as good as your painting yet; never mind, it will come; you must certainly continue your sonnets. There are so many people, especially among our comrades, who imagine that words are nothing - on the contrary, isn't it true that saying a thing well is as interesting and as difficult as painting it? There is the art of lanes and colours, but the art of words is there nonetheless, and will remain.

Cuando siento una necesidad de religión, salgo de noche y pinto las estrellas.

Now and then when I am writing, I automatically do a small drawing, such as I sent you lately. I did one this morning representing Elijah in the desert under an orange sky, with some hawthorns in the foreground. It is nothing special, but I see it all so clearly before me, and I think that at such moments I could speak about it enthusiastically - may it be given me to do so later on.

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

Fortunately for me, I do not hanker after victory any more, and all that I seek in painting is a way to make life bearable.

Iar, dac? m-aÈ™ hot?rî s? m? las în voia pornirilor mele, nimic nu mi-ar fi mai uÈ™or decât s? m? uit cu dispreÈ› la tot ce-am f?cut È™i s?-mi calc tablourile în picioare, aÈ™a cum face père Cézanne.

You have been lucky to meet Guy de Maupassant. I have just read his first book, Des Vers, poems dedicated to his master Flaubert; there is one, "Au bord de l'eau," which is already himself. What Van der Meer of Delft is to Rembrandt among the painters, he is to Zola among the French novelists.

There are certain times when it is far from clear to us that art should be something sacred or good.

I should very much like to see Millet reproductions in the schools. I think there are children who would become painters if only they saw good things.

Still, I went with Vincent a few times to listen to a Wagner concert before he left, and we both liked it very much. It still seems strange that he has gone, he has lately meant so much to me.

But since then I've had no chance of getting models, though on the other hand I did have the chance to study the colour question. And if I should find models again for my figures later, then I would hope to be able to show that I am after something other than little green landscapes or flowers.

If I were living near you, I should try to make you understand that it might perhaps be more practical for you to paint with me than to write, and that you might be able to express your feelings more easily that way. In any case I can do something personally about your painting, but I am not in the writing profession.

But then I know that I am not - not their equal - but didn't the Flauberts and Balzacs make the Zolas and Maupassants? So here's to - not us, but to the generation to come.

Try to grasp the essence of what the great artists, the serious masters, say in their masterpieces, and you will again find God in them. One man has written or said it in a book, another in a painting. Just read the Bible and the Gospel, that will start you thinking, thinking about many things, thinking about everything, well then, think about many things, think about everything, that will lift your thoughts above the humdrum despite yourself. We know how to read, so let us read!

I hope when you go back to Holland you will take along some study of mine to decorate your room.