Vincent van Gogh

That head of his has been occupied with contemporary society's insoluble problems for so long, and he is still battling on with his good-heartedness and boundless energy. His efforts have not been in vain, but he will probably not live to see them come to fruition, for by the time people understand what he is saying in his paintings it will be too late. He is one of the most advanced painters and it is difficult to understand him, even for me who knows him so intimately. His ideas cover so much ground, examining what is humane and how one should look at the world, that one must first free oneself from anything remotely linked to convention to understand what he was trying to say, but I am sure he will be understood later on. It is just hard to say when.
Theo van Gogh to Jo
Paris
9-10 February 1889



How rich art is; if one can only remember what one has seen, one is never without food for thought or truly lonely, never alone.
Vincent van Gogh to Theo
Laeken
15 November 1878