On 21 July 1882, a 29-year-old Vincent Van Gogh wrote this to his brother Theo:
What am I in the eyes of most people — a nonentity, an eccentric, or an unpleasant person — somebody who has no position in society and will never have; in short, the lowest of the low. All right, then — even if that were absolutely true, then I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart.
That is my ambition, based less on resentment than on love in spite of everything, based more on a feeling of serenity than on passion.
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.
Despite suffering from bouts of despair, alienation and illness, Van Gogh never stopped searching for beauty in everyday life, even the rundown bits of it. He then dedicated himself - with religious fervor - to transforming his visions into timeless works of art.
Van Gogh’s devotion to the search for magnificence in the mundane allows us - people of a completely different generation - to appreciate his work today, feel some respite from the heaviness of our lives, and sharpen our own eyes to the subtle delights of existence.
This week, I hope you will look for beauty in something you would usually pass over with dull eyes. Let me know in the comments when you do, and what it was.
I leave you with one of my favorite paintings by Van Gogh, The Courtyard of the Hospital at Arles, 1889.
Love,
Yepi
Great read, Yepi!