The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh (Penguin Classics)

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Art is something which, though produced by human hands, is not wrought by hands alone, but wells up from a deeper source, from a man's soul. The life of a painter: evolution from deciding to try it out, to learning and struggling, to finding personal style and meaning, to persevering against critics. Van Gogh and his troubled life is one of those subjects that appeals to one's deepest feelings; to one's heart rather than one's head. For instance, he came up with the Starry Night and pondered painting it for two years before actually doing it. What the letters do is that they give us a insight into Vincent’s thoughts and feelings, as he did pour out his souls in these letters.

Vincent often wrote the colours on his black-and-white sketches, to give an idea of the colour of the painting. In films the struggling artist is enmeshed in a moving drama, and the audience always knows it will come right in the end.

Not just as an artist, but then, no great artist is just a "great artist," if that was all he was he would be a fraud and acute viewers, listeners, readers etc. Those obsessed with Van Gogh or painting in general might find a lot to learn - and those who enjoy reality TV might get a similar kick out of the bizarre twists and turns of this self-narrated life. By contrast, Vincent infrequently kept letters sent to him and just 84 have survived, of which 39 were from Theo. He and his brother Theo, who financed Vincent, made a poor decision when they asked Gauguin to join Vincent. And though he at times expresses regret for the sacrifices this entails—he is especially vexed by the toll it takes on his love-life—he never discusses art with even a touch of bitterness.

He also talks of the lonely life of an artist but maintains that an isolated and solitary life is needed for a devoted artist. The colour of the tree, the colour of his table, the colour of the grass, the colour of the sun, the colour of someone's coat… He does not discuss compositions or arrangements or drawing. Others in history have felt the same way and have gazed upon the same skies in awe and wonder, and that reminder alone will comfort me for a lifetime. There are some lovely reviews of this on Goodreads already, so I'm not going to attempt an extensive or informative review.For instance while he started off working as an art dealer, he fell out with his employer and ended up at theological college. A year later he began studying in Paris, where he met Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec and Seurat, who became very important influences on his work. When it came to art he was absolutely uncompromising, refusing to paint anything just for money, and getting into passionate disagreements with some of his artist friends (Gauguin, most notoriously). Despite a widespread tendency to romanticize his ill health, art historians see an artist deeply frustrated by the inactivity and incoherence wrought through illness. On the contrary as his own words say "what am I, but a friend of nature, of study, of work, and above all, of man.