Van Gogh… that strange guy
Man is an extremely social being, but he also looks for a little bit of himself in others. If the other person seems different to us, the natural inclination is to avoid him, to leave him out of the picture; we feel uncomfortable in the presence of “that strange guy,” perhaps because he is taciturn and solitary, or simply because he doesn’t conform to the common way of thinking. This is how Van Gogh must have felt in his day, shunned by everyone, or almost everyone.
SIGNED BY YOUR BELOVED VINCENT
We know the greatness of Van Gogh as an artist thanks to his numerous works (he produced more than 1000 works in just 10 years), but we discover the sensitivity, the sagacity and the delicacy of his soul thanks to the more than 600 letters he wrote to his beloved brother Theo.
Theo was the only one who believed in him throughout his life, supporting him and encouraging him to paint, recognizing Vincent’s original talent before anyone else.
“If I didn’t have Theo,” he wrote, “it would be impossible for me to devote myself to my work; but since he is my friend, I will continue to progress and carry on.
THE LOVE OF A BROTHER
Who knows what Vincent’s life would have been like without Theo, who knows if he would have given up painting or not; what the letters reveal is that the painter certainly recognized in Theo love and acceptance that he had not received from anyone else.
Even more so, in a September 1888 letter, Vincent wrote.
“You are good to painters and, mark you, the more I think about it, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love one’s neighbor…. For the moment, I don’t think my paintings are good enough, considering the advantages I’ve had from you. But when they are good enough, I assure you that you will have created them as much as I have: the fact is that we are the two people who created them.
VINCENT & THEO
The painter died in his brother’s arms on a sunny day in July, and Theo died a few months later.
An intimate and intense friendship, or rather a feeling of being chosen, united the two brothers: Vincent’s restless soul found refuge and comfort in Theo, who was able to be a guiding light and support for his brother.
Who among us has never needed a Theo in the storms of life?
How many other times have we been someone else’s guiding light?