The Eyes of Van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh:
I must finish my work.

Vincent van Gogh:
[Vincent arguing with his brother Theo, who is an art dealer] The people who run this field, they're the worst enemies of art. They encourage the worst, the most barbaric taste. But you - - my God, you could do something about it.

Vincent van Gogh:
Someday I must be able to paint portraits that - - a hundred years from now they will appear like apparitions to the people seeing them. They would be like ghosts - - the living spirits of the dead. They'd still be striving, growling, eternal life.

Vincent van Gogh:
[Vincent rhapsodizes to Gauguin on his vision for the Studio of the South] We could leave behind a body of work that would last forever. We could educate the people. We could change the world.

Vincent van Gogh:
Just think, Paul, this could be the beginning of a whole new era, a new dawn in art: The Studio of the South.

Vincent van Gogh:
Someday I must be able to do a figure in just a few strokes. Imagine. In a few strokes, a man, a woman, a child with the head, body, and legs - - all in the right proportion.

Paul Gauguin:
Painting, Vincent, is a whore. You can make beautiful love to it. You can titillate and suck and nurture every erogenous area. You can bring it to orgasm, hour after hours. And if you're lucky, really lucky, you'll get a little kiss in return.

Paul Gauguin:
You see, Vincent, the work of a man is the explanation of the man. Your work shows me a man who lacks confidence,a man who is afraid of the world.

Vincent van Gogh:
[Vincent and Gauguin quarrel about the best way to paint] It's difficult not being outside. It's damned near impossible. I've got to see the colors. I need to breathe the air.

Paul Gauguin:
Colors come from tubes.

Paul Gauguin:
The essence of a work lies precisely in what is not expressed. It has no material being.

Vincent van Gogh:
Without substance there is no art.

Vincent van Gogh:
A painting must have heart, soul, passion. Without that it's worthless.

Vincent van Gogh:
Why is it that everyone who disagrees with you is an ignorant fool?

Paul Gauguin:
I don't know. I've often asked myself the same question.

Vincent van Gogh:
Remove this thing - - this feeling. Take it from me - - rip it out - - I can't bear it.

Vincent van Gogh:
I want to paint action. I want to paint life. I want to show the soul in nature - - the nobility in man. But no one will ever know. It's all wasted. Wasted. Wasted

Vincent van Gogh:
Working on my pictures is a necessity for my recovery. If I can't paint, my life is worthless.

Dr. Peyron:
And it is this kind of exaggerated thinking that is so dangerous for you. You become too absorbed in your work and then you lose control of the rest of your life. This is why I prefer that you abstain from painting.

Vincent van Gogh:
I can very well do without religion and without God. The only ting I can't do without is my work.

Vincent van Gogh:
You see, doctor, I love life, I love nature, I love to paint, to read, to see people and things and... I'm not a martyr. I hate suffering. I don't accept it as a natural way of life. I want to live. I want to work. The work is my only cure.

Paul Gauguin:
I like big women. Big all over. It's like my paintings. I like a big area to work on.

Theo van Gogh:
Life was such a burden to him; but now, as often happens, everybody is full of praise for his talents... Oh, mother! He was so my own, own brother.