The man who painted with his heart

by EMMA DO

“This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.”

This lyric, written by Don McLean in Vincent, has been echoing in my head since the first time that I heard the song. Even before I understood the story of the unfortunate, incredibly talented artist, I was still deeply touched by its meaning. Vincent Van Gogh was an extraordinary and gifted being- but a troubled soul. He had done so much, had gone so far in life, yet he was unable to witness the impact and the inspiration he left behind for future generations.

Van Gogh’s father described him as a redheaded boy who always looked glum and shunned away from people. Being distant from a young age, it seemed that all that mattered to Vincent Van Gogh was nature. The hours spent wandering in the woods and seeing everything throbbing with life became the boy’s earliest moments of happiness and laid the foundation for his creativity. Nature was his muse, and during his darkest time, it was flowers and the sunshine that kept him going.

Growing up, Vincent found no home in the places he had lived, the jobs he had worked, or the people he had met. He was wounded with unsaid love, broken promises and unpleasant truths that all individuals with tender hearts are fragile to. Constantly battling depression and being confined by religion growing up, Vincent was unable to express his raw feelings, and no one seemed to open up to him either. His only salvation was art.

Starry night over the Rhone was painted in 1888, showing a lovely couple strolling down the bank of the Rhone river under a peaceful starry night. When looking at the picture, one notices how Vincent made a vague distinction between water and sky. He added heavy layers of visible brush strokes using his usual intense blue palette. They are thick, dark and short and look as if he made them in a hurry. All the boats seem to have emerged into the sad night sky.

Starry Night Over the Rhone can inspire various interpretations in the viewers: a calm, peaceful night along the river, or a contemplation of Vincent’s depression. The painting - like - is melancholic and the vagueness of it could represent Van Gogh drowning in the darkness of his mind.

Throughout his life, Vincent Van Gogh put up with loneliness, isolation, and misunderstanding. Nonetheless, he stayed true to his values and deeply cared for others. He found comfort in teaching a little boy how to hold the paintbrush, and even companionship when crows picked up his bread crumbs. Art was a means to express how life was for him, full of madness, greed, sorrow, hope and beauty; it consoled him. Nonetheless, he always managed to look on the bright side of life, even when he was at his most vulnerable. This can be seen in the choice of luminous and golden colours in his paintings.

Yet, loneliness was a feeling he could not overcome. Overwhelmed by sadness and societal pressure, Vincent Van Gogh took his own life at the young age of 37, as his career was barely starting.

The pain, the sorrow and the burden Van Gogh bore went unknown to many. The appreciation he deserved only came long after his death, when people started to listen to his stories, and eventually found comfort in his honest words. There was more to Van Gogh’s legacy than his paintings. It was his faith, his unfiltered soul, and the unwavering passion to pursue his dreams. Vincent showed us that love can go to great lengths, and that falling in love with life, or someone, is about breaking, growing, healing and becoming.