Thanks for sharing these reflections on Van Gogh, Heather. We lived in Pasadena for three years and loved going to the Norton Simon – they have an amazing collection of paintings and sculpture. I couldn't believe it was all there in Pasadena of all places.
It's hard not to identify with poor Vincent. I once spent some time in Arles where he lived in the Yellow House and did many of his works, including "Starry Night Over the Rhône" and all the sunflower pictures. The cafe is still there and looks the same as when he painted it (it's been renamed Van Gogh's cafe, even though he was thrown out of it), and so is the hospital where he stayed after cutting off his ear (he painted "Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear" there), before relocating to Saint-Rémy. The hospital is now a museum and library; the garden there still looks the same as when he painted it.
Here are a few lines from one of Vincent's letters to Theo that I copied down many years ago because they're like a poem – they seem right up your alley:
I love so much, so very much, the effect
of yellow leaves against green trunks.
This is not a thing that I have sought,
but it has come across my path and I have seized it.
Beautiful, John, thank you—the lines from his letter to Theo are especially moving…as are all his letters. He was actually an excellent writer as well… I have tons of his quotes scattered throughout my files. Nice to know that we have both frequented the Norton Simon!
Thanks for sharing these reflections on Van Gogh, Heather. We lived in Pasadena for three years and loved going to the Norton Simon – they have an amazing collection of paintings and sculpture. I couldn't believe it was all there in Pasadena of all places.
It's hard not to identify with poor Vincent. I once spent some time in Arles where he lived in the Yellow House and did many of his works, including "Starry Night Over the Rhône" and all the sunflower pictures. The cafe is still there and looks the same as when he painted it (it's been renamed Van Gogh's cafe, even though he was thrown out of it), and so is the hospital where he stayed after cutting off his ear (he painted "Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear" there), before relocating to Saint-Rémy. The hospital is now a museum and library; the garden there still looks the same as when he painted it.
Here are a few lines from one of Vincent's letters to Theo that I copied down many years ago because they're like a poem – they seem right up your alley:
I love so much, so very much, the effect
of yellow leaves against green trunks.
This is not a thing that I have sought,
but it has come across my path and I have seized it.
Beautiful, John, thank you—the lines from his letter to Theo are especially moving…as are all his letters. He was actually an excellent writer as well… I have tons of his quotes scattered throughout my files. Nice to know that we have both frequented the Norton Simon!