It’s easy to think Vincent Van Gogh’s primary friend might have been Paul Gauguin. But a better case can be made it was, for a time, the artist Emile Bernard. We have 22 letters Van Gogh wrote to Bernard and they grant helpful insights into Van Gogh’s ideas and opinions about life and his art.
I recently picked up a book of Van Gogh’s letters and in one he pointedly criticizes his famous painting Starry Night and writes, “I’m allowing myself to do stars too big, etc., new setback, and I’ve enough of that.”
Today, of course, we know millions would eventually fall in love with and be moved by these “stars too big.”
Which led me to reflect how sometimes it’s wise to stay in our line, to complete the assignment, and to follow directions. But not always. Because likely what people will remember of our work and lives are moments when we choose “stars too big.”
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