The Healing Power of Nature E-Book

Vincent van Gogh

• Herausgeber: September Publishing
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

'One thing I tell you, that this countryside has the effect on me of bringing me peace, faith, courage . . .' A captivating collection of lesser-known images, chosen largely from sketchbooks and letters. The Healing Power of Nature is testament to the immense influence the natural world had on Vincent van Gogh; from the restorative, calming effect of rural landscapes to the stimulation and joy he found in natural beauty. Each image is accompanied by an insightful quote from his letters, showing how nature is a source of great healing and inspiration to us all, connecting us with the peace and beauty of our surroundings and with a sense of something even greater. '. . . I console myself by reconsidering the sunflowers.' Please note this is a fixed-format ebook with colour images and may not be well-suited for older e-readers.

Leseprobe

VINCENT

VAN GOGH

The Healing Power

of Nature

The Van Gogh Museum is grateful that you

are directly contributing to the preservation

of Van Gogh’s legacy and art collection so that

it may continue to inspire and be shared with

future generations.

vangoghmuseum.nl

Digital edition: Vincent van Gogh, The Letters.

Ed. Leo Jansen, Hans Luijten and Nienke Bakker.

Amsterdam 2009.

vangoghletters.org

© Van Gogh Museum

®

First published in 2022 by September Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this publication

may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

or transmitted in any form or by any means,

electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording

or otherwise, without prior permission of the

copyright holder.

Text design by Studio April

Printed in Poland by L&C Printing Group

ISBN 9781914613043

September Publishing

septemberpublishing.org

CONTENTS

5

Note from the Editor

9

Connection

33

Contemplation

57

Colour and Form

79

Simplicity

103

Healing

127

Beauty

147

Peace

169

Transcendence

189

Credits

In a letter from 1874 to his beloved brother

Theo, Vincent van Gogh famously noted,

‘If one truly loves nature one finds beauty

everywhere.’ His own art and writings

remain an enduring testament to the truth

of this insight. As the mostly lesser-known

images and quotes gathered in these pages

show, Van Gogh possessed a remarkable

talent for describing the beauty of the

natural world in words as well as paint.

He shows how nature can become a

source of great healing and inspiration,

connecting us with the peace and beauty

of our surroundings and with a sense of

something even greater.

Each quote is taken from Van Gogh’s

personal correspondence – some 1,750

letters written between 1853 and 1890,

5

/

THE HEALING POWER

OF NATURE

Note from the Editor

7

/

THE HEALING

POWER OF NATURE

which have been translated from Dutch

and French by the Van Gogh Letters

Project. The images alongside them have

been selected from the collection of the

Van Gogh Museum. In their emphasis

on the importance of nature, Vincent’s

letters and artworks speak as urgently

and powerfully to us today as they have

ever done.

Sue Belfrage

CONNECTION

11

/

THE HEALING

POWER OF NATURE

‘I see a chance of giving a felt impression

of what I see.

‘Not always literally exactly – rather never

exactly – for one sees nature through one’s

own temperament.’

CONNECTION

‘We’ve often parted from each other

already, though this time there was

more sorrow than before, on both

sides, but courage as well, from the

firmer faith in, and greater need for,

blessing. And wasn’t it as though nature

sympathized with us? It was so grey

and rather dismal a couple of hours ago.

‘Now I look out over rolling pastures,

and everything is so quiet and the sun

is setting behind the grey clouds and

throws a golden glow across the land.

How much we long for each other,

those first hours after parting …’

CONNECTION

13

/

THE HEALING

POWER OF NATURE

15

/

THE HEALING

POWER OF NATURE

CONNECTION

‘I’m now working on still lifes of my

birds’ nests, and I’ve finished 4 of them.

I think that some people who know

nature well might like them because of

the colours of the moss, dry leaves and

grasses, clay &c. …

‘In the winter, when I have more time

for it, I’ll make several drawings of

this sort of thing. I feel for

the brood

and the nests

– particularly those

human

nests, those cottages on the heath and

their inhabitants.’

‘Those nags, those poor, sorry-looking

nags, black, white, brown, they stand

there, patiently submissive, willing,

resigned, still. They’ll soon have to drag

the heavy boat the last bit of the way, the

job’s almost done. They stand still for a

moment, they pant, they’re covered in

sweat, but they don’t murmur, they don’t

protest – they don’t complain – about

anything. They’re long past that, years

ago already. They’re resigned to living and

working a while longer, but if they have

to go to the knacker’s yard tomorrow, so

be it, they’re ready for it. I find such a

wonderfully elevated, practical, wordless

philosophy …

‘… to know how to suffer without

complaining, that’s the only practical

thing, that’s the great skill, the lesson

to learn, the solution to life’s problem.’

17

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THE HEALING

POWER OF NATURE

CONNECTION