In 2011, on the Winter Solstice day in the Northern Hemisphere, a blog post by Katrina Emery celebrated this widely-shared quote from Vincent van Gogh:
“Many people seem to think it foolish, even superstitious, to believe that the world could still change for the better. And it is true that in winter it is sometimes so bitingly cold that one is tempted to say, ‘What do I care if there is a summer; its warmth is no help to me now.’ Yes, evil often seems to surpass good. But then, in spite of us, and without our permission, there comes at last an end to the bitter frosts. One morning the wind turns, and there is a thaw. And so I must still have hope.”
Despite the emotional pain Van Gogh endured in his life during loves, would-be loves, and friendships, his lifelong financial challenges, and his untimely death at 37 years, either by suicide (as has mostly been believed) or gunshot at another’s hand1, this note of hope in the midst of a tussle against despair continues to resonate with many – perhaps especially on this day, the often dark-and-cold Solstice.
Vincent wrote this passage near the end of a letter to his brother, Theo, in August 1879.
The entire letter is very much worth reading. Vincent apparently wrote it a year prior to the time when, in his late 20s with Theo’s encouragement, he began to formally study to become an artist. He described his gratitude for a recent visit with his brother that had lifted his spirits. And he acknowledged just how much he and “everyone else” need human connection, as fully vital as food:
“A prisoner who’s kept in isolation, who’s prevented from working &c., would in the long run, especially if this were to last too long, suffer the consequences just as surely as one who went hungry for too long. Like everyone else, I have need of relationships of friendship or affection or trusting companionship, and am not like a street pump or lamp-post, whether of stone or iron, so that I can’t do without them.”
Despite that, Vincent also expressed dismay that he might be perceived as a financial burden to his brother “or those at home,” during a time where he worked as a lay preacher to impoverished coal miners in the Borinage region in Belgium. And wrote of the friction between them as he sorted through – and even pushed back against – his brother’s many suggestions for alternate careers he might take on. (Imagine Van Gogh as a baker, or a “lithographer of invoice headings and visiting cards”!) It was in this context that he wrote that famous passage, with its metaphor of maintaining hope in the midst of winter’s chill.
It’s also worth noting that another English translation of that famous passage, within the translated copy of that August 1879 letter posted on the website of the Van Gogh Museum, is jarringly different than the one more widely-shared above: less felicitous and universal, even if perhaps more accurate?2
For instance, that translation renders one of Van Gogh’s sentiments as “Sometimes in winter it’s so bitterly cold that one says ... the bad outweighs the good," rather than "Yes, evil often seems to surpass good," which is a far different concept?
Zooming out from Van Gogh’s words on his “hope for a thaw after winter’s dark chill,” I highly recommend the 2017 movie “Loving Vincent.”
Despite being favorably reviewed (with ratings of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.8 out of 10 on IMDb, as of this writing), some critics and viewers felt its narrative wasn’t as coherent as its visuals were powerful. While there’s merit in that take, its emotional impact and visual beauty is also undeniable.
The 6-minute “Making Of” movie is itself a treat. This movie was “the world’s first fully painted feature film. … Every one of the 65,000 [or more] frames of the film is an oil-painting hand-painted by 125 professional oil-painters who traveled from all across Europe to the Loving Vincent studios in Poland and Greece to be a part of the production.”
It’s extraordinary how iconic Vincent van Gogh has become.
Some of that is due to the emotional impact of his paintings and drawings on observers. There’s also the ongoing influence of – and inspiration from – his pathbreaking styles, techniques, and subjects on other artists and their art, continuing through the present day.
While it may be crass to mention this, there’s an indisputable element of fascination over the high prices fetched by his paintings in recent decades. Especially so when contrasted with the popular lore of his having sold only a single painting in his lifetime. (No matter the extent to which that may be at least slightly exaggerated.)
Yet likely as much or more than anything, the dramatic events in his all-too-short lifetime and even briefer time as an artist, captured within his letters and writings of others, have led to his being “mythologized in the popular imagination as the quintessential tortured artist,” per his biographical entry in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Vincent is not only the embodiment of a powerful archetype, but his life also draws our sympathy, our empathy, and our admiration.
Along with the “Loving Vincent” movie, his life and his artwork have provided inspiration for other beautiful creative works.
Among examples from recent decades is Don McLean’s song “Vincent” (1972), performed live here on the Beat-Club show of Radio Bremen, in Bremen, West Germany on June 24, 1972. As McLean confessed in a 2020 interview, “I just felt something from him. Everybody does.”
Another recent example is the “Vincent and the Doctor” episode of the long-running British science fiction TV series, “Doctor Who,” first aired on June 5, 2010, from which this time travel excerpt is notable:
Also recommended:
You can find speculation and debate about a potential alternative cause for Van Gough’s death within many of the articles and posts returned by this Google search.
Here’s that alternate translation of that passage in Vincent’s August 1879 letter into English by one or more of the members of a translation team under the auspices of the Van Gogh Museum and the Huygens Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences:
”To many it would no doubt appear foolish and superstitious to believe in any improvement for the better. Sometimes in winter it’s so bitterly cold that one says, it’s simply too cold, what do I care whether summer comes, the bad outweighs the good. But whether we like it or not, an end finally comes to the hard frost, and one fine morning the wind has turned and we have a thaw. Comparing the natural state of the weather with our state of mind and our circumstances, subject to variableness and change, I still have some hope that it can improve.”
For a sense of how profoundly different various language translations of the same works can be, and thus the widely differing impact they can have on their readers, see Richard Brooks’ 2016 post, “4 Passages in the “Little Prince” Show Why Translation is an Art.”
For instance, compare the impact and memorability of each of these two subtly-different translations:
“One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.”
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”