It isn't just because his work was incredible. It's also because he was misunderstood for a great part of his life, and in that aspect I always thought we had a lot in common. He always strived to impress those close to him and was a perfectionist in every sense of the word. His own hardest critic. A lot of parallels can be made between a guy like van Gogh, myself, and I'm sure a lot of you.
Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of things that separate van Gogh from myself. He was completely bat-shit crazy, really. He loved hookers. He took hookers under his wing and tried to make a better life for them and their bastard children. He cut his ear off. He tried to kill himself. He finally did kill himself.
All his life, he yearned for acceptance from those closest to him, all while battling a plethora of mental deficiencies. Nobody appreciated him until after he was gone.
One of the best books I've ever read, and one I'll read time and time again is "The Letters of Vincent van Gogh", a selection of abridged letters he wrote himself, the majority to his brother Theo.
I guess my point of this post is just to proclaim my admiration for the guy. Like I said, we can all relate to him in some way. He isn't the first and won't be the last misunderstood genius.
My two favourite van Gogh works:
Cafe Terrace at Night
The Starry Night
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