It’s the birthday of Vincent van Gogh, born in Zundert, Holland in 1853.

He was a painter, but also a great letter-writer. He wrote about art, of course, but also friendship, religion, prostitutes, interior decorating, and his love affairs. His letters are often lively, engaging, and passionate; they also frequently reflect his struggles with bipolar disorder.

“I have a terrible need of — shall I say the word — religion. Then I go out and paint the stars.” And he wrote: “What am I in the eyes of most people — a nonentity, an eccentric, or an unpleasant person — somebody who has no position in society and will never have; in short, the lowest of the low. All right, then — even if that were absolutely true, then I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart.”

He wrote thousands of letters to his brother Theo over the course of his life. Theo’s widow, Joanna, published the first complete edition of van Gogh’s letters to her husband in 1913.

The letters are an interesting read. You would have to be a really fanatic Vincent fan to buy the Vincent van Gogh: The Letters: The Complete Illustrated and Annotated Edition (Vol. 1-6)