Documentary: "The Forger's Masterclass, Episode 3: Van Gogh"

I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard, "Oh, anyone can paint like him!"  The him referred to being Vincent Van Gogh (1853 - 1890.)  If you think you can paint like Van Gogh, go right ahead and try. All power to you.

Of course, the odds of you being able to do it are slim to none.

This is proven is a half-hour documentary series called The Forger's Masterclass, hosted by convicted art forger John Myatt (who looks a little like Van Gogh).  Myatt did porridge in Brixton Prison -- which is probably still nicer than Alcatraz ever was, but still an awful place.  No, I've never been there, but during my years being homeless in the UK, I met several people who did. 

Anyway, this is the third episode in the series, where Myatt tries to get three art students to balance both passion and control by having them paint their self-portraits in the style of Van Gogh's blue swirly hatless self-portrait from 1889.

Although some of the biography information about Vincent is questionable and the name is constantly mispronounced, it's still an eye-opening program.  It was well worth 28 minutes of my life.  Enjoy.

My 3 Favorite Van Gogh Quotes

Vincent Van Gogh was a better painter than he was a writer, but some gems stand out from the hundeds of letters he wrote to his brother Theo which still survive.  In particular order, my three favorites are:

When I have a terrible need of - shall I say the word - religion. Then I go out and paint the stars.

I dream of painting and then I paint my dream.

I have put my mind and soul into my work and have lost my mind in the process.

Just these three lines gives us a tantalizing glimpse into Van Gogh the man as opposed to Van Gogh the legend.  Remember, Van Gogh was a failed lay preacher.  His order kicked him out from his assigned area of the Borinage, an impoverished mining town in Belgium.  Why did they kick hi out?  Because he acted like one of the locals instead of being better than the locals.  There was a more official explanation, but that's basically what his superiors meant.  Getting kicked out by his order must've been like getting kicked to the curb by God.

So, God was not to be any source of faith for Van Gogh.  According to these quotes, he turned to dreams, the stars and his art.  The stars appear in several of Van Gogh's most memorable works, including:

• Cafe Terrace at Night (September 1888)
• Starry Night Over the Rhone (September 1888)
• The Starry Night (June 1889)
• The White House At Night (June 1890)
• Road with Cypress and Star (May 1890)

The third quote shows that Van Gogh was not as crazy as he is often made out to be.  It is still unknown what mental illnesses or other chronic ilnesses like frontal lobe epilepsy suffered from, but he was prone to wild mood swings.  His behavior became so bad that the entire town of Arles, France booted him out.  He loved to create and yet could not make a living out of it.  He was ridiciuled by contenporary artists and even kicked out of an art course at Antwerp Academy.  Van Gogh got kicked around so much I wonder if he had a permanent boot mark on his butt.

There is also a theory that Van Gogh shot himself because Van Gogh believed he couldn't pain anything better.  He could not live without being caught in the intoxicating vice-grip of creative flow and decided to call it a life.

Although Van Gogh must have been next to impossible to live with, when I read these quotes, I can't help but sympathise.  How many of us willingly toil on and on at something we love, even though we can't afford to?

Image of a letter Vincent sent to Theo of his bedroom in Arles, 17 October, 1888