Biography
"There are no faster or firmer friendships than those formed between people who love the same books."
"An artist without ideas is a mendicant; barren, he goes begging among the hours."
"What the world thought made little difference. Rembrandt had to paint. Whether he painted well or badly didn’t matter; painting was the stuff that held him together as a man. The chief value of art, Vincent, lies in the expression it gives to the artist. Rembrandt fulfilled what he knew to be his life purpose; that justified him. Even if his work had been worthless, he would have been a thousand times more successful than if he had put down his desire and become the richest merchant in Amsterdam."
"He had been standing still; for an artist, one of the more painful forms of death."
"He was a victim of his own integrity, which forced him to do his best, even when he would have preferred to do nothing at all."
"It's not macho to read? Nonsense. Reading is a stouthearted activity, disporting courage, keenness, stick-to-itness. It is also, in my experience, one of the most thrilling and enduring delights of life, equal to a home run, a slamdunk, or breaking the four-minute mile."
"Art is a staple like bread or wine or a warm coat in winter. Man's spirit grows hungry for art in the same way his stomach growls for food."