Vincent van Gogh, Dutch artist

“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. That is my ambition, based less on resentment than on love in spite of everything, based more on a feeling of serenity than on passion…there is still calmness, pure harmony and music inside of me.” (from a July 1882 letter)

March 30, 1853-July 29, 1890