"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."
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Novelists from the United StatesHistorical novelistsJews from the United StatesBiographers from the United StatesPeople from San Francisco
Original Language: English
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Mendes da Costa to Vincent van Gogh, as portrayed in Lust for Life (1934), Book I, Ch. 5
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Irving_Stone
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Irving Stone
Irving Stone, born Tennenbaum (14 July 1903 – 26 August 1989) was an American writer, chiefly known for his biographical novels of noted artists, politicians, and intellectuals.
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