Good work is rarely born perfect, and the path toward it is usually frustrating, full of mistakes, and unplanned starts.Vincent Van Gogh weighed in beautifully on this thought through his wise words, and he does not glorify failure, but gives failure a place in the process.He tells us that persistence matters, even when results are messy at first, much like how putting in the hard work and effort matters in daily life.
The Starry Night by Van Gogh (Photo : Canva)
Quote of the day
One must spoil as many canvases as one succeeds with
Vincent Van Gogh
What does the quote mean?
Van Gogh wrote this in a letter to his brother Theo in 1889, and when one goes through the entire letter, it becomes clear of what he was actually talking about . In the letter, he talks about the difficulty of painting and the fact that serious work takes time, requiring trying again and again and keeping going. So, each successful canvas is usually supported by many trial canvases that did not turn out as hoped.
This idea goes far beyond painting
What makes the line so relatable is that it applies far beyond painting. Writers, designers, students, entrepreneurs, and even home cooks all know the feeling of making something, revising it, and sometimes throwing it out and beginning again.It could be anything, be it a rough draft, a failed recipe, or an awkward first attempt, which is often part of getting to something better. Van Gogh’s idea is that these “spoiled” attempts are not proof of weakness; they are proof that you are actually doing the work.If every mistake is treated as a disaster, people become afraid to start. But if mistakes are seen as part of the process, creativity becomes freer. A person can experiment more, learn faster, and recover more easily from setbacks. That makes Van Gogh’s idea relevant not just for artists, but for anyone trying to build a skill or change a habit.
