“He had never believed that spirituality had to be anemic or aesthetic.”

“He had been standing still; for an artist, one of the more painful forms of death.”

“He had always loved God. In his darkest hours he cried out, "God did not create us to abandon us.”

“God is imagined as a rich, old gentleman who is very happy that things are going so smooth here on Earth that he had created.”

“A new doctor had been sent for, Lazzaro of Pavia, who had administered to Lorenzo a pulverized mixture of diamonds and pearls. This hitherto infallible medicine had failed to help.”

“They had painted in a grand rush to keep intact the purity of their first impression, the mood in which the motif had been conceived.”

“'I saw the light of your room through the bottom of the door,' said vice-admiral, 'the watchman told me he had seen you in the yard four o'clock in the morning. How many hours per day do you work?''It depends. Sometimes eighteen, sometimes twenty.''Twenty!' Uncle Jan shook his head, his face became even more concerned. Vice-admiral could not believe that there would be such a thickhead in Van Gogh family.”