“...In a picture I want to say something comforting as music is comforting. I want to paint men and women with that something of the eternal, which the halo used to symbolize, and which we seek to convey by the actual radiance and vibration of our coloring.”

            Vincent van Gogh articulated his goals in art with clarity and intent. He aimed at creating works that would inspire “restorative forces.” He hoped that such transformative power could be seen and felt in his portrayal of landscapes, flowers, and portraits.  Beginning with his early Dutch works, exploring his radical change of style in Paris and Arles and ending with the last images in Auvers, we will examine his total oeuvre, asking the question: To what extent did he succeed in realizing his stated goals?