Van Gogh and Tersteeg

There is a fascinating passage from the biography of Vincent Van Gogh that I found very moving:

"Tersteeg renewed his charge of the previous spring that Vincent's artistic "calling" was nothing more than fakery and laziness, and that he should give it up. "You must earn your own living," he said: get a job and stop "taking money" from Theo." 

"...Tersteeg vehemently restated his opinion of the previous spring: "Of one thing I am sure, you are no artist."" 

"You failed before and now yo...