Vincent’s motives were not solely devoted to the work he produced. He craved recognition deeply. He wrote, “I can do nothing about it if my paintings don’t sell. The day will come, though, when people will see that they’re worth more than the cost of the paint and my subsistence, very meagre in fact, that we put into them.”13 His lack of commercial success discouraged him, as it would anyone who worked at something for the better part of a decade, believing it was their life’s calling without ever making a dime.
