“But I always think that the best way to know God is to love many things.”
- March 30, 1853 – July 29, 1890
- Dutch
- Painter, Post-Impressionist Artist, Pioneer of Modern Art
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Quote
“But I always think that the best way to know God is to love many things.”
Explanation
This quote extends Van Gogh’s recurring theme—that love is the deepest path to understanding—into the spiritual realm. Here, he suggests that loving widely and sincerely is not only a way to know life but also a way to approach the divine. To “love many things” means to find value and meaning in the world, and through this reverent attention, one comes closer to understanding the sacred nature of existence.
Van Gogh had a complex relationship with religion. He once studied theology and worked as a missionary, but later channeled his spirituality into art. For him, painting was a form of devotion, a way to honor creation by representing it with sincerity and emotion. Loving many things—people, landscapes, light, color—was his way of connecting with something greater than himself, something he saw as divine.
Today, this quote resonates beyond traditional religion. It implies that the experience of love itself—broad, generous, and unselfish—is a gateway to spiritual awareness. Whether one believes in God or not, to love deeply and openly is to transcend the self and touch something universal. It invites us to find divinity not only in temples or doctrines, but in the act of loving the world wholeheartedly.
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