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I think the peasant girl is more beautiful than a lady, in her dusty, patched blue skirt… — Vincent van Gogh

Letter

I think the peasant girl is more beautiful than a lady, in her dusty, patched blue skirt and bodice, which get the most delicate hues from weather, wind, and sun. But if she puts on a lady's dress, she loses her peculiar charm.

In the original Dutch

Een boeren meisje is mooier dan een dame – m.i. – in haar bestoven en gelapten blaauwen rok & jak die door weer, wind en zon de fijnste nuances krijgt. Maar – trekt ze – een damespak aan dan is het echte er af.

Vincent van Gogh
1885
★ 2.0
Other tags relating to this quote
Topic
Beautiful womenBeauty
Statement type
Paradox
Medium
Letter
Time
1885
Person
Vincent van Gogh
Provenance
Current citation
Van Gogh, Vincent. Dear Theo: The Autobiography of Vincent Van Gogh, edited by Irving Stone and Jean Stone. Plume, 1995.
Original citation
Van Gogh, Vincent. Letter to Theo van Gogh. 30 Apr. 1885.

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