For example, in recent times I was looking to avoid in my works the gr — Jan Mankes

"..the distressing aspect of [[w:Vincent van Gogh|Vincent [van Gogh],]] who often presents things so tightly and so painfully, you can not find in my work (character), and I dont search for it. The spiritual aspect is the essence in Vincents work, and the pictorial is subordinate to that.. .Now I feel myself most comfortable (unfortunately or happily) with an extreme refinement of colors and form; it always (although I sometimes want it differently) ends with that: to give [present] what I feel as my greatest happiness. Now it might be possible that this will remain the highest goal for me, not so bad; every little bird sings its own song.. .Following Vincent and being no Vincent in the mind (may be this is desirable for nobody) would be absurd and criminal."

"Besides, the entire impressionism usually presented merely the things from the outside. And sometimes they did it so perfectly that a seventeen[the] century painting looks clumsy, as far as seeing is concerned."

"..drivers, docker and skippers.. ..at the canal the whole day they are loading peat and every horse stands still for half an hour [his time for sketching]. (translation from original Dutch: Fons Heijnsbroek)"

"However, I gradually start to appreciate the Japanese print art [in wood prints] as a whole less than a small year ago. We can discuss it later, sometimes. For the time being I can say that the external elegance and skills are often not supported by a deep inner empathy with the depicted things. (translation from original Dutch: Fons Heijnsbroek)"

".. a crow, a quick, tame animal with immaculate feathering walks around here at home; I hope to be able to benefit a lot of it, because I love crows so much. The surroundings here [of ] are very different than around Delft; more forest, sometimes even heath, often overgrown with beautiful, white birch trees. I have not yet come to work outside however, because, when I think of my crow I walk home again, but may be it change, who knows. (translation from original Dutch: Fons Heijnsbroek)"

"They say that he [ Floris Verster ] has made beautiful impressionist things in the past, afterwards he suddenly has achieved a tender drawing; in this time for example he painted dead rooks, so intimately pure and at the same time monumental, that it seemed to me the best what was made here [in the Netherlands] about that time. (translation from original Dutch: Fons Heijnsbroek)"