Alexander The Great: Van Gogh's Leadership

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“[He] was the finest… of them all: Certainly the most popular great [leader] of all time, the most beloved, his command of [his domain] the most magnificent.” What great leader deserves such commendation? Was it Alexander the Great? George Washington? Winston Churchill? Read now the full quote: “[He] was the finest painter of them all: Certainly the most popular great painter of all time, the most beloved, his command of color the most magnificent. He transformed the pain of his tormented life into ecstatic beauty. Pain is easy to portray, but to use your passion and pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world—No one had ever done it before. Perhaps no one ever will again. …That strange, wild man who roamed the fields …show more content…

But alas, no leader is without his weaknesses as well! Although he exhibits four of Kouzes and Posner’s leadership practices, he seems to fail when it comes to “encouraging the heart.” (p. 272) There are two major causes for this. First, his abrasive personality tended to turn off the people he met. Imagine saying hello to your new grubby-looking neighbor, only to be greeted in return by a one-fingered salute! (Hanson and Hanson, 1955, p. 123) Van Gogh had no close friends excepting his brother Theo. Second, even for those who admire his leadership, his story holds no great encouragement. The lonely artist considered himself a failure and inevitably committed suicide. His story is not a happy one with a few rough patches from time to time. It is a full-blown tragedy, with a small patch of hope in the epilogue as his leadership is finally recognized in the years following his death. There is much to learn from the story of Vincent van Gogh. For me he is an inspiration, one who was unloved, but in love with the concept of love. He fought long and hard enough against his mental illness that he was able to produce an astonishingly copious amount of art in a relatively short time span. I am thankful for the social skills I have, but I will continue to strive after his passion and creative talent. Vincent van Gogh was truly a great

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