Portrait of the Artist: Van Gogh

I am tired of the suffering artist trope and, at an immersive Van Gogh exhibition in the ancient city of York, I realised why.

There are so many things in life that don’t last. We get used to transience. This feeling will last an hour, this cake: two days, this relationship: six years. Even we don’t last all that long. We do extremely well if we see a century.

So, when something lasts and lasts and lasts, it’s got to be pretty special right?

Take St Olave’s church in the centre o…