The struggle with nature is sometimes a bit like what Shakespeare calls “the taming of the shrew” (which means wearing down the opposition, bon gré et mal gré [willy-nilly]). In many fields, but especially in drawing, I think that “serrer de près vaut mieux que lâcher” [persistence is better than surrender].
Vincent VanGogh to his brother Theo. Etten, 12-15 October 1881
When I read this I thought a big WOW even though my brain could not make sense of the translation. Figuring it was an idiom I went searching for it. Finally I went to the online collection of letters and there was a much more reasonable version.
