"The expression of the infinite in the mundane, van Gogh's experience of the numinous quality of day to day human existence, pervades his work. Rather than choosing the subject matter and the iconography of traditional religious painting to express the divine presence, van Gogh instead tried to capture what he saw of the infinite in the commonplace subjects of everyday life. He explained: 'I prefer painting people's eyes to cathedrals, for there is something in the eyes that is not in the cathedral, however solemn and imposing the latter may be — a human soul, be it that of a poor beggar or of a street walker, is more interesting to me.' "