Vincent Willem Van Gogh, probably known as much for his embodiment of the myth of the ”˜tortured romantic artist' as for his painterly work. And yet, of course, the two are quite related, and art may even have acted as a mechanism to treat and contain the artist's depression. I wonder if there something to be found in his paintings, that helped bring coherence to his mind. In many of his works, warm-bright details shine in the middle of a dark void (bright landscapes or elements juxtaposed against the overwhelmingly dark sky, or, as in ”˜The Potato Eaters', dark silhuettes huddled around bright light). In some paintings, the subject matter is arranged to balance order and disorder (a play found typically in nature, and in post-impressionism, but nonetheless able to focus one's attention on ”˜potential stability'). And there is the playful quality of the textural strokes, which seems to bring ”˜life' to the most barren elements. Could any of these ”˜types' be useful in the development of a peace-inducing architectural space? (chapel, treatment center, etc.) Are any better than the others? Is there a place, in our clean and modernist spaces, for an implementation of such ”˜painterly' mechanisms?