“'The Night Cafe' and 'The Starry Night' still emit such pathos, density, and intensity that they send shivers down the spine. Whether Van Gogh thought in color or felt with his intellect, the radical color, dynamic distortion, heart, soul, and part-by-part structure in these paintings make him a bridge to a new vision and the vision itself.”

American art critic

Jerry Saltz is an American art critic and columnist, known for his long career in New York art journalism. Since 2006, he has served as senior art critic and columnist for New York magazine. He was formerly the senior art critic for The Village Voice. In 2018, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, and he was nominated for the award in 2001 and 2006. He has also taught or served as a visiting critic at the School of Visual Arts, Columbia University, Yale University, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the New York Studio Residency Program, and was the sole advisor for the 1995 Whitney Biennial.