In his last days, Van Gogh truly believed his life would serve no purpose to the world. He believed that all of his hard work throughout his life was in vain. He believed that his paintings were utter rubbish, and that his life was a burden. However, "today, we consider Vincent Van Gogh to be one of the greatest and most influential painters of all time..." (10 Artists Not Appreciated in Their Time). Even though he didn't know it, he was actually a pioneer of the arts in his time, creating a stylized way of combining emotion and color that would lead into modern Expressionism (Thaw, 38). Thankfully, Van Gogh would leave behind over 900 paintings for us to enjoy and to study. His life would indeed serve a purpose, not only for the public to enjoy his paintings for years to come, but also for psychologists and scientists to study mental illness in relation to creativity, and develop even more research on the affects of manic-depressive disorder. Even his self-deprecation and suicide would provoke "a cultural guilt complex which still pervades our attitudes toward experimental artists; we are so afraid of missing another Van Gogh that we tolerate, we celebrate..." (Thaw, 38). Van Gogh's life opened the minds of those that appreciate art, to accept all forms of art as an expression of the soul, and to appreciate not only the result, but also the struggle behind it.