2. The studio was in Weissenbruch’s birthplace at Haagse Kazernestraat 112, where the painter – together with his sisters – spent his whole life. For the house’s interior, see the watercolour Weissenbruch’s studio and a photograph from c. 1899: exhib. cat. Oss 1999-2000, pp. 34 (ill. 3), 65, cat. no. 20; and Laanstra and Ooms 1992, p. 21.

3. The exhibition was the Tweede tentoonstelling van teekeningen door de gewone en eere-leden der Hollandsche Teeken-Maatschappij in het gebouw der Akademie van Beeldende Kunsten Princessegracht te ’s Gravenhage (Second exhibition of drawings by the regular and honorary members of the Dutch Drawing Society in the building of the Academy of Arts in The Hague). At this exhibition, held in the month of August, 112 works were on display.

4. Regarding the Rev. Jeremias Posthumus Meijjes and his sons, see letter 122, n. 7

5. Jan Pompe, the son of Uncle Abraham Pompe and Aunt Bertha (Elisabeth Hubertha Pompe-Van Gogh). Jan had probably visited Vincent in London in the summer of 1873 (cf. FR b2638).

6. The Admiraal Van Wassenaer, the first frigate with steam capacity of the Koninklijke Marine (Royal Navy), was converted in 1875 at the Rijkswerf (national dockyards) into a lodging-ship. On 11 April 1876 the ship was put at the disposal of those training to be ship’s boys and ordinary seamen; it was moored in front of the shipping warehouse (The Hague, Collectie Instituut voor Maritieme Historie, Marinestaf). Ill. 1843

. See also Groot and De Vries 1990, pp. 58-59.

7. Vincent van Gogh, the son of Uncle Cor.

8. Elisabeth Hubertha (Bertha) Vincentia van Gogh, daughter of Willem Daniel van Gogh (a brother of Mr van Gogh) and Magdalena van Stockum.

9. Rev. Johannes Petrus Hasebroek, an adherent of the Réveil, was scheduled to conduct the early service held at 7 a.m. on 29 July 1877 in the Zuiderkerk.

10. The Reformed minister Jacob Cornelis van Marken preached at the 10 a.m. service in the Oudezijdskapel.

12. Here Van Gogh is referring to the death sentence given to Socrates, to the story and the character of Odysseus and also presumably to Deut. 23:24, Deut. 24:21, Isa. 5:4 or Rev. 14:18-19. He could have become familiar with such themes from a schoolbook with question-and-answer games such as Zedekundig leesboek, in den vorm van geschiedenissen ten dienste der scholen. Uitgegeven door de Maatschappij tot nut van ’t algemeen, in which Theme 42 reads: ‘Eenige trekken van zelfbeheersching in het voorbeeld van Socrates’ (Some traits of self-control in the example of Socrates) which concludes with several questions, including: ‘Waarin muntte Socrates bijzonder uit?’ (At what did Socrates particularly excel?) and ‘Hoe gedroeg hij zich in de laatste dagen van zijn leven?’ (How did he conduct himself in the last days of his life?) In the story, Socrates is called such things as ‘de wijste en braafste mensch van zijnen tijd’ (the wisest and most decent man of his time). See 14th ed. Amsterdam, Deventer and Leiden 1861, pp. 91-93 (copy in Rotterdam, Nationaal Schoolmuseum).

13. The letter came from Helvoirt because Mr van Gogh had preached the previous Sunday at his former parish (FR b2547).

14. Tuimen Hendrik Blom Coster, a ‘physician of high standing’ and art collector, lived at Plaats 14, next to the building which housed Goupil’s art gallery, where he also bought works for his collection. Theo, who must have known Blom Coster through his work at Goupil’s, could report to his parents at the beginning of November that the bill had been paid. See Stolwijk 1998, p. 337 and FR b2566. The bill was presumably for the doctor’s expenses incurred during Theo’s illness in October and November 1876. Mr van Gogh had asked about it on 19 January 1877: ‘Have you already paid Dr. Coster’s bill ...? I still have money of yours, which is at your disposal, old boy!’ (FR b2502).

15. Mr and Mrs van Gogh worried about the high amount of the bill, the more so because they themselves could not offer Theo any financial assistance (FR b2541 and b2542).

17. For this saying, see letter 123, n. 12.

18. Cf. Matt. 5:3 and Luke 6:20.

19. Uncle Vincent had been in Amsterdam at the beginning of August; from there he went with Uncle Cor to an exhibition in Leeuwarden (FR b2547, 1 August 1877).

20. Les aventures de Télémaque (The adventures of Telemachus) (1699) by François de Salignac de la Mothe Fénelon, a narrative in the form of a heroic poem, is the story of a wise tutor and his obedient pupil. It is, in the words of Fénelon, ‘a useful teacher of morals’. The adventure story, which went through numerous editions and translations, was a sequel to the fourth book of Homer’s Odyssey and can be seen as one long moral and spiritual odyssey: Mentor guides and directs Telemachus towards a moral victory, whereby Simplicity and Naturalness are the most important virtues, the message being that through suffering one learns to be compassionate. See James Herbert Davis, Fénelon. Boston 1979, pp. 90-111.

In the passage from Les aventures de Télémaque that Van Gogh quotes –with a few adaptations and modifications, such as changing the heathen ‘Jupiter’ into ‘Dieu’), Mentor draws Telemachus’ attention to the wisdom of his father, Odysseus, and explains to him Odysseus’ taciturn and despondent nature. See Fénelon 1995, pp. 399, 405-406 (book 18).