1. The two photographs – which have survived as ‘cartes de visite’ – are of Ploughman and a woman planting potatoes (F 172 / JH 514

) and Shepherd with flock of sheep (F 42 / JH 517

). See exhib. cat. Vienna 1996, p. 177, cat. nos. 62-63. From the former we can see that shortly after his painting of the ploughman (which is under Cottage with tumbledown barn and a stooping woman (F 1669 / JH 825

) (see letter 453, n. 10) Van Gogh must have decided to do it again and add a female figure.

2. Van Gogh’s parents were very pleased to have Van Rappard staying with them to distract Vincent and divert his mind from his proposal to Margot. On Monday, 27 October 1884 Mr van Gogh wrote to Theo: ‘But there’s no getting away from it because of what Vincent asked Margot our relationship with people changed. They don’t come to see us because they don’t want to meet him, at least our neighbours, and we have to say that they’re right. Now that Rappard is here it is something of a distraction for Vincent’ (FR b2258).

3. Virtually no works made by Van Rappard during this stay in Nuenen are known. Portrait of a girl (Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen) may have been done in Nuenen, but it could equally well have been painted in Drenthe or Terschelling, where Van Rappard was working before he went to Nuenen. See exhib. cat. Amsterdam 1974, p. 90.

4. Van Gogh mentions two paintings of women spinning: a large one measuring about 100 x 75 cm. (see letter 449 ff and 463, n. 1), and a smaller one that he wants to do after Theo has told him the size of a frame (letter 451). That plan may have resulted in the picture that is under The parsonage garden in the snow (F 194 / JH 603

). Ill. 2129

. This woman spinning measures 59 x 78 cm.

If Van Gogh is referring to the second of these here, the ‘shepherd’ could be the picture that is under Still life with a brass cauldron and jug (F 51 / JH 925

), Ill. 2130

., since the dimensions of this canvas are similar: 65.5 x 80.5 cm. This shepherd is most probably the same as the ‘large bust of a shepherd’ (letter 467, ll. 73-74). See also exhib. cat. Vienna 1996, p. 172.

5. This study of two pollard willows is not known. Although it was previously thought that Van Gogh was talking about two studies here – the second being ‘a view across the fields’ – the description does in fact refer to a single work. See cat. Amsterdam 1999, pp. 68-69 (n. 4).