491 To Anton Kerssemakers. Nuenen, Thursday, 9 April 1885.

metadata

No. 491 (Brieven 1990 494, Complete Letters 399a)
From: Vincent van Gogh
To: Anton Kerssemakers
Date: Nuenen, Thursday, 9 April 1885

Source status

Reproduction

Location

Washington, National Gallery of Art. Collection of Mr. and Mrs Paul Mellon, Upperville, Virginia, USA. Inv. no. 1995.47.44

Date

Date of postmark: Thursday, 9 April 1885; the card was posted in the morning.

Additional

Postcard (2½ cents). Postmarks: ‘NUENEN 8-12 V / 9 APR 85’ and ‘EINDHOVEN 12-1 N / 9 APR 85’. The address reads: ‘WelEd Heer A. Kerssemakers Simonis/ Eindhoven’ (Kerssemakers was married to Josephina Dymphina Simonis).

Ongoing topic

Preparations for The potato eaters (490)

Sketch

Man and a woman planting potatoes (F - / JH 728), letter sketch

original text

1r:1

Mijnheer,

Of ik Zaturdag a.s. kan komen schilderen weet ik niet zeker.– Omdat ik een paar studies aan ’t maken ben hier – van het aardappelzetten1 – waar ik dien dag in kwestie welligt aan zal moeten blijven werken.

Doch indien niet Zaturdag dan kom ik toch – tenzij in geval van tegenberigt uwerzijds – Maandag.

b. à v.

Vincent

[sketch A]

1v:1

translation

1r:1

Dear Sir,

I’m not sure whether I can come and paint next Saturday. Because I’m making a couple of studies here — of the potato planting1 — on which I may possibly have to continue to work on the day in question.

But if not Saturday, I’ll come anyway — unless I hear from you to the contrary — on Monday.

Yours truly,

Vincent

[sketch A]

1v:1

notes

1. One of these studies is still extant: Man and a woman planting potatoes (F 129a / JH 727 ), after which the letter sketch of the same name was made (F - / JH 728). The composition of the other one is now known only from Two women working in the fields (F 1228 / JH 730), the sketch enclosed with letter 492.