1. Van Gogh confirmed receipt of Theo’s letter and the money in letter 602.

2. These were letters 602, 603 and 604, the latter two of which may have been sent together.

3. See for the exhibited works: letter 582, n. 9.

4. We do not know which of Degas’s works Theo sold in Brussels, nor who the buyer was.

5. See for the society of artists Les Vingt: letter 580, n. 6. Van Gogh meant the Spanish artist Dario de Regoyos (y Valdés), who was one of the founders of Les Vingt and showed at the society’s annual exhibitions. See Delevoy 1981, and exhib. cat. Brussels 1993.

6. See for De Braekeleer’s illness: letter 604, n. 15.

7. Van Gogh was staying at Hotel-Restaurant Carrel; see letter 577, n. 4.

8. See for this first shipment of drawings from Arles: letter 602, n. 1.

9. In view of their size, 43 x 55 cm and 39 x 61 cm respectively, View of Arles with irises in the foreground (F 1416r / JH 1415 ) and Bank of the Rhône at Arles (F 1472a / JH 1497a ) are the most likely candidates; cf. also the inscription at lower left on both drawings.

10. Monet, who had worked in Antibes in the spring, had been back in Giverny since 6 May. See Wildenstein and Walter 1974-1991, vol. 3, p. 9. Theo mounted a small exhibition of Monets (see letter 625, n. 5). His visit to Monet must have taken place in May, given that the exhibition opened at the beginning of June. See exhib. cat. Amsterdam 1999, pp. 111, 187.

11. The ‘Colonne de la Constitution’ (or ‘Colonne du Congrès’) erected in 1859 on the place du Congrès on rue Royale, which in turn opens into the said boulevard du Jardin Botanique.

12. See for ‘La Vallée de Josaphat’ in Schaarbeek: letter 293, n. 11 and for The Josaphat brook in Schaarbeek by Boulenger: 433, n. 3.