1. This is letter 765.
2. The year 1888 had indeed been a prosperous one for Theo: in addition to his basic annual income of 4,000 francs, his share of the profits for that year amounted to 9,619.10 francs. See Account book 2002, pp. 15-16.
3. Théophile Peyron wrote to Theo on 29 April 1889: ‘What I can assure you of at once, is that when I have observed your patient for some time and have gained the certainty that he may without deleterious consequences enjoy a greater degree of freedom, I shall be the first to grant him it. As for painting, and not leaving him in isolation in the establishment, I promise you that I will provide him with all the means of indulging his natural inclinations, and in the house allow him the greatest freedom compatible with his mental state’ (Ce que je puis vous assurer d’avance, c’est que lorsque j’aurai observé votre malade pendant quelque temps et que j’aurai acquis la certitude qu’il peut sans inconvénients jouir d’une liberté plus grande, je serai le premier à la lui accorder. Quant à faire de la peinture et à ne pas le laisser séquestré dans l’établissement, je vous promets de lui faciliter tous les moyens de se livrer à ses goûts naturels et à lui laisser dans la maison, la plus grande liberté compatible avec son état mental) (see FR b1059; Hulsker 1993-2, pp. 176-177).
4. Read: ‘Puvis de Chavannes’.
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