1. Evidently Van Gogh was looking forward to a letter from his brother so much that he wrote to his parents about it. In fact, Mr van Gogh wrote to Theo: ‘Vincent appears to be longing for a letter from you’ (FR b967, 20 February 1878).

2. For the prints Christus Consolator and Christus Remunerator after Ary Scheffer, see letter 85, n. 7.

3. Regarding Van Goyen’s Dordrecht , see letter 140, n. 16.

4. For the portraits of Heldring, see letter 109, n. 12.

5. For Rousseau’s Oven in Les Landes , see letter 139, n. 9.

a. This is a saying.

6. This refers to the first volume of L’Art. Revue Hebdomadaire Illustrée (1875) containing the article ‘Corot et la presse Anglaise’ by Jean Rousseau (pp. 240-247, 269-275), which includes 12 wood engravings after Corot.

7. Van Gogh names the following Millet reproductions from the first two issues of the first volume of L’Art. Revue Hebdomadaire Illustrée (1875): La chute des feuilles: Effet d’automne; Berger gardant son troupeau (Falling leaves: Autumnal effect; Shepherd guarding his flock), facsimile of a drawing by Théophile-Narcisse Chauvel after a pastel by Millet (vol. 2, p. 95; ill. 273 ); La nuée de corbeaux: Effet d’hiver (A flock of crows: Winter effect), facsimile of a drawing by François du Mont after a pastel by Millet (vol. 2, p. 71; ill. 284 ); Anes dans une plaine par la pluie (Donkeys on a plain in the rain), facsimile of a drawing by Théophile-Narcisse Chauvel after a pastel by Millet (vol. 2, p. 70; ill. 265 ); Le bucheron (The woodcutter), drawing by Edmond Charles Joseph Yon after a painting by Millet, engraved by George Léon Alfred Perrichon (vol. 1, p. 156; ill. 271 ) or Bucheron et sa femme dans le forêt: L’hiver (Woodcutter and his wife in the forest: winter), facsimile of a drawing by François du Mont after a painting by Millet (vol. 2, p. 335; ill. 1871 ); Ménagère balayant sa maison (Housewife sweeping her house), facsimile of a drawing by François du Mont after a painting by Millet (vol. 2, p. 359; ill. 281 ); and Cour de ferme: La nuit (Farmyard: Night), facsimile of a drawing by Théophile-Narcisse Chauvel after a pastel by Millet (vol. 2, p. 71; ill. 274 ).

8. The facsimile of a drawing by Edouard Daliphard after La dune (The dune) by Camille Corot. Illustration accompanying the article ‘Expositon des oeuvres de Corot’, L’Art. Revue Hebdomadaire Illustrée 1875, vol. 2, p. 159. Ill. 722 . Cf. n. 6 (above).

9. Jules Breton, La Saint-Jean (The feast of Saint John), drawing by Edmond Charles Joseph Yon after a painting by Jules Breton, engraved by George Léon Alfred Perrichon (vol. 2, p. 173; ill. 1873 ). For the painting, The feast of Saint John , see letter 34, n. 9.

10. No works by Théophile-Narcisse Chauvel appeared in the above-mentioned issue of L’Art, though it did include drawings he made after Millet (mentioned in n. 7 above), as well as one after Corot, Soleil couchant (Setting sun), and one after Old Crome, Environs de Norwich (The countryside near Norwich) (vol. 1, between pp. 274-275, and between pp. 144-145, respectively). Ill. 692 and ill. 1875 .

11. The engraving La cueillette des haricots (The bean harvest) by Pierre Edmond Alexandre Hédouin after a painting by J.F.Millet (vol. 1, between pp. 162-163). Ill. 278 .

12. Johanna Wilhelmina van Gogh, Aunt Antje; eldest sister of Mr van Gogh and his two surviving brothers.

13. On Sunday, 17 February at 10 a.m., Monsieur Dussauze, minister at Sens and a representative of the Société Évangélique de France, preached the sermon in the Eglise Wallonne, in the place of the Rev. Gagnebin. Van Gogh says that this minister came ‘from the vicinity of Lyon’, but Sens is less than 100 km south-east of Paris. This Mission Évangélique is recorded in the sermon rota. See Godsdienstoefeningen 1742-1886.

14. Barndesteeg 19 was the address of the Zionskapel, built in 1846, of the ‘British Society for promoting Christianity amongst the Jews’ (an initiative of the fairly orthodox Protestant Church of England), where August Carl Adler acted as minister. The sermon rota confirms that Adler preached in ‘Nederduitsch’ (Dutch). See Godsdienstoefeningen 1742-1886.

15. Johannes Paulus Vos, the son of Christoffel Vos and Kee Vos-Stricker.

16. Mr van Gogh had been to see Vincent in early February to discuss his progress and the continuation of his studies (see letter 140).

17. The phrase ‘Lord keep my memory green’ occurs six times – in one instance as the closing line – in Charles Dickens’s The haunted man (1848), which appeared in the Christmas books. Van Gogh’s choice of words, ending with ‘Amen’, suggests that he is referring to the passage in which Philip Swidger is speaking: “‘I thankee, sir, I thankee!” said the old man ... “Ha ha! I remember – though I’m eighty-seven! ‘Lord keep my memory green!’ It’s a very good prayer, Mr. Redlaw ... ‘Lord keep my memory green!’ It’s very good and pious, sir. Amen! Amen!”’. In the Household Edition of 1878, illustrated by Frederick Barnard, the closing words were printed in a different font, and also used as an inscription on a portrait. See Christmas books. London [1878], p. 200 (quotation on p. 164).

18. The apostle Paul.

19. The Rev. Gagnebin.

20. Map no. 34 which Van Gogh had copied from Stieler’s atlas; cf. letter 136, n. 31

21. Cf. Rev. 2:25.

22. The previously mentioned map.

23. This passage reveals Vincent’s doubt as to his chances of success in the entrance examinations for the study of theology. His parents took note of this development and were rather pessimistic. Mr van Gogh wrote to Theo a short while later: ‘The worry about Vincent weighs us down again, oh so heavily. I foresee, I think, that another bomb is about to explode. It is obvious that the wide-ranging nature of the study makes it more difficult than he expected. And his heart again appears to be drawn by opposing forces. He has again been forming connections with English and French ministers in Amsterdam who have ultra-orthodox leanings – and the result is a greater number of mistakes in his work than before, and they were numerous to start with. I fear that he has no idea of what study entails’ (FR b968, 2 March 1878).

24. Mr van Gogh’s trip to Amsterdam and The Hague, from 4-7 February; see letter 140.

25. Anna was to marry Joan van Houten in August.

26. For these maps, see letters 137 and 138. Gladwell had left Paris and was again living in London.

b. Read: ‘lately’.