2. For Mauve’s last visit to Drenthe, see letter 175. It is not known where and when François Pieter ter Meulen spent time in Drenthe, only that he must have been there very regularly. See Van der Lubbe 1999, p. 75; exhib. cat. Assen 1997, p. 74.

3. Brabant became highly industrialized in the second half of the nineteenth century; see Van den Eerenbeemt 1977, pp. 60-124.

4. The promotion of heath reclamation, the rise of new branches of industry, and the accompanying extension of the infrastructure had far-reaching effects on the appearance of the landscape of Brabant. The railway network grew substantially from 1862, and sugar-beet factories were built in Princenhage and Zevenbergen and elsewehere. See Van den Eerenbeemt 1977, especially pp. 15-17, 69, 110-111.

5. Van Rappard had stayed with the Van Gogh family in Etten in the summer of 1881: see letter 168.

6. This painting of a cinder road is unknown; Van Gogh sketched it in letter 257.

7. The paintings ‘small seascape’ and ‘pieces of dune ground’ are Beach with fishing boats (F 2 / JH 173

) and Dunes (F 2a / JH 176

) respectively. The ‘row of pollard willows’ and ‘potato field’, both mentioned before in letter 255, are unknown (the sketch enclosed with letter 255 gives an impression of the potato field). The ‘and so on’ must refer in any case to the ‘cinder road’ mentioned in letter 255, which must be a different work from the cinder road by evening referred to in the present letter (ll. 44-49 and n. 6).

8. The ‘Zevende tentoonstelling van teekeningen door de gewone- en eereleden van de Hollandsche Teeken-Maatschappij’ (Seventh exhibition of drawings by the ordinary and honorary members of the Dutch Drawing Society) took place from 11 August to 12 September 1882 at the Academy of Fine Arts building on Prinsessegracht. A total of 136 works were on show. See exhib. cat. The Hague 1882-1. The whereabouts of practically all the drawings discussed is unknown.

The Hollandsche Teeken-Maatschappij was founded in 1876 by several members of Pulchri Studio, among them B.J. Blommers, J. Israëls, J.H. Maris and A. Mauve. The aim was to obtain greater recognition for the watercolour as an autonomous work of art, partly by organizing annual exhibitions. In this way it was hoped to promote sales. The society was associated with the dealers Goupil & Cie; for many years H.G. Tersteeg was its secretary and one of those responsible for choosing the works exhibited. Most of the members were established artists; the criteria for admission were stringent. See Stolwijk 1998, pp. 107-111.

9. Anton Mauve, Spinster (Spinner), p. 11, cat. no. 70 (present whereabouts unknown). Cf. in this connection the sketch Spinner (Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art).

10. Jozef Israëls, Moeder Jopje in hare woning (Mother Jopje in her dwelling), p. 10, cat. no. 49 (present whereabouts unknown). The work is known through Binnenhuis (Interior) engraved by Leopold Löwenstam, in Kunstkronijk 13 (1872), NS, between p. 2 and 3. Ill. 191

. See Dekkers 1994, C292 (n. 3) and p. 450.

11. It is not clear which Neuhuys is being referred to here. Johannes Albert Neuhuys was represented in the exhibition by Voor den spiegel (Before the mirror), Binnenhuis te Laren (Interior at Laren) and Bij een schoenlapper (At a shoe repairer’s), and his brother Jozef Hendrikus Neuhuys by Avond (Evening), Molen (Mill) and Brug (Bridge), p. 12, cat. nos. 94-99.

12. Work by both Jacob and Willem Maris was shown: by the former Een wolkeffekt (A cloud effect), Hooiladen( Hay stacking), Winter (Winter), Eene étude van Knorr (An étude by Knorr), Een duo (A duo) and Bij de duinen (In the dunes), p. 10, cat. nos. 58-63; by Willem: Opgeschrikt (Startled), Melkbocht (Milking yard), Zeug met biggen (Sow with piglets) and Weide met vee (Meadow with cattle), p. 10-11, cat. nos. 64-67.

13. The works exhibited by F.J. van Rossum du Chattel were: Nigtevecht (Nigtevecht), Zomer (Summer) and Tegen den avond (Towards evening), p. 9, cat. nos. 30-32.

14. Three works by F.P. ter Meulen were exhibited, all with the title In het bosch van Saint Germain (In the wood of St Germain), p. 12, cat. nos. 85-87.

15. Besides several other Dutch artists, the 49 exhibitors included artists from Belgium, Italy, France and England.

16. J.H. Weissenbruch was represented by three landscapes and a seascape: Boomrijk landschap (Wooded landscape), Strand (Beach), Landschap in de omstreken van Loosduinen (Landscape in the surroundings of Loosduinen) and Onder de boomen (Under the trees), p. 15, cat. nos. 133-136.

17. Jozef Israëls, The painter J.H. Weissenbruch (Groningen, Groninger Museum). Ill. 202

. (p. 10, cat. no. 51).

18. By the large seascape Van Gogh probably means H.W. Mesdag’s Aankomende pinken (Pinks coming in) – the second work, Avond op het Hollandsche Diep (Evening on the Hollands Diep), is a river view (present whereabouts unknown). Although he refers to two ‘Swiss things’, the two other works by Mesdag depict scenes in Norway: Waterfall at Trolhetta (Norway) (private collection) (Ill. 1939

) and Eenzaamheid (Noorwegen) (Solitariness (Norway)), p. 11, cat. nos. 81-84. Cf. Poort 1989, pp. 217, 527.

19. For Maris’s Sow with piglets, cf. n. 12.

20. Of the titles by Jacob Maris (cf. n. 12) in the catalogue, Een wolkeffect (A cloud effect) (cat. no. 58) and Winter (Winter) (cat. no. 60) are the likeliest candidates. The former may have been the watercolour Townscape (Amsterdam, Rijksprentenkabinet). See exhib. cat. Haarlem 2003, p. 140, cat. no. 45.