1. This enclosed sketch would have been Soup distribution in a public soup kitchen (F 1020 / JH 333). There were two municipal establishments, the ‘’s-Gravenhaagsche Volksgaarkeukens’ (one at Torenstraat 19 and one at Stationstraat 26), where the poor could get food for very little money. There were also private establishments, the so-called ‘soepkeukens’ or spijskokerijen’, at Westeinde 175 among other places. See Visser 1973, pp. 73-76.
In earlier editions this sketch was placed with letter 326. For the arguments in favour of moving it to the present letter, see cat. Amsterdam 1996, pp. 211-216, cat. no. 60.
a. Means: ‘doorgeefluik’ (hatch).
2. The sign ‘P’ refers to the sign at the top right in the open window in letter sketch A.
3. In letter sketch A Van Gogh drew a frame around the part that he wanted to depict; to make it clearer he drew that part again, in a small sketch (letter sketch B). His first attempt at this was a failure and he crossed it out.
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