1. Van Gogh means a proposal of marriage; although part of the letter is unambiguously about that, he does not commit the words themselves to paper. In letters 331 and 339 Van Gogh also hints at a possible marriage between Theo and Marie.

a. Means: ‘weggeschroeid’ (cauterized).

2. For the ‘conscience’, see letter 133, n. 12.

3. The character Combeferre sings this song in Victor Hugo’s Les misérables, part 3, book 4, chapter 5. It derives from Molière, Le misanthrope (Act 1, scene 2). See Hugo 1951, pp. 690, 1615.

4. The Revolution of 1830 was the so-called July Revolution (27-29 July of that year), which was the beginning of the July monarchy. Louis-Philippe d’Orléans agreed to rule under a constitution that put political power in the hands of the propertied classes (1830-1848).

5. Immediately after the song in Les misérables the character Enjolars says that ‘l’amour de ma mère’ stands for ‘l’amour de la republique’. See Hugo 1951, pp. 690, 1615. It is Van Gogh who is responsible for equating mother love with ‘l’amour de l’humanité’ and with ‘fraternité universelle’.

6. For this quotation from Millet in Sensier, La vie et l’oeuvre de J.F. Milletsee letter 210, n. 5.

7. Van Gogh comes back to this remark at the end of letter 417.

8. Theo must have made this comment in 1882; cf. letter 301, where these words were also quoted.

9. Vincent is probably quoting from Theo’s letter here. The passage (‘and I for my part... nasty people’) was added later by Van Gogh.

b. Means: ‘vond uit dat ze’ (discovered that they).

c. Read: ‘geen vlekken geeft’ (does not leave marks); ‘niet’ (not) before ‘doortrekt’ (soak through) is contracted.

10. These drawings are not known. See cat. Amsterdam 1996, p. 194.

11. On 9 March 1883 Goupil’s branch in The Hague received a seascape by Jules Dupré from Paris. The painting – measuring 54 x 45 cm – was bought for 6000 francs. It was to be sold on to Goupil’s in London for £ 250 on 27 November 1883 (RKD, Goupil Ledgers).

In a letter to Theo a few years later A.H. Koning said of the effect of exhibiting in this window on the Plaats: ‘Here in The Hague that is an excellent thing, because in the afternoon the entire beau monde takes a turn before the big window on the Plaats.’ (FR b1080, 15 september 1888).

d. Read: ‘toegekomen aan’ (got round to).

12. The prostitute Fantine has a boundless love for her illegitimate daughter Cosette, whom she hands over to an innkeeper’s family so that she is better able to earn the board and lodging. She works hard, even selling her hair and teeth, but encounters a great many setbacks.

13. Paul Girardet and Philipp Hermann Eichens were engravers who made numerous aquatints for Goupil’s publications.

14. Charles Mottram line-engraved different works after George Boughton, e.g. Pilgrim exiles (1874), The belated traveller (1875) and The two farewells (1875). Which drawings by Mottram Van Gogh saw – probably during his stay in London – is not known.

15. It is not known who the widow of Frans Soek and her mother were.

16. For Good Friday by Paul Delaroche, see letter 41, n. 7.

17. Charles Landelle’s painting Bienheureux ceux qui pleurent parce qu’ils seront consolés (Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted) was shown at the Salon of 1852. The reproduction of it, engraved by Alexis François Girard in 1857, appeared as Beatitude (Bienheureux ceux qui pleurent car ils seront consolés) in the Goupil list (Bordeaux, Musée Goupil). Ill. 1031