1. Van Gogh added the phrase ‘that ... take’ (‘dat ... nemen’) later.

2. Van Gogh added the phrase ‘and then ... floor’ (‘en verder ... grond’) later.

3. For the origin of this borrowing from the book Petites misères de la vie humaine by Old Nick and Grandville, see letter 178, n. 6.

4. These two painted seascapes are not known.

5. This painted study of a peasant cottage is not known.

6. These two painted figure studies are not known.

7. With a possible confiscation in mind, Vincent wants to transfer ownership of the works of art to Theo. In this way he hopes to avoid their being seized.

8. The personal tax was levied according to outward signs of wealth: the rental value, the number of doors and windows, the fireplaces, the value of the furniture, the number of servants and the number of horses. See Stolwijk 1998, pp. 285-286. Nothing about Van Gogh’s assessment for the poll tax has been found in the 1882-1883 tax registers of the municipality of The Hague.

a. Means: ‘op te kunnen schrijven (voor wat hij verschuldigd is), aan te slaan’ (to put him down ((for what he owes)), assess).

9. The quotation is a compilation of several sentences from Zola’s foreword in Mes haines: ‘If at present I am worth something, it is because I am alone and because I hate. I hate people who are insignificant and incapable; they annoy me ... I hate the nasty scoffers, the little youngsters who sneer, being unable to imitate their papas’ weighty seriousness ... I hate fools who put on a haughty front, the incapable ones who declare that our art and literature are dying a peaceful death.’ (Si je vaux quelque chose aujourd’hui, c’est que je suis seul et que je hais. Je hais les gens nuls et impuissants; ils me gênent ... Je hais les railleurs malsains, les petits jeunes gens qui ricanent, ne pouvant imiter la pesante gravité de leurs papas ... Je hais les sots qui font les dédaigneux, les impuissants qui crient que notre art et notre littérature meurent de leur belle mort.) See Zola 1966-1970, vol. 10, pp. 23, 25, 27. Cf. Sund 1992, pp. 77, 275 (n. 141).

10. Van der Weele was awarded a medal for A misty morning: see letter 327, n. 1.

11. Van Gogh worked for Goupil from 1869-1876.

12. Van Gogh would have based this statement on what Emile Zola had written in Mon Salon: ‘Ask M. Daubigny which are the paintings he sells most easily. He will reply that they are precisely those he admires the least.’ (Demandez à M. Daubigny quels sont les tableaux qu’il vend le mieux. Il vous répondra que ce sont justement ceux qu’il estime le moins.) See Zola 1966-1970, vol. 12, p. 319.