1. Van Gogh had been given the mangle room in a small shed behind the house to use as a studio. He complained about the inadequacy of this space in letter 440. He rented his new studio from the Catholic sacristan Johannes Schafrat and his wife Adriana Schafrat-Van Eerd in their house at Heieind (district F, no. 540), next door to St Clement’s Church. A year later Van Gogh went to live there (see letter 501). The rent was 75 guilders a year. Anton Kerssemakers drew a floor plan of this studio in 1914 (FR b1423). Ill. 2121

. Schafrat’s widow can be seen in a photograph of the corner of the attic in the sacristan’s house where Van Gogh slept. See Stokvis 1926, p. 17. It has been suggested that Van Gogh had meanwhile had another studio behind the parsonage, but nothing has been found that might substantiate this. See De Brouwer 1984, pp. 38-41 and cat. Amsterdam 1997, pp. 13-18.

2. Probably Weaver (F 30 / JH 479

), which Van Gogh had referred to in letter 445 and was later to have photographed; see letters 463 and 465.

3. The version of the Nuenen tower Van Gogh refers to here must have been a smaller study than the one about which he wrote in letter 452: ‘have also been working again on the old tower in the fields in the evening; I’ve made a larger study of it than my previous ones — with the wheatfields around it’ (ll. 13-17). The one in the present letter was therefore probably The old tower at dusk, which has wheatfields (F 40 / JH 507

) and measures 35 x 47 cm. The ‘larger study’ must be The old tower (F 88 / JH 490

), which measures 47.5 x 55 cm.

4. The Paris Salon, which opened on 1 May.

6. A dark brown pigment prepared from asphalt, resin and linseed oil.

7. A brown pigment prepared from common soot.

8. See for the twelve drawings by Van Gogh that Van Rappard had at this time: letter 441, n. 6.

9. This remark must refer to Van Gogh’s departure from The Hague and the parting of the ways with Sien.

a. Means: ‘wordt beter’ (coming along, getting better).