1. Theo’s letter was letter 770. On 11 May, Jo wrote the following to her sister Mien about the present letter, the first from Saint-Rémy: ‘The news from Vincent is rather good – he is now no longer in Arles but in Saint-Rémy, where he will let himself be well taken care of for a couple of months – he always writes so cleverly – I’ve seldom read such letters – but his head is a bit worn out – I hope so much that rest will do him good. This week Theo showed us some splendid drawings by him – the things of his I saw in the beginning were mostly so strange – but there are also some that are much more understandable and ever so beautiful!’ (FR b4287).

2. The admissions register of the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole contains the medical report sent by Dr Urpar from Arles about Van Gogh. He stated that Van Gogh ‘suffered an attack of acute mania with generalised delirium. At that time he cut off his ear. At present his condition has greatly improved, but he nevertheless thinks it helpful to be cared for in a mental asylum’ (a été atteint il y a six mois de Manie aiguë avec délire généralisé. À cette époque il s’est coupé l’oreille. Actuellement son état s’est beaucoup amélioré, mais cependant il lui paraît utile d’être soigné dans un asile d’aliénés.) The asylum’s physician, Dr Peyron, examined Van Gogh and recorded his findings on 9 and 25 May 1889. On 9 May 1889 he wrote in the admissions register: ‘I consider that Mr Van Gogh is subject to attacks of epilepsy, separated by long intervals, and that it is advisable to place him under long-term observation in the institution.’ (J’estime ... que M. Van Gogh est sujet à des attaques d’Epilepsie fort éloignées les unes des autres et qu’il y a lieu de le soumettre à une observation prolongée dans l’établissement.) See Documentation, 8 May 1889.

3. In letter 774 of 21 May, Theo confirmed that he had received this consignment several days earlier.

4. Irises (F 608 / JH 1691

5. Lilacs (F 579 / JH 1692

a. Read: ‘distrait’.

b. Read: ‘gauche’.

6. Jo’s letter was letter 771.

7. By ‘this terrible attack’ Van Gogh is probably referring to his first attack of mental illness, during which he cut off his left ear. For subsequent attacks, see letter 750, n. 4.

8. For this quotation from Voltaire’s Candide, see letter 568, n. 3.

9. After this Van Gogh crossed out an unfinished remark: ‘N’est ce pas Currer Bell’ (Isn’t it Currer Bell?).

c. Read: ‘douteux’.

10. On 25 May 1889 Jo wrote to her sister Mien: ‘If only I could always make Theo happy then all is well. But Vincent keeps coming [back], Vincent who doesn’t share in happiness and contentment because it’s better to wear out than to rust out – work, struggle, and he’s so instilled that in Theo. His letters from Saint-Rémy are sad, yet he feels rather content, paints a lot – but what he says about all those lunatics around him – about accepting his fate – gives me pain. What will ever become of it?’ (FR b4288).