1. Before his departure Cor spent ‘nearly a week’ with Theo and Jo in Paris, arriving there on 15 August 1889 (FR b4292). Aunt Cornelie had given him 500 guilders to travel to Southampton via Paris (FR b4292). Cor had written a letter to Vincent from Breda (FR b2408).

2. Jo wrote in more detail to Willemien about Cor’s visit: ‘It was so very nice to have him here, and the time flew by; at first he liked Paris enough to live here, but in the end he changed his mind – something I can easily understand – I can imagine Cor as a stalwart Transvaler on horseback, with a couple of pistols tucked under his belt, but not as a dandy parading down the boulevards. On Monday we spent a delightful morning together. Theo treated us to an open carriage (which Cor loved as much as I did), then we went briefly to see the Magasin du Louvre, then along the Seine to Sainte Chapelle and the Palais de Justice, afterwards to Notre-Dame – Jardin du Luxembourg, where we couldn’t feast our eyes enough on the magnificent flowers, and then across the place du Carousel and on home. When neither Theo nor I could go along, Isaäcson was his travelling companion, and he spent the whole of the last day with him. They only went out in the morning, to see Napoleon’s grave, since Cor preferred to spend the afternoon at home. Theo came home around two o’clock, and so we could sit together pleasantly until dinner time and – then the time to say good-bye had come ... [Vincent] wrote that he had received such nice letters from home – he also wrote an extremely warm-hearted letter to Cor before his departure’ (FR b944, 23 August 1889).