Notes

Notes

 

Chapters

Chapters
19 1. More than half Kools, p. 61. 2. the town of Groot ZundertKools, p. 72. 3. Except for an occasional shepherd Kools, p. 74. 4. peasants cutting peat Kools, p. 74. 5. gathering heather for brushes Kools, p. 74. 6. "untouched territory"Kools, p. 61: The original Dutch term Kools uses for this is "ongerepte gebieden." 7. the NapoleonswegKools, p. 77: Within the town of Groot Zundert, the road was called the Mollenstraat (spelled in some sources, "Molenstraat").
8. row of oak and beech treesKools, p. 61. 9. shops lined the famous road Kools, p. 78. 10. the emperor himselfKools, p. 77: The big four-horse mail-coaches stopped twice a day in Zundert's market to change teams. These coaches brought famous and powerful passengers past, if not to, Vincent's doorstep: Tsar Alexander, the Duke of Wellington, and the new Dutch royalty, in addition to Napeoleon himself. (See Brekelmans, p. 51.) 11. outnumbering the 126 houses Brekelmans, p. 50. 12. Especially at festival timeKools, p. 84.  13. often brawling Tralbaut, pp. 15-16.
14. "fun fairs" Hulsker, "1878, a Decisive Year in the Lives of Theo and Vincent," p. 31.
15. low stereotypes of the rustic Dutch character Schama, p. 265: The Dutch Boare, "is a lusty, Fat, Two-Legged Cheese-Worm. A Creature that is so addicted to eating Butter, Drinking Fat Drink and Sliding [i.e., skating] that all the world knows him for a Slippery Fellow." 20 16. the town's only paved road Kools, p. 77. Vincent refers once, in 1877, to "the paved road with the beech trees" in Zundert, clearly a reference to the Napoleonsweg (JLB 102, 2/7/1877-2/8/1877). 17. home-based breweries and tanneries Meyers, p. 40. 18. still its only industries Kools, p. 78. 19. produced barely enough foodKools, p. 76. 20. potatoes mostly Kools, p. 75. 21. bullocks to pull their plowsKools, p. 76. (See Ch. 2, n. 19.) 22. to a milky smoothness Kools, p. 75. 23. with their livestock Brugmans, p. 64. 24. dressed in the same clothes Brugmans, p. 65. According to the same study, "the distinction between winter and summer clothing was still unknown." 25. tiny percent of Zundert's citizens Kools, p. 82: "In 1862 Zundert counted 158 voters for the Congress and 249 for the Council (out of a total of 4006 souls)." Zundert lagged far behind its neighbor municipalities, according to Kools: "Compare those figures with other Barony-municipalities and one can see that nine municipalities score higher and only four lower. Zundert and Wernhout belonged to the more poor Barony-municipalities." 26. a quarter of its schoolchildren Kools, p. 82. 27. rich cities of the north Lubin, p. 33. 28. cheap labor Lubin, p. 33. 29. it wasn't really Dutch Kools, p. 10: "They regarded the Roman-lead Catholics as a non-national element in the Dutch society." Coquiot refers to them as "une faible hollandais" -- weak Dutch (Coquiot, p. 15). 30. its own brief golden ageRietbergen, p. 39. 31. even its language Goudsblom, p. 59. 32. Brabanters as stupid, superstitious Kools, p. 10. 33. might slide into rebellionKools, p. 9. Rumors circulated of a surprise attack by a Brabant fifth column on Breda, the fortress city that protected the Protestant north from the Catholic south. Kools lists the restrictive emergency measures that were imposed on the volatile border than ran through Brabant: "The contacts of Zundert with the Belgian neighbors should be limited. All activities from Zundert should as much as possible be curbed towards the north. The number of places with border crossings should be kept to a low to make a Belgian surprise attack on the important fortress of Breda as small as possible. ... In the second part of the nineteenth century the Dutch government made, in this corner [of the country], frantic efforts to curb the frequent contacts of the residents of the hamlets with their neighbors to the south. The border area should as much as possible be lifted out of her Belgian environment and taken into the Dutch state. During the Belgian Revolt the people of Brabant had an indifferent attitude towards the Dutch cause and were suspected of secretly sympathizing with their Belgian fellow believers." (ibid., p. 72.) 34. Farms and families were divided Kools, p. 72: "There were historically intimate contacts with the Belgian border municipals, in spite of the division of 1648. There were a lot of across-the-border marriages. Many farmers had assets on both sides of the country's border." (See also Ch. 2, n. 33.) 35. townships along the new border Kools, p. 72: "A large part of the municipal's border was also the country's border." 36. like occupied enemy territory Kools, p. 72. 21 37. A single crossing pointKools, p. 73: "The long stretched borderline in the municipality of Zundert got only one border crossing at Wernhout. The farmers that lived close to the border in hamlets like Achtmaal or Laveibos and leased heath land in Belgium were forced to take a long detour through Wernhout to get their peat home." 38. Farmers had to travel for milesKools, p. 73. (See Ch. 2, n. 37.) 39. Military police Kools, p. 74: "The military police checked very closely that strangers did not settle illegally in the municipality." 40. prevent illegal migration Kools, p. 74.
41. a campaign of audacious smuggling Kools, p. 74: "The governor in Den Bosch was flooded with requests of farmers who had assets in both countries and who wanted to ease the border traffic. The rejection of this and the restricting measures caused an audacious smuggling." 42. installing one religion Kools, p. 43: Kools admirably tracks the inexorable, destructive back-and-forth of the preceding two centuries. When Catholic powers were in the ascendancy, Protestants would flee Catholic bastions in the south and take refuge in Zundert. Then, as Papist armies approached, the whole congregation would flee further north. The Catholics would close the Protestant church and confiscate its buildings. Years would go by with no place in Zundert for Protestants to worship. When Protestant-allied powers gained the upper hand, Protestants would slowly trickle back, reclaim their churches, and institute another round of oppressive measures to protect their ascendency over the Catholic rabble. Each wave left a fresh residue of resentment that made the next wave even more bitter. The process had a devastating cumulative impact on small Protestant churches like Zundert's. Two years after the Belgian Revolt, the congregation numbered only thirty brave souls (Kools, p. 44). 43. new oppressive measuresRietbergen, pp. 124, 127. 44. Catholics smashed the windowsKools, p. 44: "Some young people who returned from catechism had smashed the priest's windows, and churchgoers had been reviled upon leaving the church. But -- so noted the minister in the minute book -- this had happened so frequently before; there was, in truth, nothing new under the sun." 45. Protestants had been slow to returnKools, p. 44: "[M]ost congregation members would rather be safe than sorry. Out of fear for papist assaults and Belgian forays, the clergyman and 'nearly the entire little congregation' had fled to safer places [after the Belgian Revolt]. When the minister returned after a while, the services in the church building were 'resumed for a very small audience.'" In 1832 the congregation consisted of only 30, well below the minimum limit of 50 required to sustain a congregation. 46. the congregation stood at only fifty-six Meyers, p. 29: According to Meyers, only half the Protestants in Zundert were members of the church congregation: "The Protestant community of Zundert, which included Wernhout and Rijsberg, was small: 114 souls from which 56 were professing members." 47. outnumbered thirty to one Druick and Zegers, p. 12: "At the time of Vincent's birth, Prot­estants comprised only about three percent of Zundert's four thousand inhabitants." 48. faith on the papist heath Kools, p. 46: According to Kools, inter-religious relations in Zundert had improved somewhat since the Belgian Revolt thanks to the efforts of the outgoing minister, a man named Van der Burg: "Thanks to Van der Burg's unremitting labor, much had been accomplished. The immediate threat to the survival of the congregation had been averted. The relationship with the Catholic majority in Zundert had improved as well. If the reformed faith was still 'an object of contempt and ridicule for the Catholics' when minister Van der Burg arrived in 1833, upon his departure the general attitude towards the Protestants had changed into benevolence and respect, owing to Van der Burg's character, his conduct in life, and his labor." 49. dark suspicions of Catholic intentionsKools, p. 10: In fact, these suspicions would break into the open soon after the Van Goghs arrived, in 1853, with "fierce anti-papist" riots that brought down the Dutch government. 50. trod lightlyKools, p. 5. 51. Catholics boycotted Protestant businesses Kools, p. 6. 52. "the faith of the invader" Kools, p. 4. 22 53. the town water well Kools, p. 23: "The real, old-fashioned well with well hook in front of the town hall, to the right, was very typical." 54. officials conducted public business Kools, p. 23: "[T]he [tax] collector conducted his business here." 55. the stagecoaches Kools, p. 23: The stagecoaches were not discontinued until 1855. 56. the big stables nearbyKools, p. 23: The two lodging houses on the village square were called "de Roskam"and "het Wapen van Nassau." The stables belonged to Willem Passtoors and were located just behind the buildings that faced the Market. "The many travelers could also refresh themselves at the Market and even spend the night." 57. the news was read outKools, p. 23: "On Sundays the news was read out on the steps of the town hall. In the vernacular this was called 'reading out the gebooie.'" The village policeman gave gave the first report, consisting of municipal news; after he came, the notary's clerk. Brekelmans refers to a "little house of proclamation where public announcements were made every Sunday" (Brekelmans p. 53). 58. the town hall Brekelmans, p. 52. The town hall -- a tall, austere, square-jointed building, raised on a high basement that made it appear to loom over the town center -- had only recently been completed. 59. clouds of dust Kools, p. 23: "There was a great amount of traffic around the Market. Every day many horsemen, carriages, carts, and wagons passed by here. The people in the neighborhood complained about the heavy traffic to the town council. In dry times, the traffic caused such clouds of dust that none of the people in the neighborhood were able to open their windows. With each rain shower the unpaved part of the road turned into a real quagmire. Moreover, the carts passed by so close to the houses that the sidewalks were ridden to pieces." 60. turned into impassable quagmiresKools, p. 23. (See Ch. 2, n. 59.) 61. Spare and inconspicuousKools, p. 20. The parsonage was nearly squeezed out of the streetscape by the handsome one and two-story brick buildings in the severe classical style that lined the Molenstraat lengthwise. Kools makes a contrary argument about the status of the house on the streetscape. But even if the immediate neighbors did not have two-story gable-ends facing the street, there were many two-story brick buildings on the Molenstraat, both commercial and residential. The Catholic parsonage, only a short way down the street, was also situated perpendicular to the street, but was a true two-story building (the Protestant parsonage had only some small attic rooms with no dormers) and was considerably larger. Also, from the photographs and the remaining buildings, it is clear that there was nothing distinctive about the "embellishments" on the facade of the parsonage. 62. dated back to the early 1600sKools, p. 16. 63. a few enlargements Kools, p. 16. 64. larger neighbors on both sides Kools, p. 16. 65. a view of the squareKools, p. 22: Kools makes the argument that the position of the parsonage on the market square was a mark of distinction. That was true for public buildings (the town hall, school), public officials (tax collector, postmaster, mayor), and businesses (mail station, inn, dry goods, and butcher), but not residences (Brekelmans, p. 52).   Kools himself details the disadvantages of living in the middle of a busy, public commercial space.  (See Ch. 2, n. 59.) 66. a long, dark, narrow, hallKools, p. 16: The description of the interior of the house is based on the description and diagrams in Kools (elevations, pp. 16-17; floor plan, p. 19). The window was small and high for privacy, and it looked out on the wall of the neighbor to the west, a farmer named Christiaan Schrauwen, thus we can conclude that the hall was dark. The only south-facing windows in the house were on the street side, or the public side, which the family did not use routinely. 67. used for church functions Kools, p. 17. 68. a single, dark roomKools, p. 18: The sole window in the room gave onto a tiny service courtyard with a view of the barn wall just beyond. There was an even darker bedroom between the front parlor and the back room - the "living" room. It featured two built-in bedsteads and a window that faced the neighbor's wall only feet away. 69. Beyond that lay a washroom Kools, p. 18. 70. The sole privy Kools, p. 18. 71. venture outdoors to use the loo Kools, p. 18. 72. "country place" Kools, p. 62. 73. the pastoral simplicityKools, p. 62: We disagree with Kools about the sincerity of Anna's view of the country. Kools cites a letter of Dorus's but does not separately support the contention that "his wife" believed that "this peaceful, idyllic landscape full of pastoral simplicity contrasted sharply with the unhealthy and dangerous city life;" or that "[t]he ideal of a calm, withdrawn life in the country ... was preferable to an urban career." From Anna's view, we see an argument of necessity that would, nevertheless, take real root in her children's imaginations, especially Vincent's. 74. whom she mostly distrusted BVG 334, 10/26/1883. In 1883, Vincent wrote tohis brother that the inhabitants of Drenthe were more trustworthy than the ruralpeasants around where his parents lived in Etten (who were “always cheatingeach other”) (JLB 399, 10/26/1883).  We believe Vincentinherited this basic distrust of the lower classes from his mother.  In the same letter, he called them “adeceitful, dishonest people … It's in their nature" (ibid.). 75. dialect she could hardly understand Kools, p. 25. 76. no disguising her lonelinessKools, p. 25: "Anna Carbentus undoubtedly felt very lonely in Zundert at first. She wouldn't have had many contacts of her own. Respectable women did not go out in the street on their own. A middle-class woman could only enter public life when accompanied by her husband or a maid. In addition, she must have had little to do. The fact was that a distinguished woman did not work: she was entrusted with the control of the housekeeping. Yet, for the actual household work two maids were employed [by the Van Goghs]." Furthermore, by Anna's own account, her new husband was submerged in the problems of his embattled parsonage so that even their evenings together in the back room were spent "each with our own work." (Van Gogh-Carbentus, n.p.) At her mother's suggestion, Anna started a journal to pass the time (ibid.). Many later accounts portray Anna as a close, even crucial, supporter of her husband's career (see, e.g., Wylie, p. 7, and Stolwijk and Thomson, p. 18). All of these accounts seem to be based on two early sources: Stokvis and the memoir of Vincent's sister Elisabeth (Lies), neither of which is entirely reliable (Stokvis and Thomson, p. 12 and Du Quesne-Van Gogh, p. 18). There is some slender supporting evidence for this proposition in regard to Dorus's later career, in less adversarial communities such as Helvoirt, Etten, and Nuenen, but even here the evidence only suggests that Dorus frequently sought his wife's "advice" on the issues that he confronted in his work, and that Anna, as both Stokvis and Lies report, accompanied him occasionally on visits to members of his congregation (although this appears to have been only on special occasions as, for example, when Dorus used a carriage rather than walked). Otherwise, there is no evidence of extraordinary contributory activity beyond the usual support activities of a parson's wife (especially organizing the social calendar and managing social events). 77. Unable to walk the streets Kools, p. 25. 78. a succession of family visitorsVan Gogh-Carbentus, n.p. "Our sister" (which could refer to one of either Anna's or Dorus's sisters), arrived on Whit Monday, which was June 8 that year. Mother Carbentus, accompanied as always by Anna's sister Clara, arrived at "the end of June" and stayed "more than six weeks" -- presumably until mid-August. 79. returned to The Hague Van Gogh-Carbentus, n.p.: "When autumn approached" could mean late August or early- to mid-September. Mother Carbentus left Zundert in mid-August. 80. respectability "Psychological Study of Vincent Van Gogh," p. 5. 81. under the battlefield disciplineKools, p. 18: In what might have been Anna's first public act in Zundert, two Catholic maids, who had been working at the parsonage, were released from service soon after her arrival. The rules were clear on such matters; according to Kools: Protestants were "strongly dissuaded" from hiring Catholics in any capacity. 82. lots of children Kools, p. 47. 83. "the future arrival"Van Gogh-Carbentus, n.p.: In March of the following year (1852), as "the arrival of our new child neared," Anna's mother joined her in Zundert. To calm her nervously gloomy daughter, Mother Carbentus urged Anna to start the journal that she had been putting off. She did so "in the daily expectation that the good Lord may bless us with a little child." But by the end of the journal's first paragraph the storm clouds were already gathering: "We promise not to forget those good things," she wrote, "so that when clouds and somber days arrive we then can say wholeheartedly: would I only accept the good things from the Lord and not the bad?" The stillborn that arrived on March 30 fulfilled a lifetime of such dark anticipations. 84. "Levenloos" Tralbaut, p. 22. 23 85. the nameless birth entryArnold, p. 29: No given names were entered for the child. The parents' names were included. (See Tralbaut, p. 18, where the page from the registry is reproduced.) Some commentators have made much of the fact that this stillborn child was number twenty-nine in the registry that year and that Vincent Willem was number twenty-nine in the registry the next year. This strikes us as the stuff of astrology, not biography. 86. Hardly a familyKools, p. 27: Anna's baby was one of nine stillborns registered in Zundert's book that year, out of a total of one-hundred and six births. And that did not include the seven children younger than one who died (ibid.). Relatively speaking, 1852 was a kind year: other communities in the area had infant mortality rates of twenty-five percent or more in some years (Meyers, p. 23). To what extent Anna found consolation in the prevalence or proximity of death, she never revealed. She never resumed the journal. 87. rich or poor Kools, p. 27: "Charles Emile van de Wall, a prominent Protestant landowner in Zundert, had to carry four of his nine children to their graves at a very tender age." 88. nameless stillbornsb4509 V/1962, Carbentus Genealogy, n.p.: This is a typical entry from the Carbentus Genealogy: "On September 17, 1757 my dear wife gave birth to a stillborn child, being a son, who was buried in the Nieuwe Kerk." Three of Anna's cousins and her sister experienced stillborns or early infant deaths. Anna's mother, who had successfully given birth nine times (and who probably assisted at the birth of Anna's stillborn), was a rare exception in an era of midwives, primitive medical knowledge, poor sanitation, and unchecked pathogens. But even the durable mother Carbentus had barely survived the birth of her last child, and that child had died after only three months -- reminders of the darker fates that Anna had cheated. It appears to have been the custom in the Carbentus family not to name stillborns. The record shows children who died at four weeks, eight years, nine weeks, eleven months, seven hours, and fourteen weeks (ibid.). It seems highly likely that there were other stillborns who were not even mentioned in the family genealogy. 89. the death of a child Legouvé, pp. 8-10: "Only one entire category of family members was excluded from this honour [i.e., mourning]: children! ... People did not wear mourning for their children." Legouvé offers a dubious explanation for previous practice: "Children had long been considered to be their father's property; law and custom kept them in a state of absolute dependence. The principles of social order therefore did not allow them to be accorded in death any outward show of grief which could have been construed as signs of deference." (ibid., pp. 9-10.) One can better speculate, we believe, that coming out of the pandemic death at the turn of the century (1800), previous generations had to husband their grief more closely. As death became more distant and exceptional, the imperative to mark it grew stronger. Mourning became a luxury of the heart provided by security. 90. For the new bourgeoisie Perrot, ed., p. 212: "After 1850 if a child died his relatives went into mourning, just as they would for an adult." In Pères et Enfants, Legouvé, the principal contemporary commentator (1867-1869), noted the new fashion in grief: "Today whenever a poor little creature of one year of age dies in a family the pain they feel in their hearts is expressed in the very clothes they wear; a father or mother would be horrified to see their bodies decked out in garish colours whilst their souls were in despair; one might even say that the only everlasting mourning is that which follows the loss of a child; how many mothers have never again worn anything but black from the day when they saw their son die!" (Legouvé, pp. 8-9.) Perrot, however, sees a larger phenomenon: "Was this only bourgeois sentimentalism? Not at all. In Lorraine, the heart of the iron and steel industry, mothers, wives of workers, 'all lived in sorrow for their lost children. … they wiped away their tears with checkered handkerchiefs whenever they met.' In the field of education Legouvé proclaimed the superiority of the principle of affection and advocated respect for the child's autonomy." (Perrot, p. 212.) 91. "the most violent" Kools, p. 28: Kools quotes Bernard Ter Haar, a popular clergyman-poet. 92. Sales of poetry albumsKools, p. 28: The Dutch clergyman Ter Haar "called the elegy for untimely deceased children one of the most important products of the national literature." (See Ch. 2, n. 91.) 93. transfixed a generation Schama, p. 521. Nothing in the text is meant to suggest that the lives of small children were held less dear by the Dutch than by other cultures (see Schama, pp. 517-18, 520), only that the emotional display attached to those feelings changed in the nineteenth century and that, even then, those displays typically preserved the distinction between the deaths of children and the "deaths" of stillborns. Anna van Gogh's reaction to the death of her firstborn may have been exaggerated in this respect, but not atypical. 94. next to the churchThe location of the grave close to the church may have been significant. In Dickens's The Old Curiosity Shop, Little Nell was buried inside the sanctuary. This was not the practice in the Zundert Reformed Church. During the authors' visit to Zundert cemetery, it became clear that proximity to the church was generally reserved for prominent or well-established families. The use of such a spot for a stillborn may have been an exercise of Anna's prerogative and a cause for unfavorable notice. 95. the first stillborn Near the first Vincent's gravestone, there is a marker for Anna Susan Johanna van der Hoven who died at age three (1841-1844). There also appears to be a joint grave for a stillborn and mother (Katharina van Geffen) who died in childbirth together. The ceremony that undoubtedly accompanied the interment of Anna's stillborn must have seemed unusual to the tiny congregation. 96. "Suffer little children" Brekelmans, "Vincent van Gogh in Zundert," p. 49. The passage appears in both Matthew 19:14 and Luke 18:16: "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God." The fact that the last two words of the biblical passage ("KONINGRIJK GODS") are rendered in larger letters than any other words in the inscription, including the name of the deceased, reinforces the inference (developed in the text) that the stone was more about the message than about the stillborn. 97. it was governed by rules Perrot, ed., pp. 457-458. Perrot describes a general principle of naming that was current, but waning, at the time: "Children had traditionally been named after one of their godparents, which in practice usually meant after a grandparent, great-uncle, or great-aunt; an eldest son usually received the first name of his father or deceased grandfather." These rules ("which had always been greater in rural areas than in the cities"), reflected "faith in the power of a name to confer hereditary virtues and thus to determine an individual's fate" (ibid.). The long Carbentus practice was that sons took their grandfathers' names -- paternal grandfather first, then maternal grandfather. First sons often took both. Daughters took their grandmothers' names: paternal first, maternal second. The rules had ensured a Gerrit Carbentus in every other generation, alternating with a Hermanus; a Gerarda alternating with a Willemina. Once both sets of grandparents had been honored, the father's name and the mother's name could be bestowed; after that, names of favored aunts and uncles. The priority could be altered to acknowledge a recent death, and additional names (as many as three or four) could be mixed with the mandated one. But, despite the confusing tangle of similar names and improbable nicknames created by this recycling (e.g., Anna's sister Cornelia was called "Keetje"), the rules were strictly obeyed. (See b4509 V/1962, Carbentus Genealogy.) 98. March 30, 1853 Kools, p. 24: Kools provides these additional details of the birth: at 11:00 a.m., delivered by Doctor Cornelis van Ginneken, birth reported the next day by Dorus and witnessed by Jacobus Veerman, a civil servant who probably worked in the office of the register. 99. to later commentatorsNagera, p. 13. A related issue not directly addressed in the text is whether Vincent attached any significance to the grave bearing his name. We agree with Kools and others that the Van Gogh children treated the cemetery as a favorite playground rather a than place to be avoided (Kools, p. 27). Hulsker agrees for a slightly different reason: that Vincent never knew the exact date of the first child's death, and therefore was unaware of the full coincidence (Hulsker, p. 6). A recently discovered letter of Vincent's, written on August 3, 1877, to H.G. Tersteeg, his former boss, on the occasion of the death of the latter's young daughter, finally makes it clear that Vincent was aware, at least by adulthood, of the previous child, the grave, and the circumstances of the death although still not necessarily the coincidence of date (Jansen, Luijten, and Bakker, p. 107). (Only the year, not the day, of the stillborn's death was recorded on the marker.) 100. to the Van Goghsb3259 V/1962, "Gogh, Maria Johanna van," 1899. In the Van Gogh family chronicle, the child stillborn in March 1852 is not mentioned until the successful birth of Vincent Willem the next year. Even then it remains unnamed (quoted in Kools, p. 27).  Kools argues that naming a child after a recently deceased relative was not uncommon at the time but we would argue that Vincent Willem was not truly named "after" the stillborn (ibid.).  Rather, the stillborn was only given a name provisionally for the purposes of the gravestone and the attendant ceremony; the name never truly "vested" in the never-living child -- an interpretation supported by the fact that the stillborn never received a full name. Clearly, "Vincent" was the name that the parents had pre-agreed would go to the first child if it was a son. This was the logical name to put on the marker, but doing so did not discharge the duty to the paternal grandfather. Note also that there had been many Vincents in the Van Gogh family, often contemporaneously (Brekelmans, p.10). Dorus's brother Johannes named a son Willem Vincent in 1851, and his brother Cornelis also named a son Vincent (b3259 V/1962, "Gogh, Maria Johanna van," 1899). All of these Vincents, including the two in Dorus's family, were named after the grandfather. 101. with clockwork discipline Van Crimpen, "The Van Gogh Family in Brabant," p. 78. Vincent, born March 30, 1852; Vincent Willem, born March 30, 1853; Anna Cornelia, born February 17, 1855; Theodorus, born May 1, 1857; Elisabeth Huberta, born May 16, 1859: Willemina Jacoba, born March 16, 1862; and Cornelis Vincent, born May 17, 1867. 102. Anna CorneliaNagera, p. 13. Anna Cornelia was named after her maternal grandmother. (See Ch. 2, n. 97.) The next child, Theodorus, was named after his father. The fourth child, Elisabeth, was named after her paternal grandmother; the fifth, Willemina, after her eldest maternal aunt; the last, Cornelis, after a paternal uncle. 103. born one day apart Kools, p. 26: Elisabeth Huberta was born on May 16, 1859, and Cornelis Vincent was born on May 17, 1867. 104. born on the same dateKools, p. 47. This schedule may have been chosen to avoid an advanced pregnancy in winter, or it may relate to the midsummer anniversary of the engagement between Anna and Theodorus (see Van Gogh-Carbentus, n.p.) -- a more romantic (but, in our opinion, less likely) explanation. 105. "We are shaped" b2797 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 11/24/1876. 25 106. "the era of the triumphant family" Kools, p. 29, citing Aires and Duby, p. 83. 107. no longer just adults-in-waiting Mathijsen, p. 32. 108. "holy youth" Kools, p. 30. 109. "One must make sure" Kools, p. 30. 110. The message of such booksPerrot, ed., p. 139. 111. a turbulent and dangerous placeKools, p. 29: Kools expresses this argument admirably. 112. Neither physical"Psychological Study of Vincent Van Gogh," n.p.:  “[Anna’s] grandson [Vincent] Van Gogh told the author that [Anna] never kissed or coddled him when he visited as a child.   Her attitude toward his mother, Jo Van Gogh-Bonger, was more correct than warm.” Fora different view, however, see Theo’s letter from July 1890: “I took Jo and the child [i.e., his son Vincent] to Leiden and stayed there until Thursday.  Mother is well, a little older, but she was so happy to see her little boy and it was fun to see her pick him up and how happy it made her.” (BVG, T41a, 8/22/1980; JLB 901, 8/22/1980.)  Theo does not claim, it should be noted, that his mother was physically affectionate toward his son, which makes her behavior atypical for bourgeois families, in which “[c]aresses were considered appropriate in many circumstances, an encouragement to the development of young bodies” (Perrot, ed., p. 208). 113. nor affectionate "Psychological Study of Vincent Van Gogh," n.p.: "We have no information whether she kissed or coddled her children; her grandson Van Gogh told the author that she never kissed or coddled him when he visited as a child." We are not sure where this analysis came from.
 114. invocations of filial duty"Afschrift van Pa's woorden (Thoughts in Pa's Words)," n.p.: "From my children I expect that they will reciprocate the love that they have received from their mother and from me [and] they will be their mother's support when she is a widow." Vincent’s father wrote this diary-like note for the record in 1866.  In it, among other things, he contemplated his own death -- foreseeing it as happy and serene -- almost twenty years before he actually died.  115. reminders of parental sacrificeb2533 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 5/21/1877:  In 1877, Anna and Dorus togetherwrote to Theo in the warning, passive-aggressive tone that they had alreadyperfected on Vincent: “Och Theo … Please, do not blame yourself for havingincreased our worries.” 116. "happy home life"b2231 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/5/1876:  Referring to Vincent, Annawrote Theo in 1876: "May the light come to him and in one way or another may he find something that makes him happy, and for once have a happy home life again -- that would do him good." 117. essential to any happinessb2318 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/7/1875: When Theo was seventeen, his father wrote him: "It is a privilege for me to have a birthday tomorrow and to have so much good as God has given me. Most of all in our dear Mother and in you, our children. In case we may still all be together for a few more years and see the happiness of all of you, then ours will be increased also." The lessons were (1) that the family's happiness was inextricably linked to the happiness of each of its members ("Just keep being our point of light dear Theo. And know that our happiness is closely linked with yours." [b2460 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/12/1879]); and (2), more coercively, the unhappiness of one member undermined the happiness of all. ("[W]e need so much, as you know, to feel happiness through the happiness of our children" [b2452 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 12/31/1878].) Any dissension or non-conformity threatened this sacred, shared family happiness. "[I]f only there is unity between us and no dissension," Dorus wrote, "then difficulties don't hurt" (b2346 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 7/8/1875). Doubts about the perfection of the family happiness were simply unutterable. "When we think of our home," Lies ventured after a holiday visit by her troubled brother Vincent, "there are no unpleasant feelings, don't you agree?" (b2312 V/1982, "Gogh, Elisabeth van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 1/10/1875). 118. "lonely and uncertain" b2231 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/5/1876. 119. "family totalitarianism" Perrot, ed., pp. 211-212. 120. uncontrollable sobbingKools, p. 29. 121. "We can't live" b2729 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 10/28/1874. Here are similar examples from Dorus's letters to Theo: "To live with and for our children has been our goal in life" (b2512 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 3/14/1877). "[W]e need so much, as you know, to feel happiness through the happiness of our children" (b2452 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 12/31/1878). 122. "strange, sensitive atmosphere"Meyers, p. 38.  Meyers is relying on a passage in Jo Bonger-Van Gogh's Memoir, in which she refers to the "peculiar atmosphere" at the parsonage (Bonger-Van Gogh, p. xxi). 123. like shipwreck survivors to a raftb2313 V/1982, "Gogh, Elisabeth van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 1/14/1875: Other than Vincent, Lies describes this desperate clinging best -- while revealing the family roots of some of herbrother’s greatest art: "When I lie in bed and look at the beautiful stars, all the people I hold dear feel very near.  I see you and our brother and all of the others in front of me, and it is just as if they said, "Be brave, Lies.'" 124. "Oh! I cannot imagine" b2358 V/1982, "Gogh, Elisabeth van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 9/5/1875. 125. greeted with joyful tears Meyers, p. 65. Lies wrote from school with ecstatic anticipation, "Oh, oh, I can hardly wait. Just imagine. I am so happy when I think of it" (b2358 V/1982, "Gogh, Elisabeth van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 9/5/1875). And she recalled swooningly, "What beautiful days those were in Zundert. I feel that we never thereafter had so much fun and spent such happy days together as we did then." (ibid.) 126. power even to cure illnessb2790 V/1982, "Gogh, Elisabeth van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 11/5/1876: When Theo fell sick in 1876 and both his parents rushed to his beside, Lies wrote to him: "I can imagine how much good it will do you to see our Pa and Ma. I reckon that this is almost enough to get better." 127. effort to sustain the family bond Kools, p. 30. 128. "inexpressible homesickness" Bonger, p. xxi. 129. wary of the outside world Wary and disengaged. In all the family letters, we could find only one mention of the larger political, economic, social, or scientific world: "What a bad situation in Turkey and now the English are also getting themselves involved this late in the game and that is bad enough. What sad stories about those refugees who would be better off under the Russians than under their own government!" (b0964 V/1962, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 1/26/1878.) 130. one of life's greatest joys

Kools, p. 130: "The memories of Zundert kept having an important place in the family correspondence of those years. In a letter to her favorite brother Theo Lies mentioned that she saw a beautiful, small church on a walk to Marssum. To make clear how beautiful it was she described it as: 'almost as beautiful as the one in Zundert.' Two weeks later she wrote: 'How fast have the years gone by since we both were still at home in Zundert.' Lies was sure of it: it would never again be so lovely as in Zundert and added: 'I hope that when we are in Etten we can go there together.'" Vincent had similar swoons of nostalgia, especially for Zundert (see, e.g., Chapter 9, Chapter 36, and Chapter 41).

131. "The family feeling" BVG 78, 10/24/1876.

Context:

BVG 78, 10/24/1876: "How little we see of each other and how little we see of our parents, and yet the family feeling and our love for each other is so strong that the heart is uplifted and the eye turns to God and prays, 'Do not let me stray too far from them, not too long, O Lord.'"

JLB 95, 10/23/1876-10/25/1876: "How little we see of each other, old boy, and how little we see of our parents, and yet the feeling of our origins and of one another is so strong that the heart is at times uplifted and our eyes look to God, beseeching, Let me not stray too far from them, not for too long, O Lord!" (emphasis in original).

26 132. one of the most important booksb2737 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 12/14/1874: In December 1874, Anna wrote Theo to report on St. Nicholas Day: "Everyone surprised each other pleasantly with little things, and our Cor was quite happy with the Robinson book" (emphasis in original). Anna could be referring to Robinson Crusoe, not Swiss Family Robinson. Although, being a formal person, she probably would have used the last name, Crusoe, for the former book (Carpenter and Prichard, p. 510). The following quote from the book, which was written by the Swiss pastor Johann David Wyss, is relevant to the text discussion and suggests why the Van Goghs would have given Vincent the book to read: "My great wish is that young people who read this record of our lives and adventures, should learn from it how admirably suited is the peaceful, industrious and pious life of a cheerful and united family, to the formation of strong, pure and manly character" ("A Note on Wyss's Swiss Family Robinson, Montolieu's Le Robinson suisse, and Kingston's 1879 text," n.p.). 133. walked for an hour Stokvis, p. 12: "Rev. Van Gogh did not allow his children to play in the streets: one hour per day the minister, accompanied by Madam and the governess of the girls, took the children out for a walk." 134. included gardens and fields Kools, p. 64. 135. "color and brightness" b2633 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 6/6/1873. 136. rejuvenated their spirits BVG 339a, 11/5/1883. Anna (and Dorus) passed this belief to their children. "I'm going to refresh, renew myself in nature," Vincent wrote in 1883; "I'm just going to tackle it very differently, and I'll arrange it in such a way that in a few years' time, say, I have altogether new, firm ground beneath my feet" (JLB 403, 11/5/1883). See b2358 V/1982, "Gogh, Elisabeth van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 9/5/1875 for Lies's similar view: "I like so much that there is always something refreshing in nature." See b2745 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 4/30/1876 for Anna's (Ma's) view: "Everything around us is so fresh and so sweet and green that it reminds us of the young life given to us by the kindness and love of our Heavenly Father, Who wants us to be happy and has done everything in His power to stimulate that. Both in nature as in spiritual life." See b2530 V/1982, "Gogh, Anna van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 5/13/1877 for daughter Anna's view: "The nature here is magnificent, especially now with that beautiful, fresh, light greenery between the fir trees." And see b0910 V/1962, "Gogh, Theo van" to "Gogh, Elisabeth van", 4/19/1887 for Theo's view: "Simply going along with nature, without poetry that originates from somewhere else than your own heart and thoughts, that is the real thing."

Context:

JLB 403, 11/5/1883: "I'm going to refresh, renew myself in nature, I'm just going to tackle it very differently, and I'll arrange it in such a way that in a few years' time, say, I have altogether new, firm ground beneath my feet."

137. the family's bourgeois status Kools, p. 64. 138. could never take an hour off Kools, p. 37. 139. stamped the family unitIn future years, none of the Van Gogh children could take even a walk in the park without thinking of these family outings. Vincent's memory from 1877 is typical: "… I thought how good that Dutch soil was, and I felt something akin to 'today it is in mine heart to make a covenant with my God -- because memories of times past came back to me, including how often we walked with Pa to Rijsbergen and so on in the last days of February and heard the lark above the black fields with young green wheat, the shimmering blue sky with white clouds above -- and then the paved road with the beech trees -- O Jerusalem Jerusalem! or rather O Zundert O Zundert!" (JLB 102, 2/7/1877-2/8/1877.) In 1873, Dorus responded to a similar reverie in a letter from sixteen-year-old Theo: "I can understand so well that seeing hay and wheat and potatoes in the field did you good and reminded you of home. ... [I]t pleases us that you can go for lovely walks in and around Brussels, we enjoyed reading about that rural walk, when you were able to smell the hay and see the potatoes and corn and were thinking about home." (b2639 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 7/2/1873.) 140. exemption from feudal taxes Havard, p. 194. 141. In 1845Karr, n.p. 142. "working in the garden" BVG 650, 7/10/1890-7/14/1890. Quoted (by inference) in Vincent's last letter to his mother.

Context:

BVG 650, 7/10/1890-7/14/1890: "But for one's health, as you say, it is very necessary to work in the garden and to see the flowers growing."

JLB 899, 7/10/1890-7/14/1890: "But precisely for one's health, as you say - it's very necessary to work in the garden and to see the flowers growing."

143. enclosed by a beech hedgeDu Quesne-Van Gogh, p. xxvii: In her memoir, Lies put her memories of the Zundert parsonage garden in the third person: "They were real village children, playing in the farm garden. Beds of marigolds, mignonette, and brilliant red geraniums were aglow with the setting sun. Everything was in full bloom and athirst for water, this hot late August afternoon. Behind the flower-beds lay the lawn where the snow-white linen was bleached and spread to keep it fresh; next followed row upon row of berry-bushes, rich with the fragrance of the ripening fruit; and the entire garden was enclosed in a beech hedge, which separated it from the fields of rye and grain that stretched beyond as far as the eye could see. In a corner stood a stack of dried peavines with the pods still clinging to them." (See also Kools, p. 20.) 144. sloped gently downhillKools, p. 20: "Behind the parsonage was an elongated, downhill garden. Lies van Gogh describes this garden in her [book] Vincent van Gogh: Memories of Her Brother. It consisted in part of a flower garden. In front, near the house, there were a couple of flowerbeds." (See Ch. 2, n. 143.) 145. putting flowers nearest the houseKools, p. 20.  (See Ch. 2, n. 144.) 146. which were banished

Kools, p. 48: This happened four years after Anna arrived, in 1855, when a vegetable garden next to the church became available and the church bought it (i.e., advanced the purchase price). Kools describes the large garden next to the cemetery where the Van Gogh family grew vegetables, potatoes, and rye and allowed their goats to graze (ibid., p. 21). Before the purchase, the goats must have presented a threat to Anna's flower garden. When the plot was acquired, the Van Goghs employed a gardener, Jan Doomen. Some vegetables may have remained in Anna's parsonage garden, as Kools suggests, but Lies does not mention them in her later description (ibid.). (See Ch. 2, n. 143.)

147. the parsonage grew cropsKools, p. 21. 148. mowed hay Kools, p. 21: Dorus probably sold some of the grass as hay and kept some to feed to the parsonage goats. Kools wonders: "Did Vincent himself also cut grass here for the goats? He often must have played here, horsed around, and walked across it on his way to the sextoness of the church, who lived in a little house immediately to the north of the cemetery." (ibid.) 149. cultivated trees for market Kools, p. 21: The trees cultivated were lime, beech, maple, oak, cedar, chestnut, and a single locust. The purpose was to supplement the parson's income. According to Kools: "Through the sale of a number of trees, one could pay for the repainting and the new wallpaper of the front room of the parsonage in 1862, for example" (ibid.). 150. delicate, small-bloomed varieties b2338 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 5/24/1875: Flowers mentioned in the letters but not in the text include: forget-me-nots, violets, daffodils, primroses, daisies, reseda, and portulacas. 151. marigoldsDu Quesne-Van Gogh, p. xxvii. (See Ch. 2, n. 143.) 152. mignonettesDu Quesne-Van Gogh, p. xxvii. (See Ch. 2, n. 143.) 153. geraniumsDu Quesne-Van Gogh, p. xxvii. (See Ch. 2, n. 143.) 154. golden rainb2703 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 5/19/1874. (See Ch. 2, n. 143.) 155. scent was more important than color b2619 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 4/26/1873: "Oh I wished you a garden filled with flowers but actually, the scents are more important." 156. favored redb2338 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 5/24/1875: "This morning the rambling rose had a gorgeous red flower." 157. and yellowMany of the species of flowers Anna cites in her letters are typically yellow: marigolds, golden rain, daisies, reseda (mignonettes), portulacas (also red). 158. blackberry and raspberry bushesDu Quesne-Van Gogh, p. xxvii. In a letter from a later parsonage (Etten), Anna lists on her garden inventory "some berries and raspberries" (b0951 V/1962, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 3/6/1876). We are assuming that by "some berries" she means the ubiquitous blackberries. (See Ch. 2, n. 143.) 159. apple, pear, plum, and peach b2722 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 9/21/1874. The list of fruit trees in the text is conjectural based on passages in the family correspondence indicating the varieties of fruit trees that populated later parsonage gardens: apple and pear (b2722 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 9/21/1874); plum (b2720 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 9/4/1874); and peach (b2693 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 3/23/1874). 27 160. spring's first starlingb2693 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 3/23/1874. 161. or daisy BVG W17, 1/4/1890.

Context:

JLB 837, 1/4/1890: "And yesterday while out walking I saw dandelions already in flower in the meadows, which will be shortly followed by the daisies and violets."

162. Dorus studiedb0969 V/1962, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 3/2/1878. 163. and wrote sermons b2233 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/9/1876. 164. Anna read under a shade awningb2705 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 5/27/1874. 165. games in the harvested cropsDu Quesne-Van Gogh, p. xxvii: In her third-person memoir (see Ch. 2, n. 245), Lies described one such game: "In a corner stood a stack of dried peavines with the pods still clinging to them. Three happy children were clambering up the mound, only to slide down again in greatest glee." In an 1882 letter from The Hague, Vincent may have been referring to another such game: "Now you can't go any further because you don't yet believe in yourself in this respect, otherwise you would take the plunge" (JLB 244, 7/6/1882). The children played in the cemetery, too, apparently unbothered by the grave of their stillborn brother underfoot. (Vincent later described the cemetery's "old places and paths" [JLB 110, 4/8/1877].) 166. Anna, the flowers Kools, p. 20. 167. to school her childrenb2331 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 4/16/1875. Two examples from Anna's letters: "the buds in the chestnuts are starting to swell," Anna wrote, "but they are looking for rain and warmth just like people" (b2331 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 4/16/1875). "Isn't it delightful how the worries disappear when you see how the plants and flowers do?" (b1119 V/1962, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Cohen Gosschalk-Bonger, Jo", 10/10/19--). Dorus engaged in the same nature-based imagery: "It is often the most delicate flowers," he wrote, referring to a sick friend, "that cannot withstand the rough weather!" (b2564 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 11/1/1877). 168. violets represented the courage b2693 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 3/23/1874: "A moment ago I was in the garden. Along the fence with peaches all the seeds are coming up. And the starlings are singing to beat the band. That gives one more courage." 169. "even as the blossom falls"

BVG 82a, 9/1/1876-9/15/1876.

Context:

BVG 82a, 9/1/1876: "Who is there to see when the first years of life, life of youth and adolescence, life of worldly enjoyment and vanity will perforce wither and they shall, even as the blossom falls from the tree and vigorous new life shoots up, the life of love unto Christ."

JLB 89, 8/26/1876: "Who sees, when the first life, the life of childhood and adolescence, that life of joy in the world and vanity reluctantly withers, and it will wither, even as the blossom falls from the trees, that then another life shoots up vigorously, the life of the love of Christ … "

170. "grow in cemeteries more beautifully"Karr, p. 142: This lesson from Karr was daily made concrete to the Van Gogh children by the trees that their father cultivated in the plot adjacent to the cemetery (see Ch. 2, n. 149). 171. "Sweet Lord"b2638 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 7/2/1873: "I saw the sun set so beautifully, and it had a wonderful golden edge and I thought about how our Sweet Lord makes that Sun shine over us day after day and how equally close He is to all of us, although we are so far apart." This connection was hardly unique to Anna -- although it is likely that Vincent first heard it -- as he heard so much -- from his mother. Kôdera offers: "The sun as a symbol of God is of course well-known in Christian societies. Let us quote from a theological work contemporary with van Gogh, Laurillard's Geen dag zonder God on Psalm 84: 12a 'For the Lord God is a sun': 'This is why the thought could spring up in the poetic soul that the Lord God is a sun. But then we should desire the beams of this sun to shine upon our spirits and our hearts, just as we desire the beams of the sun in nature to bring light and joy into our homes, and life and fruitfulness into our gardens. Indeed, if we believe that we may say, "The Lord God is a sun," we must wish our hearts to be as sunflowers, ever turning to the Great Light, in order to receive the full measure of the rays it sends forth.'" (For more on how this view of the relationship between the sun and sunflowers penetrated Vincent's art, see Chapter 32.) 172. "peace to our hearts" b0955 V/1962, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 3/31/1876: This comes from one of Dorus's letters, suggesting how pervasive this "symbolist" view of nature was in Dutch culture and in Vincent's family: "And yet spring is emerging all around us and we see new life in nature, may there also be some bright sunshine to bring life and peace to our hearts." 173. "make light out of darkness" b0956 V/1962, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 3/31/1876: "We're glad that the sun shines so beautifully, and that there are such lovely stars in the evening that express the care and love of God for us all, and that includes you! He will be making light out of darkness and from problems good things come." 174. his mother's garden b2524 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 4/30/1877: "May this encourage you, dear Theo, you have a wonderful future ahead of you, don't rest on your laurels until you have reached your destination and prepare for it with desire and cheerfulness, and take joy in your wonderful age and let the sun that turns the garden into such a green paradise also shine for others."

For Anna, the garden was an earthly reflection of that original island of blameless serenity and perfection, the Garden of Eden. Vincent echoed this view years later when he wrote: "it's good to love flowers and pine branches and ivy and hedges of hawthorn, we have seen them from the very beginning" (JLB 109, 3/23/1877). In 1857, when Vincent was four, Charles Baudelaire published Les fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil), launching the black ship of Symbolism on its long voyage into the twentieth century. Vincent's eventual and historic rendezvous with the Symbolist movement in literature and art was made inevitable in the parsonage garden of his childhood.

 175. ate where it lived Kools, p. 17. 176. crucial to both good health Schama, pp. 158-159. 177. moral wholenessSchama, pp. 158-159: Schama uses the example of a popular cookbook that "connected an orderly, regular and balanced dietary regime (fresh meat at least once a week, lots of cheese and bread, nourishing stews and fresh vegetables and salads) with a morally wholesome and thriving family life." 178. two cooks in the tiny kitchenKools, p. 18: "The kitchen was the domain of the housemaids. There were always two in the Van Gogh family." Anna contributed little to the food preparation and seems to have had little training or inclination in that direction. In more than a thousand letters her children subsequently exchanged, there is not a single testimonial to their mother's cooking. In her own letters, Anna never mentions preparing food in any context except baking cookies or "broedertjes" (doughnut balls) with her daughters on special occasions (e.g., b2595 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van en Gogh, Cor van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 1/23/1873 and b2507 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/19/1877). "Broedertjes" may be the same as the modern poffertjes, a kind of tiny pancake. 179. more elaborate repasts

BVG 638, 6/3/1890: In a letter to Theo in 1890, Vincent mentions similar elaborate meals at Dr. Gachet's house in Auvers in 1890 and says they "recalled the old times when there were those family dinners which we ourselves know so well."

Context:

JLB 877, 6/3/1890: "But up to now, however agreeable it is to do a painting there, it's a chore for me to dine and lunch there for, the excellent man goes to the trouble of making dinners in which there are 4 or 5 courses, which is as abominable for him as it is for me, for he certainly doesn't have a strong stomach."

180. the daily worship service BVG 120, 3/3/1878. Evening meals were so ceremonial that the prayer that prefaced them, "the benediction," became a favorite subject matter for painters of the period celebrating the mystical communion of family, food, and God. In a letter from Amsterdam in 1878, before he became an artist, Vincent mentioned that a print of one of these paintings, Bénédicité by Gustave Brion, hung on the wall of his room. Later, after Vincent became an artist, these images would be among his favorites. His fondness for them would find expression in his painting from 1885, The Potato Eaters (see Chapter 23). 181. four- and five-course dinners BVG 638, 6/3/1890.

Context:

JLB 877, 6/3/1890: "But up to now, however agreeable it is to do a painting there, it's a chore for me to dine and lunch there for, the excellent man goes to the trouble of making dinners in which there are 4 or 5 courses, which is as abominable for him as it is for me, for he certainly doesn't have a strong stomach."

182. deep impression on all her children b2159 V/1982, "Cohen Gosschalk-Bonger, Jo" to "Gachet, Paul (fils)", 4/9/1914. 183. "well informed"Du Quesne-Van Gogh, p. 20. (See Ch. 2, n. 184.) 184. tales of illustrious ancestorsDu Quesne-Van Gogh, p. 19: This is from Lies's third-person memoir: "In spite of their great modesty they [i.e., the Van Gogh family] loved to dwell on the past and to recall special figures in it. The father, who was well informed concerning such matters, would tell his wife of one [ancestor] who, hundreds of years ago ... had been Bishop of Utrecht. Madame Bosboom Tousaint mentions him in her historical romance, 'Elizabeth Musch.' Another, a knight, was treasurer of the United General States, and brought honor to the family name during the siege of Hertogenbosh, under Frederick Henry. Yet another had been ambassador to England under William III." Lies gives none of these ancestors names and we have not been able to verify any of their identities, suggesting, at best, that they were collateral relations or, at worst, that she was taking liberties with the truth. As to the historical romance Elizabeth Musch (1850), Lies gives the author as "Madame Bosboom Tousaint," (Anna Louisa Gertruida Bosboom-Toussaint), but the actual author was the Dutchman Jacob van Lennep, who also authored another Van Gogh family favorite, De Roos van Dekama (The Rose of Dekama) (1836). 185. a profound nostalgia When Belgium separated from the Netherlands in 1839, stripping away the last relic of empire, the national diminishment only sharpened the pervasive sense of loss and late-coming. 28 186. Anna and Dorus's children inherited b2226 V/1982, "Gogh, Elisabeth van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 1/9/1876: "we have to be courageous, even if it is a bit hard. At least it is good that we can live in the past, fight with the present and hope for the future." 187. and their family'sAs part of the same ritual of remembrance, the young Van Gogh family also celebrated its own brief history. Family events from the recent past, such as holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries, were recalled with the same reverence as illustrious episodes from earlier eras. Before long, the same keen nostalgia attached to the family's past as to the lost glories of the Dutch Republic. Anna's fatalism was partly to blame (see Ch. 2, n. 200). For a person who feared the worst from every tomorrow, every happiness cried out for memorializing. "What a lovely celebration that was," she wrote after a family holiday, "but things couldn't stay that way" (b2524 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 4/30/1877). Anna made it her duty to create "nice memories" and to ensure they were appropriately treasured (b2352 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus, Anna C. en Willemina van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 8/11/1875). Dorus seconded this campaign. "The memory of what we have enjoyed is a precious thing," he reminded Theo (b2794 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 11/18/1876). For Anna, such cautionary nostalgia both celebrated family unity and protected against an always uncertain future. "[I]f we keep searching for the good things," she wrote, "even though they are past, we can still enjoy them" (b2556 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 9/21/1877). 188. "enchanted by snatches"BVG B07, 6/18/1888. In an earlier letter, from 1882, Vincent invoked George Eliot's line: "though it be dead, yet let me think it lives" (JLB 267, 9/19/1882).

Context:

BVG B07, 6/18/1888: "To be honest with you, I have absolutely no objection to the countryside, since I grew up in it -- I am still enchanted by snatches of the past, have a hankering after the eternal, of which the sower and the sheaf of corn are the symbols."

JLB 628, 6/19/1888: "I don't hide from you that I don't detest the countryside -- having been brought up there, snatches of memories from past times, yearnings for that infinite of which the Sower, the sheaf, are the symbols, still enchant me as before."

189. In everything from architectureBVG 268, 2/20/1883-2/24/1883. Vincent describes the new houses being built all over his country as "very ugly" (JLB 381, 9/5/1883).

Context:

JLB 318, 2/20/1883 or 2/21/1883: "Compare a modern window with one from Rembrandt's time. In those days everyone seems to have had a sort of need for a curious, dimmed light that no longer seems to exist, at least there's a tendency to make it cold, harsh and loveless. A good start was made with workers' dwellings, but I see no sign of advances being made since those of 20 or 30 years ago. On the contrary, the pleasing aspect is increasingly lost, and it turns into something cold and systematic and methodical that becomes ever more empty with time."

190. to literatureBVG R36, 5/25/1883.

Context:

JLB 346, 5/25/1889: "Dickens, who usually described his own times, couldn't help writing the Tale of two cities, and one sees repeatedly in his work that he inserts descriptions from earlier days, for instance a description of the London streets before there were street-lamps."

191. "the difficult but noble days" BVG 252, 12/11/1882.

Context:

BVG 252, 12/11/1882: "In the meantime, people intrude themselves, as employees, who would never have been accepted in the difficult but noble days. It is what Zola calls "triomphe de la médiocrité." Snobs, nobodies, take the place of workers, thinkers, artists; and it isn't even noticed."

JLB 293, 12/11/1882: "In the meantime, people have wormed their way in as employees who wouldn't have appeared in the difficult but noble time. What Zola calls the triumph of mediocrity takes place: scoundrels, nobodies, replace workers, thinkers, artists, and no one even notices."

192. inadequacies of the dull BVG R24, 1/25/1883-1/30/1883.

Context:

JLB 304, 1/25/1883: "Don't you find something very dullabout these times?"

193. "unfeeling"BVG R30, 3/5/1883.

Context:

BVG R30, 3/5/1883: "But for the rest, yes, they often lapse into industrialism, into the unfeeling."

JLB 325, 3/5/1883: "But otherwise, well, often they lapse into the industrial, the unfeeling."

194. "in decline" BVG 326, 9/21/1883.

Context:

BVG 326, 9/22/1883: "And now, as in other periods when civilization is in a decline, the corruption of society has turned all the relations of good and evil upside down, and one falls back logically upon the old saying, "The first shall be last, and the last shall be first."

JLB 388, 9/21/1883: "And now, as in other periods of the fallof a civilization, the relationships of good and evil are often reversed because of the corruption of society, and one reasonably comes back to the old saying: 'the first shall be last and the last shall be first'" (emphasis in original).

195. "corrupt" BVG 326, 9/22/1883.

Context:

BVG 326, 9/22/1883: "And now, as in other periods when civilization is in a decline, the corruption of society has turned all the relations of good and evil upside down, and one falls back logically upon the old saying, "The first shall be last, and the last shall be first."

JLB 388, 9/21/1883: "And now, as in other periods of the fall of a civilization, the relationships of good and evil are often reversed because of the corruption of society, and one reasonably comes back to the old saying: 'the first shall be last and the last shall be first'" (emphasis in original).

196. "I feel more and more" BVG 241, 11/2/1882-11/3/1882.

Context:

BVG 241, 11/2/1882 or 11/3/1882: "It is really not intentionally that I feel rather disenchanted about the progress, on the contrary quite against my will; the feeling involuntarily entered my thoughts, because I feel more and more a kind of void, which I cannot fill with the things of today."

JLB 280, 11/5/1882: "I really didn't deliberately set out to be somewhat disenchanted as regards progress; on the contrary, it began to develop unwittingly in my thoughts very much against my will, because as time passed I felt more and more a kind of emptiness which I can't fill with the things being made today."

197. filled with jeremiads BVG 266, 2/11/1883.

Context:

JLB 312, 2/11/1883: "In 50 years from now people won't, I think, wish they were back in this period. For if it's followed by a 'periwig age', people will be too drowsy to think about it at all, and if things improve -- so much the better. I don't think it absurd to consider it possible that there may again be a kind of periwig age in the future, for after all what's known as the periwig age in Dutch history had its origins in the abandonment of principles and the replacement of the original by the conventional. If the Hollanders feel like it, they can be the syndics, but if the salt loses its savour it's a periwig age. Not all of a sudden, but history proves that it can happen." (Emphasis in original.)

198. reactionary outbursts

BVG R34, 5/8/1883. Vincent moderated his attacks on modern art somewhat in Paris and afterwards, but he continued to fight a revanchist rear-guard action against the modernists, especially the symbolists; never really embraced Impressionism except in a shallow, largely commercial way; and never really created a painting that can be considered fully Neo-Impressionist, only using the technique of pointillism in parts of some canvases. He died with Delacroix, Rembrandt, and Millet as his unchallenged heroes (heroes, we should add, who were already in place in Nuenen, before he arrived in Paris). (See also JLB 256, 8/13/1882; JLB 286, 11/24/1882; and JLB 291, 12/4/1882-12/9/1882.)

Context:

JLB 341, 4/9/1883: "Don't imagine I'm against all decorations or ornaments -- but I'm against them at this time and in the circumstances we're now facing here in Holland. I'm not against them if a certain surplus of vigour is absorbed in that direction at a time of great enthusiasm and a spirit of energy and renaissance. But I'm against them at a time when enthusiasm and energy aren't exactly the prevailing mood -- especially among the young -- so let those who have energy concentrate. There's a time to be merry but there's also a time to be severe. Truly, then it's necessary that one does not share the confidence about everything going well, which is more or less the convention at present, and could end up in a periwig age -- when they drank a glass &c. and left things as they were. When there is decline -- then no ornaments, please -- but a quest for inner fellowship with 'the old hands of yesterday', and ignore the present." (Emphasis in original.)

199. artistic Edens come and goneBVG 253, 12/12/1882-12/18/1882: In 1882, Vincent copied out in full a poem by Thomas More. One line in particular captures Vincent's peculiar, even unnatural brad of nostalgia. Also, see: "if it were possible to suddenly go back 30, 40 or 50 years I believe one would feel more at home in that period than in this -- that's to say, you or I, for example, would feel at home there" (JLB 312, 2/11/1883). (See also JLB 463, 9/30/1884.)

Context:

JLB 294, 2/13/1882-12/18/1882: "I feel like one, Who treads alone, Some banquet-hall deserted, Whose lights are fled, Whose garlands dead, And all but he departed!"

200. Like his mother b2546 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 7/25/1877: "Life flies away," Anna warned her twenty-year-old son Theo in 1877. 201. "the desperately swift passing away" BVG W23, 6/12/1890.

Context:

BVG W23, 6/12/1890: "I am working a good deal and quickly these days; by doing this I seek to find an expression for the desperately swift passing away of things in modern life."

JLB 886, 6/13/1890: "Lately I've been working a lot and quickly; by doing so I'm trying to express the desperately swift passage of things in modern life."

202. and trusted only memory BVG 126, 11/15/1878.

Context:

JLB 148, 11/13/1878-11/15/1878 or 11/16/1878: "It was a great joy for me to see and talk to you again, and it's fortunate that such a day that passes in a twinkling and a joy of such short duration nevertheless remains in our memory, and that the remembrance of it is of a lasting nature."

203. the talismanic power of myth When the past proved inadequate, as it so often did, Vincent freely embellished and fictionalized it. Where Anna memorialized key events, Vincent mythologized them, purifying and perfecting them into sacred memories with talismanic power. In the end, nostalgia for this largely imagined past was as close as he ever came to happiness. 204. "There are moments in life" BVG 123, 7/22/1878.

Context:

BVG 123, 7/22/1878: "The sun was setting red behind the pine trees, and the evening sky was reflected in the pools; the heath and the yellow and white and grey sand were so full of harmony and sentiment -- see, there are moments in life when everything, within us too, is full of peace and sentiment, and our whole life seems to be a path through the heath; but it is not always so."

JLB 145, 7/22/1878: "... the sun set red behind the pines and the evening sky was reflected in the marshes, the heath and the yellow and white and grey sand were so resonant with tone and atmosphere. You see, there are moments in life when everything, within us too, is peace and atmosphere, and all of life seems to be like a path across the heath, though it isn't always so."

205. with a book b2509 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/27/1877: "We read in the evening as often as possible; that is so delightful." The Van Gogh children benefited from an explosion in the number, variety, and availability of books around the middle of the nineteenth century, thanks both to improvements in the production process and to a growing recognition that the Bible no longer provided "sufficient insight into how one ought to behave in this changed world" (Mathijsen, p. 39). Books were still expected to meet standards of "good content" -- that is, promote "virtuousness, patriotism, and piety" (ibid., pp. 22-23). Generally, this meant no dissident political opinions, no critical social commentary, no erotica, and no French novels (Meyers, pp. 22-23, 34). Although censorship was not official state policy (Mathijsen, op. cit., p. 23), anyone caught with a book that fell afoul of these unofficial standards risked arrest -- especially in rural Catholic areas like Zundert where suspicions lingered about the benefits of reading at all (ibid., pp. 19, 23). 206. rural Catholic illiteracyMathijsen, p. 19. (See Ch. 2, n. 205.) 207. Anna and Dorus read to each otherb3259 V/1962, "Gogh, Maria Johanna van," 1899: Dorus, at least, had brought this custom from his side of the family. His sister wrote abouttheir shared childhood: “Those winterevenings often were very cozy because of the reading of the novels of [Edward] Bulwer[-Lytton]etc.”  208. the children read to their parentsb2794 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 11/18/1876: "Come and smoke your pipe and read to us in our lovely small room." 209. used to console the sickb2377 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 12/5/1875: In 1882, when Theo injured himself, apparently in a fall, and was bedbound, his mother wrote to him: “We wish that we could come to read to you.” 210. and distract the worriedb2794 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 11/18/1876. 211. as well as to entertainb0968 V/1962, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 3/2/1878: “In the evenings when the Ladies are working, I often read from [Charles Dickens’s Nicholas] Nickleby, that always is very entertaining reading.” 212. reading recommendationsb0954 V/1962, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 3/15/1876: “[We received] a letter from Vincent … He writes about [George Eliot’s] Felix Holt, [so] we read it with interest.” The best example of this passing around of books within the family is Bulwer-Lytton’s Kenelm Chillingly, which the parents read, then gave to Anna’s sister, Cornelia, to give to Vincent; then Cornelia herself read it. Around the same time (1874-75), both Vincent’s sister Anna and his brother Theo were reading the same book. 213. "the best book"b2638 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 7/2/1873: "Study the bible faithfully, it's the best book" (emphasis in original). Next in Anna's (and Dorus's) pantheon of "safe" books came the "verbose and cliché-prone clergymen" who had dominated both parents' childhoods (see Schuchart, p. 37). Vincent's parents would also no doubt have recommended some of the popular new historical novels and romances by Dutch authors like Jacob van Lennep and Geertruida Bosboom-Toussaint (Mathijsen, pp. 28, 81; see Ch. 2, n. 184). Although clothed in archaic trappings, these books often made the bourgeois case that "everyone can become something in the world" as long as they observed convention and honored their parents (ibid., p. 85). 29 214. German Romantics Kôdera, "Van Gogh and the Dutch Theological Culture of the Nineteenth Century," pp. 118-119. 215. Schillerb2328 V/1982, "Gogh, Elisabeth van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 3/21/1875: “I read Don Carlos by Schiller, and how wonderful it is: each Sunday we pine for reading it." 216. HeineBVG 611, 10/25/1889.  The year before his death, Vincent referred to Heinrich Heine in the fondest terms as “a sorrowful creature, restless, with a rare tenderness.” He was referring specifically to Heine’s Reisebilder (Travel Pictures) (1826-1829, 1831-1834).  For more, see JLB 815, 10/25/1889; n. 4. JLB  nicely describe Riesebilder as “a collection of travel accounts characterised by a sometimes ironical or critical tone but also betraying a romantic spirit” (ibid.).

Context:

JLB 815, 10/25/1889: "It's very subtle, and one deduces that the author is a painful, anxious person of a rare tenderness -- a tenderness that makes me think immediately of the Reisebilder of H. Heine."

217. Molière Gay, p. 54. Dorus spoke French (see Chapter 4), but the primary mode of intellectual discourse was German (see Kôdera, pp. 118-119) and the sound of French boots in the street was too recent (see Chapter 1). 218. DumasMathijsen, p. 26. (Also see Mathijsen, p. 20.) The portraits of Parisian life by Paul de Kock would have been too risqué for Anna van Gogh. The popular works of Eugène Sue (author of The Wandering Jew), which were, like Dickens's tales, serialized in newspapers, portrayed the social ills of Paris much as Dickens portrayed London's. Sue's work, however, shows a socialist sympathy that never unsettled the Englishman's Victorian sentimentality. 219. like Goethe's Faust BVG 164, 12/21/1881.

Context:

JLB 193, 12/23/1881: "Since the Rev. Ten Kate translated Goethe's Faust, Pa and Ma have read that book, because now that a clergyman has translated it, it can't be all that immoral (??? what is that?)."

220. works by Balzac, Byron, Sand Mathijsen, p. 20. 221. Zola Mathijsen, p. 24. 222. "products of great minds"b2333 V/1982, "Gogh, Anna van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 4/28/1875. 223. Max HavelaarMeyers, p. 105: Full title: Max Havelaar, or the coffee auctions of the Dutch Trading Company. 224. MultatuliMeyers, p. 105. The author's real name was Eduard Douwes Dekker. The pseudonym "Multatuli," from the Latin multa tuli, translates roughly as "I have suffered greatly." 225. was deplored b2803 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 12/18/1876: In an 1876 letter to Theo, Anna argued the superiority of the earlier, conservative Dutch clergyman-poet Petrus Augustus de Génestet over the threatening radical Dekker: "You can get much more strength, virtue and comfort from De Genestet's ideas than from Multatuli's." Similarly, Dorus wrote Theo disapprovingly on the subject of Max Havelaar: "And with the strange theses e.g. 'pleasure is virtue' according to Multatuli, why doesn't he rather say 'virtue is pleasure'" (b2469 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 4/23/1879). 226. "hypocritical goodness and self-glorification" Schuchart, p. 37. 227. "too rousing"Mathijsen, p. 34. 228. Edward Bulwer-Lyttonb3259 V/1962, "Gogh, Maria Johanna van", 1899. Edward Bulwer-Lytton was known only as "Edward Bulwer" during most of the years the Van Goghs were living in Zundert. 229. "It was a dark" http: //www.mith.demon.co.uk/Bulwer.html 230. final installment appeared in America "H. Beecher Stowe: Uncle Tom's Cabin, Introduction." 231. with the same fervid acclaim Mathijsen, p. 18. 232. Poetry, memorized and recited Mathijsen, p. 28. 233. the preferred methodMathijsen, p. 34: The great Dickens had given his blessing to this method of instruction, and praised Dutch children's poetry in particular. Hieronymus van Alphen's eighteenth-century classic Little Poems for Children, which mixed religious imagery and Enlightenment values, was still in use and had spawned a whole new genre of sentimental, heavily moralizing poetry to meet the demands of parents like the Van Goghs (see Mathijsen, p. 36). 234. left a clear watermarkBVG 110, 9/18/1877: In 1877, Vincent described his impressions of a night stroll along the banks of the IJ river in Amsterdam: "[T]he moon was shining and everything was full of M. Maris or Andersen." The pairing with (Matthijs) Maris, one of Vincent's favorite painters, is significant. Vincent clearly saw (and retained) a specific, characteristic visual world in Andersen's stories.

Context:

JLB 131, 9/18/1877: "Walked back over the big sand works by the Oosterspoor which you know, and along Buitenkant, the moon was shining and everything was full of M. Maris or Andersen."

235. "glorious"BVG R16, 10/31/1882. 

Context:

BVG R16, 10/31/1882: "Don't you think Andersen's Fairy Tales are glorious? -- he is surely an illustrator too!"

JLB 276, 10/29/1882: "Don't you find Andersen's fairy tales very beautiful? -- he must be another of those illustrators."

236. "so beautiful and characteristic"BVG R25, 2/9/1883. 

Context:

BVG R25, 2/9/1883: "The sheet [i.e. print] I am most delighted with at present is Lucas's 'The Light of Other Days,' which is exactly like one of Andersen's fairytales. Oh, I think it so beautiful and characteristic."

JLB 311, 2/10/1883: "The print I'm most pleased with at present is The light of other days by Lucas. Isn'tit just like one of Andersen's fairy tales? Oh, I find it so beautiful and real." (Emphasis in original.)

30 237. Zundert's model Protestant householdKools, p. 88: Kools discusses how the frequency of family celebrations in the Van Gogh family was a function of public and religious policy as much as family congeniality. As part of the general push (by both Protestants and Catholics) to suppress the riotous old festivals, the authorities had begun to actively encourage more elaborate celebrations of family holidays such as birthdays and anniversaries, and, at the same time, to place families (instead of guilds, for instance) at the center of public and church holidays (ibid., p. 85). (See Ch. 2, n. 12.) 238. national holidays The birthdays of the king and queen were national holidays, as Anna mentions in a letter to Theo in 1874: "Cor is as sweet as candy, filled with anticipation of the next queen's holiday and of the visit that will be paid at the school" (b2700 V/1982, "Gogh, Anna van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 4/30/1874). 239. and servants b2721 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 9/9/1874: "And now my boy, receive a loving kiss. It's the maid's birthday, it was very busy this morning." Presumably, Anna gave the maid the morning off for her birthday. 240. anniversaries b2704 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 5/27/1874: "It was very kind of you to send us the letter on the 21st of May and to remember our wedding anniversary. It was delightful." This was on Anna and Dorus's twenty-third anniversary, and every anniversary was so honored. Milestone anniversaries merited special celebrations -- even copper, which celebrated twelve and a half years of marriage (see Aunt Mietje's journal for November 6, 1862 [Van Gogh, Maria Johanna, n.p.]). The anniversary of Dorus's induction into the clergy was another annual family holiday. 241. "name days" Even servants' "name days" were celebrated: "Goodbye dear Theo, be well. Please give the enclosed note to Jan the laborer. After all, it is his name-day." (b2752 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 6/2/1876.) 242. organized all the festivities b2320 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/11/1875. 243. greenery, flags, and bouquets2673 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 11/15/1873. 244. Special cakes and cookiesb2507 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/19/1877. Alcohol was another common feature at these celebrations, especially when out-of-town relatives attended, as they often did: champagne for toasts (b2684 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 1/28/1874), but also wine with dinner, and liqueur afterwards (a lifetime favorite of Vincent's). Here is a knowledgeable discussion of the options from a letter Anna wrote Theo for his eighteenth birthday: "Do you sometimes go over to Uncle Jan's or to Mauve's? Pa liked it there so much. Did you know dad received half an anker of wine after the wedding? Imagine how nice that was of Uncle Jan Carbentus. He wrote us he it was bringing it and then asked us which wine we wanted to have and if we would like some Madeira wine too. He said we only had to ask for it. And so Uncle brought what we had asked for and on top of that he added two half bottles of puisset, two half bottles of curacao and two half bottles of brandy." (b2335 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van en Gogh, Cor van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 4/30/1875.) 245. fruits and branches of flowers b2352 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus, Anna C. en Willemina van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 8/11/1875. 246. Saint Nicholas Eve, December 5b2448 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 12/15/1878. Saint Nicholas Day is traditionally celebrated on December 6. In the Netherlands, Saint Nicholas' Eve (December 5) is the more popular day for family celebrations. The Van Goghs appear to have followed this Dutch tradition by celebrating the "Feast of St. Nicholas" on December 5: "A few words in haste because tomorrow is the Feast of St. Nicholas. That's such a nice day in Holland, I'd like to see it again sometime. It's time for Christmas to come, don't you think?" (JLB 59, 12/4/1875.) 247. Sinterklaas Dutch settlers brought Sinterklaas (also spelled Sinter Claes) to the Dutch colonies in America, where he was transformed into Santa Claus. After the Reformation abolished the cult of saints, the Netherlands was the only Protestant country in Europe to continue to celebrate Saint Nicholas Day (http: //www.umkc.edu/imc/stnick.htm). 248. distributed candy and presents b2798 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 12/6/1876: "It was great seeing how happy Cor was with everything you gave him, the shells, the stamps especially, and he has been playing with the top all evening, he took it upstairs at night and it was the first thing he reached for when he woke up, and aunt had a lovely piece of the delicious St Nicholas cake." In addition to the heavily-fruited Saint Nicholas Cake, they ate almond-pastry banket shaped into the letters "SN." (See "Desserts, Pastry & Cakes." Recipes available.) 249. the front room of the parsonage Kools, p. 17. 250. carolsOn ChristmasDay, the children of the congregation came to the parsonage (b2675 V/1982, “Gogh, Theodorus van” to “Gogh, Theo van”,12/24/1873 and Meyers, p. 68) and sang “so sweetly” (b2677 V/1982,“Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van” to “Gogh, Theo van”, 12/31/1873). The children sang Saint Nicholas hymns like this one:

"Saint Nicholas, holy man and good,

Put on your cloak, put on your hood;

Hasten to Amsterdam, and again

From Amsterdam go into Spain,

There the apples big and sweet

Grown in Orange, roll the street;

Grown in Orange and Granada

Under sun and under shadow.

Oh, Saint Nicholas, my good friend,

I have served thee without end,

If my wish thou'lt now give me,

I'll devote my life to thee."

(http: //www.umkc.edu/imc/stnick.htm).

 251. the clatter of coffee cupsKools, p. 17: "This room was also the place for all kinds of meetings, the bible readings, and the coffee hour after the Sunday service." Kools also notes that the front room contained "six bibles, twelve New Testaments, eight hymnbooks, and five psalters." "How lovely it will be when we're all united at home for Christmas, dear brother," Lies wrote Theo in 1877 (b2568 V/1982, "Gogh, Elisabeth van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 11/18/1877). "We will laugh a lot, provided you bring a good portion of good humor along. It is very near now, and I'm longing so much to see you." (ibid.) 252. Under Anna's direction Meyers, p. 48. 253. a huge Christmas tree b2677 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 12/31/1873: "There was something in it [i.e., the tree] for 26 children and there were 72 people present in the house. We put the pews in the front room; the beautiful tree in the suite was as high as the room." 254. gold and silver paper cutoutsb2677 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 12/31/1873: Anna lists the decorations on what must have been a heavily-laden tree: "48 candles, 6 balloons, figs, oranges, apples, hazelnuts, rolls of chocolate wrapped in gold paper ... and gold and silver paper." 255. balloonsb2677 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 12/31/1873. (See Ch. 2, n. 254.) 256. fruit, nuts, candyb2677 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 12/31/1873. (See Ch. 2. n. 254.) 257. dozens of candlesb2677 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 12/31/1873. (See Ch. 2, n. 254.) 258. all the parsonage childrenb2677 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 12/31/1873. (See Ch. 2, n. 253.) 259. piled around the treeb2739 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 12/21/1874. (See Ch. 2, n. 253.) 260. "Christmas is the most beautiful time" b2576 V/1982, "Gogh, Anna van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 12/7/1877. This sentiment was echoed by Anna's eldest daughter, Anna: "I hope you will have a nice Christmas holiday; it always is the most beautiful time at home." 261. visits to sick congregantsb2375 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 12/4/1875: We are assuming that if Dorus took eight-year-old Cor on such visits, as reported in this letter,here, then surely he took Vincent and Theo on similar visits around Zundert when they were of similar age. 262. "to bring St. Nicholas" b2375 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 12/4/1875. 263. stayed in Vincent's imagination BVG R30, 3/5/1883.

Context:

JLB 325, 3/5/1883: "This week I bought a new 6-penny edition of Christmas carol and Haunted man by Dickens (London Chapman and Hall) with about 7 illustrations by Barnard, for example, a junk shop among others. I find all of Dickens beautiful, but those two tales -- I've re-read them almost every year since I was a boy, and they always seem new to me." (Emphasis in original.)

264. he reread these stories BVG R30, 3/5/1883.

Context:

JLB 325, 3/5/1883: "I find all of Dickens beautiful, but those two tales -- I've re-read them almost every year since I was a boy, and they always seem new to me." (Emphasis in original.)

265. "They are new to me" BVG R30, 3/5/1883.

Context:

BVG R30, 3/5/1883: "I admire everything that Dickens wrote, but I have reread these two "children's tales" nearly every year since I was a boy, and they are new to me again every time."

JLB 325, 3/5/1883: "I find all of Dickens beautiful, but those two tales -- I've re-read them almost every year since I was a boy, and they always seem new to me." (Emphasis in original.)

266. "an alien from his mother's heart" Dickens, p. 366. 267. "It seems to me"Dickens, p. 360. 31 268. complete without gift givingTo judge by surviving letters, gift-giving in the Van Gogh household amounted to a kind of mania, which only intensified with time and distance. So obsessive was the ritual that not only the servants were included (see, e.g., b2687 V/1982, “Gogh, Theodorus van” to “Gogh, Theo van”, 2/14/1874), but even the family pets: Fedor, a black Makassar (b3259 V/1962, “Gogh, Maria Johanna van”, 1899) and Dorus's black cat (b2797 V/1982, “Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van” to “Gogh, Theo van”, 11/24/1876). (On the occasion of the cat's disappearance, Dorus wrote Theo: “What a sadness! We have not seen our pussy cat for three days. People will have greedy eyes when they see her beautiful coat” [ibid.].) Anna revealeds the fate of Dorus's cat, Miet, in a letter a few weeks later. Her sister, Corneilie, hads replaced the missing cat with a new kitten for Saint Nicholas Day. “Someone might have taken it for its lovely fur,” Anna speculateds darkly (b2798 V/1982, “Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van” to “Gogh, Theo van”, 12/6/1876). The replacement cat, which is was “a little black kitty,” Anna continues, “looks like the one in Zundert.” These family pets participated in family gift-giving rituals both as recipients (b2602 V/1982, “Gogh, Theodorus van” to “Gogh, Theo van”, 2/10/1873) and as benefactors (b2687 V/1982, “Gogh, Theodorus van” to “Gogh, Theo van”, 2/14/1874). 269. make their own presentsKools, p. 78: Kools points out that, in a small rural town like Zundert, retail opportunities were limited. When the coach line between Antwerp and Breda stopped running in 1855, what little retail activity there was in Zundert collapsed. According to Kools, "In 1856 notary Van Mens complained with Govert George van der Hoeven: 'It's a very sad situation, not one coach is running any more from Antwerp to Breda, so we are robbed from all our transport.' The local retailers and tradesmen complained about a steep drop in their business. The decline was dramatic. Lies van Gogh called the village 'dead and deserted.'" 270. baskets of food b2597 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/1/1873. 271. The girls learned embroidery b2798 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 12/6/1876. 272. crochetb2798 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 12/6/1876. 273. the boys learned pottery b0953 V/1962, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 3/15/1876. 274. And everybody learned to drawb2436 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 9/11/1878: The letter from 1878 refers to Cor’s learning to draw. For Willemina, see, e.g., b2757 V/1982, “Gogh, Theodorus van” to “Gogh, Theo van”, 7/6/1876 and Van Heugten, p. 57. For Theo, see b0963 V/1962, “Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van” to “Gogh, Theo van”, 1/19/1878. For Anna, see b2600 V/1982, “Gogh, Anna van” to “Gogh, Theo van”, 2/4/1873. For Vincent, see Van Gogh, “Voor Saar (For Saar, History of Van Gogh Family),” n.p. The letters are silent on whether Lies joined the others in learning to draw, but the inference is reasonable. 275. in order to decorate and personalize Van Gogh, "Voor Saar (For Saar, History of Van Gogh Family)," p. 6: A report of the family celebration of the parents' copper wedding anniversary (twelve and a half years), in November 1864, gives a good sense of the full family participation in these rituals and the variety of artifacts offered: seven-year-old Theo wrote a poem on one side of a sheet and colored a picture on the other; nine-year-old Anna embroidered a pillow; Lies and Wil (five and two) recited rhymes; and eleven-year-old Vincent made a drawing. The youngest, Cor (born in 1867), apparently benefiting from the example of his siblings, became an especially prolific holiday draftsman (see b2460 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/12/1879). He began drawing as early as six (b2688 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/15/1874). Among his favorite subjects were "dogs and hares" (b2567 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 11/9/1877). The frequency and quantity of sketching pencils Cor received as gifts suggest a particularly high level of activity. (See, e.g., b2512 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 3/14/1877 and b2531 V/1982, "Gogh, Willemina en Cor van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 5/21/1877.) 276. A simple box b2600 V/1982, "Gogh, Anna van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/4/1873: In 1873, Vincent's sister Anna painted a bouquet of flowers on a cache-désordre box she made for her father's birthday. 277. a transcribed poemb2373 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 11/17/1875. As soon as the children could write (by age six [see Ch. 2, n. 275]) their parents coached them to copy lines of poetry: a gift that their parents often exchanged (b2602 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/10/1873). Here is an example from 1875 in which Cor, age eight, took a print that Theo had sent and embellished it with both poetry and decoration in the kind of "layered" imagery that Vincent would later transform from handicraft into great art: "Dear Theo! You gave me a great pleasure by sending the prints so quickly which were quite good and which Cor used right away. He has used one very nicely, with a verse written by Pa and surrounded it with a little wreath of flowers that he cut out and colored and in silver [added] the date and year and if we do visit he will bring it with him." (b2373 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 11/17/1875.) 278. with a cutout wreathb2373 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 11/17/1875. (See Ch. 2, n. 277.) 279. They illustrated favorite storiesSee Ch. 2, n. 290 and Ch. 2, n. 275. 280. to teach children moral lessonsKôdera, pp. 17-18. For more on emblem books, or bijschriften-poezie, see Kôdera, pp. 16-18. Kôdera makes a persuasive argument that Vincent saw at least one of the most popular of the emblem books, Alle de wercken van Jacob Cats, republished in 1862 by Johannes van Vloten with new illustra­tions by J. W. Kaiser. 281. "Duty above all other things"b2620 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 4/30/1873: “Duty above all other things, then the blessing of our Dear Lord will follow and the peace that goes with a clear conscience, the biggest treasure in life.” Dorus seconded this first commandment of behavior: "[P]ut duty above pleasure," he counseled his son Theo, "or rather I don't say that correctly, for to do your duty is the purest pleasure" (b2334 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Willemina van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 4/29/1875; emphasis in original). 282. "Whatever is not a duty is a sin" Mill, p. 75. 283. spreading to his neighbors Mak, pp. 16-17. 284. The duty of cleanliness See Schama pp. 378, 380, 382. 285. the status of a religion b2677 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 12/31/1873. Anna used the language of religion when preaching the gospel of duty: "May your young life be full of joy, you already know that a path of duty and rightfulness leads to blessing and joy." 286. Duty, Decency, and SolidityWagener, "Vincent of Zundert," pp. 201-202. 287. "no country in Europe" Schuchart, pp. 68-69, citing Duke de Baena, p. 117: Class distinctions ran so deep that a stranger's class, or stand, could be ascertained in even the briefest encounter. According to Goudsblom: "In the nineteenth century few ambiguities attached to social status [in Holland]. Society consisted of some generally acknowl­edged standen or 'estates,' each of which had a particular style of life. Almost always it was clearly evident whether a person belonged to the stand of burghers or workmen or farmers; more often than not, his specific station within his stand could be equally well ascertained. Forms of ad­dress varied according to social rank: the title of mijnheer, sometimes used by English novelists to indicate any Dutch character, was strictly reserved for burghers, the common people being called by either their surname or, for the lowest in rank, by their first name." (Goudsblom, p. 62.) The Van Goghs followed the practices described by Goudsblom. In their letters, Vincent and his family always addressed the middle classes by their last names (to Vincent, the postman Joseph Roulin was always just "Roulin"), while the lower classes merited only first names. "Jan the laborer" was all that Anna ever called her gardener, Jan Doomen (b2752 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 6/2/1876). 288. Upward mobility Mak, p. 212. 289. virtually impossibleSee Mak, p. 212 and Brugmans, p. 45. 290. viewed with deep disapprovalBrugmans, p. 7. Brugmans quotes an 1845 report calling attention to the "alarming phenomenon" of children who wanted "to rise above the class of their parents." The report was prepared by a religious organization, reflecting the widespread belief that "class difference was more than a social fact: it had a religious foundation" (ibid.). Brugmans quotes a contemporary poet, Isaac da Costa (1798-1860) to the same effect: "'God desired the difference in endowments, wealth, ranks.' ... In consequence, endeavors of people from the masses to work their way up to the higher class were viewed with disapproval; the poor had to be content in the class in which God had placed them" (ibid.). 32 291. divisions ran between city and countryBrugmans, p. 16. 292. Zundert's tiny eliteKools, p. 46: "Association with the right families was impressed upon Vincent from childhood on. He quickly must have learned that there were strict divisions between the different classes and ranks. In the Netherlands of the middle of the nineteenth century, a clergyman belonged to the elite. The cultural and intellectual life of the country was dominated by clergymen." 293. moral and intellectual agenda Kools, p. 36. (See also Groot and De Vries, p. 106). 294. going to sea Brugmans, p. 45. 295. only a modest salaryKools, p. 36, citing the Archief Hervormde Kerk Zundert en Rijsbergen, inv. nr. 316: 750 florins a year: Kools notes that "in 1858, the government announced that it intended to raise ministers' salaries under ƒ 800 to this amount. In response to the circular in which this was announced and in which was indicated how one could request such a raise, [Dorus] Van Gogh wrote: 'immediately sent out the desired reply to this.' His request was accepted. From now on, the salary would add up to ƒ 800." (See also Stolwijk and Thompson, p. 192.) 296. the perquisites of status Kools, p. 36. There were other perquisites. According to Kools, "The Van Goghs had the free use of the vegetable garden that was located next to the church. The grass in the cemetery was also for the clergyman, although he was expected to pay the sextoness the symbolic amount of ƒ 1 for this. The church also paid the land taxes for its clergyman." 297. a house, a maid, two cooks Meyers, p. 41: "a nursemaid, servant, governess, gardener." 298. a carriage, and a horse

Meyers, p. 41: Meyers’s list includes: “a nursemaid, servant, governess, [and] gardener,” but not the two cooks identified by Kools, p. 18 (see Ch. 2, n. 296).

299. appear richer than they were Perrot, ed., pp. 232-236, 239. 300. Dorus in his top hat Kools, p. 37. 301. Such emblems of statusb2704 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 5/27/1874: In 1874, Anna recalled fondly one of the honors attached to the parson's job in Zundert: joining the delegation of dignitaries that greeted the governor when he visited: "Dad has an audience with the Governor. Flags have been put out nearly everywhere. Uncle's Grauewen and Mr. Mastenbroek accompany him. They have been there now for at least one hour. He is such a likeable person. Dad would sometimes meet him at the castle. Do you remember in Zundert, how a fine guard of honor would go to meet him [i.e., the governor]?"

Another badge of the parson's station in Zundert was the occasional social contact with the landed, artistocratic Protestant families that summered in the area. According to Brekelmans: "Associating with the different patrician families of Zundert must have been good for the reputation of the Van Gogh family and it must have given them a touch of prestige. Undoubtedly, the Van der Hoeven and Van der Wall families that lived on the Moeren and Wallstein respectively must have had countless conversations with the Van Gogh family." (Brekelmans, p. 56.) Referring to the Van Gohs's next home, in Helvoirt, Meyers writes: "Ma wrote about each visit to the castle with her bourgeois pride in the letters to her children" (Meyers, p. 58). (For examples, see: b2651 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van"; b2662 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 9/22/1873; b2656 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 9/1/1873, b2710 V/1982; "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 7/10/1874, b2324 V/1982; "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/25/1875; and b2704 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 5/27/1874.)

302. "We have no money"b2561 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 10/6/1877. 303. Anna instilled in her children Kools, p. 36. 304. "civilized good circles" b2352 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus, Anna C. en Willemina van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 8/11/1875. 305. falling into bad company Meyers, p. 35. 306. "mingle with the well-to-do" b2721 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 9/9/1874. Decisions about the Van Gogh children's education, both boys and girls, were informed by the need to provide good company for the boys and good husbands for the girls (a necessity for maintaining class standing) (Meyers, pp. 55, 57). 307. "not of our own class" b2463 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/27/1879. 308. "distinguished family" Hulsker, pp. 7-8. 309. issued detailed instructionsb2237 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 11/28/1882: "Cor is enjoying much friendship from the Carp family in Helmond, one of the most distinguished families in that town. Therefore on St. Nicholas Day Cor should give a present to Naud Carp who is at the H. B. school [Hogere Burgerschool] with him." 310. a few distinguished familiesKools, p. 37: According to Kools, the only truly distinguished families in the area were the Van de Walls and the Van der Hoevens, both prominent Protestant clans from Breda that had built large country houses nearby in order to "taste the rural life" -- the latest bourgeois fashion (Kools, pp. 41, 60). (The indigenous nobility had long since disappeared [ibid., p. 83].) But neither family had many children and they spent only part of the year in their vast estates outside town (ibid., p. 41). Frequent treks to these handsome but remote enclaves, Wallstein and De Moeren, were both impractical and expensive solely for the purpose of securing playmates. (There are photos of these two estates in Kools, p. 60 [de Moeren] and p.61 [Wallstein]. In the former case, the house was called De Moeren; the estate was called Het Anker, the house.) For more on these families, see Kools, p. 39. Like most bourgeois fashions, the one that brought the Van de Walls and Van der Hoevens to Zundert had begun as an aristocratic fashion, which, in turn, began with a royal whim. 311. a handful of Protestant professionals Kools, p. 39. Closer to home, acceptable company was limited to the families of local Protestant luminaries like the tax collector Alexis Hamming, the doctor Cornelis (Charles) van Ginneken (who witnessed Vincent's birth [see Meyers, p. 41]) and a grocer named Van Aalst. 312. Beyond lay only Catholic families Kools, p. 22. 313. "It is better to be around" b2521 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 4/18/1877. 314. the cattle of humanity

These peasant-laborers need to be distinguished from the yeoman religious settlers that Dorus recruited and supported as part of his church mission (see Chapter 4). We disagree with Kools, who, like many commentators, believes that Vincent was exposed early to more modern ideas about peasants. "Early on, he learned that farmers were the truly civilized people. They were still simple people in their natural state, who were not yet contaminated by the artificiality of the city dweller." (Kools, p. 71.) This extrapolation, based exclusively on Dorus's contact with farmers as part of his parsonage work with the Society for Prosperity, an arm of the Church (see Chapter 4), assumes both that Anna (and her children) made no distinction between the Society farmers and the peasants described in the text; and that Anna did not harbor the same or similar feelings toward the former as she harbored toward the latter -- feelings that she (transmitted to her children in both cases). There is absolutely no evidence in the literature that Anna, although she performed her duties as a parson's wife, enjoyed mixing with the lower social classes in her husband's congregations, or particularly appreciated them in any way other than the conventional way in which her class apprised them (as described in the text). There is, on the other hand, a considerable body of evidence that she preferred associating with the higher social classes.

315. obstinately ignorant and immoral Kools, p. 57: Kools notes the long history of this view of the peasant as "rough, uncivilized, sensual, churlish, and aggressive" and argues that the contrasting view of the peasant as a kind of noble savage was of a recent date. 316. "heart's luxuries" Legouvé, pp. 284-285. 317. indifferent to deathLegouvé, pp. 284-285. 318. "[They] love and sorrow" Legouvé, pp. 284-285. 319. "Their hearts are like their intellects" Legouvé, pp. 284-285. 320. Van Gogh children were forbiddenStokvis, p. 12: Stokvis attributes this prohibition to Dorus. We believe this is likely the function of the paternalism-sexism of either the interviewee or the interviewer, or both. At the very least, Anna agreed with the restriction. 321. only each other for companySilverman, among others, suggests that “Vincent van Gogh grew up in close interaction with the peasant laborers and craftsmen who formed the majority of the fifty-six believers in his father's tiny country parish” (Silverman, pp. 145-146). There is no evidence that Vincent participated in any of his father's activities in regard to the farmers supported by the church’s Society for Prosperity (see Chapter 4). Nor is there any evidence, even inferential, for any other form of “close interaction” with them. We know only that he probably accompanied his father occasionally on visits to the sick of all social strata. There is, on the other hand, both direct and indirect evidence (as detailed in the text) that Anna van Gogh would have disapproved of and likely prevented such close interactions as socially inappropriate and potentially morally jeopardizing. All we can safely assume is that Vincent indirectly encountered his father's lower-class parishioners at church services and at some church functions. 33 322. "To present [one]self pleasantly"b2228 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 1/16/1876. 323. a peculiar obsession Schama, p. 310. For changes to the class-distinguishing function of clothing that occurred in the Netherlands after the Van Goghs left Zundert, see Mak, p. 212. 324. workers wore smocks Mak, p. 212. 325. crinoline hooped skirts Mak, p. 212. 326. marked Anna's family Meyers, p. 34: "a well-groomed appearance, e.g. neat clothing, was elementary. This all had to do with the clearly defined class differences that determined their world and way of thinking." Anna dressed her children simply (Kools, p. 39), in keeping with the self-effacing fashion of the times, but still signaled the family's status by a combination of good fabrics, fastidious maintenance, and seasonal changes (the lower classes wore the same clothes year around). (See, e.g., b2694 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 3/26/1874.) In this obsession (Coquiot called it "la folie de propreté," [Coquiot, p. 21.]), Anna enjoyed the full participation of her husband, who "always look[ed] smart" according to Anna (b2634 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 6/14/1873), and who never went out in public without his top hat (Meyers, p. 34). One of Dorus's ancestors had left an endowment of "clothing money" to ensure that his progeny were properly attired. (See Maria Johanna van Gogh (Aunt Mietje), n.p.) "Above all, make sure your clothes are tip-top," Dorus advised his son Theo. "You cannot pay enough attention to that. Always be a gentleman, not a servant" (b2352 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus, Anna C. en Willemina van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 8/11/1875). 327. the first store-bought capb2315 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 1/20/1875. 328. grown-up suitb2696 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 4/27/1874. 329. overcoat b2597 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/1/1873. 330. questions and advisoriesSome examples: "Your suit came in useful again. I would have loved to see you wear it. Is the hat still so slouchy? I don't think you can starch it any more. Anyway, make sure that it is neatly brushed, boy. Have the boots and your everyday clothes been mended yet? And did you buy some shirts?" (b2702 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 5/19/1874.) "Ma has worried for a long time that you need a thinner overcoat. We would like to give you one for the occasion. And you must have one made by our tailor and send me the bill. If you have to travel it is really a necessity and it also seems to me that you need another kind of hat. Just take care of it. And especially let nothing be lacking in your clothing." (b2234 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/17/1876.) "Theo, would it not be advisable to buy a 'demi saison': You could get the necessary (money) from us? Or would you perhaps need an overcoat. Or something else? Don't be too thrifty! (b2362 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 9/25/1875.)

"Last week Uncle Cent was here and he brought along some clothes that may be of use to you: an excellent pair of trousers, a waistcoat and a jacket ... We would like you to buy everything (a complete suit; pants, vest, jacket or tailcoat) a bit on the woolly side; it should fill you out a little. It should become you, that is the main thing." (b2670 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 10/22/1873.) "Now about your shoes. How much would shoes, which are not as high as your laced boots, cost?" (b2634 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 6/14/1873). Anna and Dorus inquired relentlessly about the status of underwear because "it is such a good idea to make sure that you are through-and-through respectably dressed" (b0960 V/1962, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 1/6/1878). Despite a persistent shortage of money, hardly a missive went by without an offer of clothes or money for clothes (see, e.g., b2690 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 3/7/1874) in order that "nothing be lacking in your attire" (b2234 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/17/1876).

331. "Always make sure" b2696 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 4/27/1874. 332. "What one wears on the outside"b2555 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 9/21/1877: When pressed, Dorus conceded that "inner clothing" was more important than the outer kind: "I am glad that your coat worked out well," he wrote Theo, "just make sure you always look like a gentleman; that is necessary. But the best clothing that anybody can wear, as you know, is something else." Anna was slightly more equivocal on this priority. "[L]ook handsome and that's a must for a decent man," she wrote Theo, "you know that the inner part of man is the most important, but the way one looks is also important, especially in your case." The notion that a man who dressed like a gentleman would be more likely to act like one came straight out of the moral guidebooks of the era. "Better dress changes a man," wrote Jules Michelet in Le peuple (Michelet, p. 45). "He wants to be worthy of it, and he tries to align his moral behavior with it." 333. A stain on one's clothingb2686 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/7/1874. 334. "made a good impression" b2672 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 10/31/1873. 335. a stroll in a smart suit b2696 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 4/27/1874: "What a smart suit, I can imagine that it looks very good on you, and it pleases us greatly that you had such a nice Sunday and good walk wearing it." 336. "will show people"b2634 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 6/14/1873: Anna held the dapper pastor up as a model to Theo: "If only I could sew new buttons on your vest; they may be broken. I think you should fix it, so that you can show people that you are the son of Reverend Van Gogh and as you know, he always looks smart." 337. "I have to have something new" BVG 585, 4/21/1889.

Context:

BVG 585, 4/21/1889: "Then as my clothes were not in too brilliant a condition and I had to have something new to go out in the street in, I got a suit for 35 francs and spent 4 francs on six pairs of socks."

JLB 760, 4/21/1889: "Then, since my clothes were in not too brilliant a state -- so that when I went out into the street it became necessary to have something new -- I took a 35-franc suit and 4 francs for 6 pairs of socks."

338. "the basis and source of a happy life"b0976 V/1962, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 5/8/1878. 339. "solidity"Wagener, "Vincent of Zundert," pp. 201-202. Both Wagener and Masheck render the three pillars of Dutch society as "Duty, Decency and Solidity" (Wagener, pp. 201-202 and Masheck, p. 201). But Meyers refers to them as "Duty, Decency and Efficiency" (Meyers, p. 52). 340. triumph was followed by defeat Schama, p. 31. 341. In eatingSchama, pp. 151-153. 342. even in paintingLubin, pp. 47-49. 343. aimed for the golden meanSchama, p. 159. 344. the prudent, sustainable balanceSchuchart, p. 69: Schuchart argues that the Dutch tendency toward balance and moderation led to mediocrity. 345. between sumptuousness and frugality Schama, pp. 295, 297. In tragedy and in celebration, the Dutch heart aimed for Degelijkheid. Passionate emotions threatened the public weal as surely as surging seawater (see Copley, p. 69). Deliberation guarded against the ravages of impulse (see Lubin, p. 43); being "in command of oneself" became the heart's highest calling (see Goudsblom, p. 30). 346. to repress unseemly emotions Gay, p. 345. 347. Calvinist zealMeyers, p. 35: "Dorus and Anna van Gogh were no extreme Calvinists. As already mentioned, they belonged to the Groninger movement, which stood for moderation. They were averse to any kind of fanaticism." 34 348. Anna's fretful, defensive nature For example: "Let us arm ourselves in good times by believing in God, so that we will find comfort in times of misfortune" (b2662 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 9/22/1873). 349. "misfortune" b2702 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 5/19/1874: "And now dear child, take good care and be happy. And always remember God's all-seeing eye and presence with every enjoyment or misfortune." 350. "troubles and worries" b2528 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", May 1877: "Last week Dad preached on the subject 'Man is born to suffer.' And how troubles and worries form the heart and make it susceptible to comfort and hope." 351. "comfort and hope"b2528 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", May 1877. (See Ch. 2, n. 350.) 352. "shadow side" b3259 V/1962, "Gogh, Maria Johanna van", 1899: To the Van Gogh family chronicler (Dorus’s sister Maria Johanna [Meitje]), the advancement of a relative was both a blessing and a curse: “Sister Bertha is taking a competitive exam in Kampen. She is fortunate, although leaving Breda ... casts a shadow on the event for the parents and two sisters remaining behind.” 353. melancholy, too, was forbidden b2346 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 7/8/1875. 354. "He who denies himself" b2704 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 5/27/1874. 355. balanced by a negativeb2689 V/1982, "Gogh, Anna van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/24/1874: In a letter she wrote Theo in 1874, Anna quoted from a letter she received from Vincent in London: "In the last letter he writes me: 'I fear that after all the sunshine I have enjoyed there could be very soon rain -- but I will continue as long as possible to enjoy the sunshine, and keep my umbrella nearby for the rain that could follow.'" 356. always tempered with expectation b2697 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 4/29/1874: "Now dear boy. Be well, in all aspects, as your father and mother pray it to be for you. Keep being our crown and happiness. Just remain our support and pleasure." "Remain our pride and joy" (b2318 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 2/7/1875). Anna also used the imperative, conditional form of compliment: "Are you satisfied with yourself? Does your self-esteem still have to grow over time?" (b2539 V/1982, "Gogh-Carbentus, Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 7/2/1877.) Vincent himself adopted the same conditional voice in his relationships with fellow artists, hedging his comments on their work with qualifiers and reservations, mixing advice with chastisement. Here are two examples from his correspondence with the younger artist Émile Bernard: "I'm writing a line to thank you kindly for your drawings; I find them done in a bit too much of a rush, and I like the two drawings of whores the most; but there's an idea in all of them." (JLB 690, 9/27/1888-10/1/1888.) "Because it's up to us next to thank you for the collection of rough sketches entitled At the brothel. Bravo! The woman washing herself and the one who says 'I'm second to none when it comes to taking it out of a man' are the best, it seems to me. The others are grimacing too much -- and most of all, are too vague, too little flesh and bone properly built up." (JLB 698, 10/5/1888.) 357. enthusiasm with caution b2440 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 10/14/1878: "We enjoyed your recent letter. It was such a cheerful letter. I can understand very well that you are preoccupied with thoughts about your future. Still it is good if you don't hurry too much and that you think about it with courage. You are not old, and in your young life you have had the opportunity to see and experience much. ... There is much good in life that is permanent, though it is true that nobody passes through life without a load of worries. To carry on your back, or rather in your heart." 358. insensitivity or obtusenessBVG 598, 7/2/1889.  The more emotionally charged an event, the more likely the Van Gogh children were to withdraw to the false safety of calculation. This was especially true of Vincent. In February 1883, after Theo fell in love with a lower-class woman (a cataclysmic event), Vincent urged him to marry her by sending a numbered list of the reasons why marrying her would be different, and more acceptable, than Vincent’s marrying Sien Hoornik, a prostitute with whom he lived and whom he wanted to marry despite his family’s objections: “Of course I am speaking about these intimate matters (which on the whole I consider so intimate that I should never speak about them unless there were a clear reason for it) only because I see this resemblance between the cases of your patient and mine: 1. Both had to undergo a dangerous operation, and both were, notwithstanding the chloroform, not wholly quiet during the operation. 2. Both were, shortly before the operation, severely shaken by anxiety and tension and perturbation of mind, and had to undergo moral sufferings which were almost more than the nervous system can stand. 3. Rest for body and soul is absolutely necessary for both of them in the interest of recovery and readjustment.” (JLB 313, 2/12/1883.)

At other times, the two brothers parsed and graded loves with algebraic precision. In 1881, when he declares his love for his widowed cousin, Kee Vos, Vincent tries to explain his love to Theo with the following "breakdown" of loves: "There are three stages, first not loving and not being loved, second loving and not being loved (the case in question), third loving and being loved. I'd say that the second stage is better than the first, but the third! That's it." (JLB 179, 11/3/1881, emphasis in original.) Around the same time, he lists seven different possible scenarios for his love for Kee (JLB 183, 11/12/1881). A year later, when he declares his love for a Hague prostitute, Sien Hoornik, he revisits the breakdown from the previous year and apparently identifies a missing category: "You know that last year I wrote to you a great deal about Kee Vos -- so that, it seems to me, you have a clear picture of what took place within me. Don't think that I exaggerated my feelings to you -- it was a strong, passionate love I felt for her, unlike that for Sien." (JLB 244, 7/6/1882).

The more emotionally charged an event, the more likely the Van Gogh children were to withdraw to the false safety of calculation. This was especially true of Vincent. In February 1883, after Theo fell in love with a lower-class woman (a cataclysmic event), Vincent urged him to marry her by sending a numbered list of the reasons why marrying her would be different, and more acceptable, than Vincent’s marrying Sien Hoornik, a prostitute with whom he lived and whom he wanted to marry despite his family’s objections: sent him a long letter specifying in numbered paragraphs the reasons why Theo should pledge his undying love to her: “Of course I am speaking about these intimate matters (which on the whole I consider so intimate that I should never speak about them unless there were a clear reason for it) only because I see this resemblance between the cases of your patient and mine: 1. Both had to undergo a dangerous operation, and both were, notwithstanding the chloroform, not wholly quiet during the operation. 2. Both were, shortly before the operation, severely shaken by anxiety and tension and perturbation of mind, and had to undergo moral sufferings which were almost more than the nervous system can stand. 3. Rest for body and soul is absolutely necessary for both of them in the interest of recovery and readjustment.” (JLB 313, 2/12/1883.)

359. "one cannot become"b2225 V/1982, “Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van” to “Gogh, Theo van”, 1/4/1876: Anna was speaking explicitly about Vincent: “It is such a pity that Vincent did not get involved more in the family life according to our station in life. I do believe that if one wants it there is the opportunity for it even if not immediately, so many people try to please and help young people and the boy needs it. I believe that without it one cannot become a normal person.” Elsewhere, Anna warned Theo against following his older brother's example: “Do your best getting older. Learn the normal life more and more” (b2385 V/1982, “Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van” to “Gogh, Theo van”, 12/31/1875). 360. offended religion, class Meyers, p. 34: "An inappropriate outward appearance was just an affront. It put one on a lower social level." 361. shame to the family Meyers, p. 63. In the worst case, failure threatened the catastrophe of declassification. (See also Meyers, p. 55, and Blom, p. 393.) 362. tumble down the social ladder Mathijsen, pp. 22-23. 363. Closer to home Anna and Dorus did not have to look far to find object lessons in the consequences of dereliction of the duties of Duty, Decency, and Solidity. Kools tells the story of a Catholic youth in Zundert who, when Vincent was five, married a Protestant widow, setting off an explosion of scandal and deploration (Kools, p. 55). In another example, the son of a wealthy Protestant family in Zundert left a permanent "blot on the family blazon" when he married a young farmer's daughter (Kools, p. 39). A widow in Dorus's congregation left Zundert for the big city where she "got into low water" -- i.e., prostitution (ibid., p. 52). 364. "died of a lot of misery" b3259 V/1962, "Gogh, Maria Johanna van", 1899. 365. "and cast a shadow" b3259 V/1962, "Gogh, Maria Johanna van", 1899. Dorus's great grandfather, Jan van Gogh, had two children born out of wedlock. (See Sanders, p. 21, and also b4509 V/1962, Carbentus Genealogy, n.p.) 366. jeopardy and contingent love Van Gogh-Bonger, quoted in Meyers, p. 38: This may be what Jo Bonger was trying to capture when she referred to the atmosphere in the parsonage as "strange and sensitive." 367. "the slippery path"b2639 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 7/2/1873: Dorus distills this cautionary lesson from the story of a distant family relation named Bertha: “I fear that she has set foot on the slippery path. In Breda her reputation is not very favorable either and it is said that she often wanders around. It may well be possible that she will come to Brussels. But if that were to happen than I should give you the advice to keep your distance. Try to remain polite but avoid going out with her. During that time with Anna she also planned to come and stay with us, but I refused her politely. Her conduct in Breda was particularly questionable. It is sad for her parents.” (Emphasis in original.) Note how Dorus responds to the family embarrassment of Bertha’s behavior by shunning her and advising Theo to do likewise. 368. "falling short" b2696 V/1982, "Gogh, Theodorus en Anna C. van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 4/27/1874. 369. a sense of anticipatory self-reproachStolwijk and Thomson, p. 21: Stolwijk and Thomson refers to Vincent's "strongly developed sense of guilt." We believe that all of the Van Gogh children, to varying degrees, felt a similar guilt; and for the same reasons. 370. "How much do we" b2226 V/1982, "Gogh, Elisabeth van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 1/9/1876. 371. "I am not nearly" b2226 V/1982, "Gogh, Elisabeth van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 1/9/1876. See also b2374 V/1982, "Gogh, Elisabeth van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 11/30/1875: "[I]t makes me feel so good to hear from you that there are others apart from me who have to fight to be good as well. I think there are people for whom it is very easy to be good; it almost seems as if they do not have to try hard at it. For me, it is very hard though, and when you say something about it, you always get the same answer: You have to give your best! I think that's right, but sometimes I don't even know how I can give my best." Also see b2553 V/1982, "Gogh, Elisabeth van" to "Gogh, Theo van", 9/1/1877: "I want to make Pa and Ma happy, and I would be very sad if I did not achieve that." 372. "Preserve us"BVG 95, 5/19/1877. Vincent recalled this childhood family prayer in 1877, describing it as: "a prayer [that] came from the secret recesses of Father's heart" (JLB 114, 5/19/1877).

Context:

JLB 114, 5/19/1877: "Preserve us from too much self-reproach."

373. None prayed more ferventlyBVG 95, 5/19/1877. The fervor of Vincent's praying is attested to by the fact that he remembered this prayer, virtually word for word, a decade after he left Zundert. (See Ch. 2, n. 372.)