1. Van Gogh was planning to take the train from Paris on Friday, 31 March at 20.00 and arrive the following morning before 11.00 at Etten; Mr van Gogh, who was extremely disappointed, had suggested that, ‘if he continued to love his profession, he could even set up in business himself ... If only he were keen and energetic and could make a start by himself’ (FR b955, 31 March, to Theo); see also FR b956. Regarding Van Gogh’s visit to his parents at Christmas, see letter 63, n. 2.

2. As emerges from what follows, Van Gogh saw Michel’s paintings at Durand-Ruel’s gallery. It is impossible to say exactly which works he is referring to, because a number Michel’s works, displaying similar motifs, were exhibited (written communication from Caroline Durand Ruel Godfroy, 4 July 2001).

3. Cf. Luke 24:13 ff.

a. Read: ‘De streep... wolken’.

4. It can no longer be ascertained which work by Jules Dupré Van Gogh is referring to here, because at the time Durand-Ruel had a number of titles with similar motifs in stock (written communication from Caroline Durand Ruel Godfroy, 4 July 2001).

5. Van Gogh is referring to the series Receuil d’estampes gravées à l’eau-fort. See Galerie Durand-Ruel. Receuil d’estampes. Preface by Armand Silvestre. Paris and London 1873. This series contains 300 etchings. Van Gogh’s subsequent estimates are fairly accurate, since there were 27 etchings after works by Millet, 29 after Georges Michel, the same number after Jules Dupré, and 28 after Camille Corot. The complete series is to be found in the library of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

6. The etching L’Angélus made by Martinez after Jean-François Millet’s The angelus was sold as no. 10. Ill. 1766 . Van Gogh owned this etching, on which he applied squaring lines (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, t*49). Cf. exhib. cat. Amsterdam 1988, p. 10.

7. This most likely refers to the carpenter, later clerk, Willem Frederik van Iterson, the youngest son of Everardus van Iterson and Francina Adriana Jacobs. Willem registered on 30 September 1875 as a resident of The Hague (BR Leiderdorp). This Willem occurs a number of times in the family correspondence (FR b2767, b2507 and b2377).