The chronology of the letters can be determined on the basis of their contents, our reasons being given in the Date for each letter. At the beginning of the month it is financial matters which help to establish the chronological order, whereas in the second half of the month it is the weather conditions and Vincent’s state of mind which yield the most clues.

On 11 March Vincent received 100 francs (letter 211), 10 guilders (20 francs) of which he owed to Tersteeg. Later in the month (letters 212 and 212) he again asks Theo for money. When it is not forthcoming, he again borrows money from Tersteeg, this time 25 guilders. Theo came to know of this (see letters 214 and 215), which explains why he sent 100 francs at the beginning of April (letter 214) and again, later that month, the large sum of 150 francs, because Vincent had still not paid off his debt to Tersteeg (letter 217).

The fact that Vincent’s letter-writing proceeded apace as the month wore on is attributable in part to the bad weather, which hindered him in his work, and in part to his need to blow off steam in an attempt to raise his low spirits, caused by Mauve and Tersteeg’s negative attitude towards him (letters 218-220).

It is impossible to date these letters precisely, so we have distributed them evenly over the month, providing them with a more exact time frame when allowed to do so by certain details (e.g. the weather conditions mentioned in letters 215, 218, 219 and 222. This strategy has yielded the following dates: on or about 2 April (214), on or about 6 April (215), on or about 10 April (216), on or about 14 April (217), 18 or 19 April (218), on or about 21 April (219), on or about 23 April (220) and on or about 26 April (221); the weather conditions mentioned do not contradict these dates).

The present letter must date from the very beginning of April, as suggested by ll. 117-125, which undoubtedly refer to the allowance for the first half of April, mentioned here for the first time.