1. Vincent had written to both Theo and Jo in letter 772.

2. The consignment must have contained all four versions of Augustine Roulin (‘La berceuse’), namely F 504 / JH 1655 , F 506 / JH 1670 , F 507 / JH 1672 and F 508 / JH 1671 (Vincent had given the fifth painting, F 505 / JH 1669 , to Madame Roulin). At Vincent’s request, Theo gave two of these, F 506 and F 508, to Gauguin and Bernard (see letter 776); the provenance of the other two works can also be traced to Theo (for F 504, see Account book 2002, p. 176).

3. Theo had had Joseph Roulin (F 433 / JH 1524 ) in his possession since August 1888; see letter 660. The provenance of Joseph Roulin (F 436 / JH 1675 ) can also be traced to Theo; see Account book 2002, p. 173. The earliest provenance information on the other four portraits of Roulin (F 432 / JH 1522 , F 434 / JH 1647 , F 435 / JH 1674 and F 439 / JH 1673) is lacking, so it cannot be ascertained whether more of them ended up with Theo. From letter 775 it emerges that Joseph Roulin had at least one portrait in his possession, though which of the above-mentioned it was cannot be said with certainty either. It could have been the large Joseph Roulin (F 432 / JH 1522 ) that Van Gogh had withheld from the August consignment (see letter 660). That painting came into the possession of Cornelis Hoogendijk, who probably acquired it from Vollard. In 1900 Vollard bought eight Van Goghs from Roulin (Paris, Musée d'Orsay, Documentation, Archives Vollard). The other three portraits might also have been acquired from Vollard, and could therefore have come from Roulin. The first known owner of F 434 and F 435 was Maurice Fabre, and of F 439 Emile Schuffenecker, both customers of Vollard. Feilchenfeldt assumes that F 432 stayed in Arles and was sold by Joseph Ginoux to Vollard. See Feilchenfeldt 2005, pp. 290, 300. Cat. Otterlo 2003, p. 268, thinks it quite possible that Van Gogh gave Roulin F 435, the only signed portrait, and intended F 439 for his wife, Augustine.

4. This could refer to either Sower with setting sun (F 450 / JH 1627 ), which measures 73.5 x 93 cm, or Sower with setting sun (F 451 / JH 1629), which measures 32 x 40 cm. Theo is probably referring to the large, ambitious canvas that Vincent had previously described and sketched (see letter 722); thus ‘little sower’ does not refer to the format of the canvas but to the size of the sower in proportion to the tree.

5. Marcelle Roulin (F 441 / JH 1641 ) was in Theo’s possession; the other two portraits (F 440 / JH 1639 and F 441a / JH 1640 ) have a different provenance.

6. Starry night over the Rhône (F 474 / JH 1592 ).

7. This consignment definitely contained the two paintings of sunflowers intended for Theo, Sunflowers in a vase (F 456 / JH 1561 ) and Sunflowers in a vase (F 454 / JH 1562 ), and the repetitions for Gauguin (F 455 / JH 1668 and F 458 / JH 1667 ). See letters 741, 743 and 776.

8. Van Gogh’s chair (F 498 / JH 1635 ).

9. Theo is responding here to the comparison Vincent had made between his Berceuse and the ‘chromos de bazar’, inexpensive coloured woodcuts (letters 743, 745 and 753).

10. Weissenbruch exhibited two watercolours at the World Exhibition: Moulin and Canal (Effet de lune). See exhib. cat. Paris 1889-4, p. 257, cat. nos. 215-216. Given its provenance, the first watercolour could be The old mill (Groningen, Groninger Museum). Ill. 462 . The second watercolour is Canal, moonlight effect (The Hague, Museum Mesdag). Ill. 463 .

11. Willem Maris exhibited three paintings: Beau jour d’été (Beautiful summer day), Bord de rivière (River bank) and Canards (Ducks); Jacob Maris five paintings: Le moulin (The mill), Souvenir d’Amsterdam (Souvenir of Amsterdam), Au bord de la mer (At the seashore), Canal à Rotterdam (Canal in Rotterdam) and La vieille bonne (The old maidservant). See exhib. cat. Paris 1889-4, p. 252, cat. nos. 88-95.

12. Johannes Bosboom exhibited five watercolours: Eglise à Hoorn (Church at Hoorn) (twice), Intérieur de ferme (Interior of a farmhouse), Grande Eglise de la Haye (Great Church of The Hague) and Vieille porte (Old door). See exhib. cat. Paris 1889-4, p. 255, cat. nos. 180-184.

13. Jozef Israëls exhibited three paintings: Les travailleurs de la mer (Workers of the sea), Paysans à table (Peasants at table) and L’enfant qui dort (The sleeping child). See exhib. cat. Paris 1889-4, p. 241, cat. nos. 69-71.

14. Breitner exhibited three paintings: Rencontre (Encounter), Cheval blanc (White horse) and Nègre (Negro). See exhib. cat. Paris 1889-4, p. 250, cat. nos. 35-37.

15. After his return to Paris in December 1888, Gauguin produced mainly ceramics. It was not until the summer of 1889, during his stay in Brittany, that he again ventured to make wooden sculptures. See Gray 1963, pp. 38-39.

16. De Haan had left for Pont-Aven some time during the first half of April 1889 (FR b1040). Gauguin joined him there at the end of May 1889, after an uninterrupted stay of five months in Paris. See exhib. cat. Chicago 2001, pp. 275, 393 (n. 35). Gauguin and De Haan lived and worked together for a time in Le Pouldu and Pont-Aven. Gauguin returned to Paris in February 1890 and went back to Le Pouldu again with De Haan in June. See exhib. cat. Washington 1988, pp. 47-49. In 1891 De Haan was again in the Netherlands (FR b1321).