Van Gogh by others
By
others
Vincent in his close relatives’ and friends’eyes. We have a few
accounts given by people who knew you: Jacomina, who worked for your family,
Said you had “queer habits, and that your parents often scolded you”.
The grocer’s family, opposite your house,
Who knew you as a child describes you as “simple and kind, mild and shy,
most generous and sympathetic”.
Charles van Ginneken, your schoolmate said You were “ugly with your red
hair”.
Theo said that as a child, you always invented funny games.
Lies, who wrote a book of memories, Describes you as troubled and disturbed:
“ He was a most secretive child. He was remote from his brothers and
sisters, remote from himself And remote from his own youth.
He always screwed up his forehead, his eyebrows were bushy and the corners
of his mouth stiffened down as if he had some pains”.
Brabant
paradise
In your times, the Brabant was hardly industrialized...
It was a remote, quiet country, nicknamed “the Brabant paradise”...
The notables had their second homes there...
Surrounded by woods, heathers and moors...
It was seen as an idyllic, peaceful place, in the midst of wilderness...