Vincent Van Gogh history
You
arrive in London in May 1873. You were afraid of being alone. Friendless.
Without any family to welcome you. But you were soon under the spell of this
town, of the Thames, of the museums and the gardens full of flowers...
You move in temporarily in a furnished flat for some months. Then you find
an attractive boarding house... At a place run by a mother and her daughter,
who were in charge of a kindergarten. You think your room is nice.
There is a friendly atmosphere. You would never have thought that “such
a feeling could exist between parents and their children.” You take time
to know London. You like walking. You look forward to “the three quarters
of an hour of pleasure” devoted to walking each morning and evening.
Your work take shape. You are a good salesman. You love your work. You met
painters and works of art. You were amazed at your discoveries of the greatest
artists but you were also curious about the new trends. You were sharpening
your eye and your mind.
You finish work earlier ( the English week). You could spend time on visiting
museums, on walking and reading.
You let the lodger’sdaughter, Eugénie Loyer, share in your tastes.
She is very nice to you, accomplice.You are twenty. Your heart flyies away,
she has won it. Your love blossom, and you with. You are happy.
You “thank God for the presents he thence gives you”. You dare
to declare your love in July. It is a disaster! She is in love with someone
else. She has pledged herself to the previous tenant of your room. The one
you replaced...Yet again... She doesn’t love you and doesn’t
want to see you again. How could you believe she loved you? You are asked
to leave. And never to come back.“My life sank when I was twenty years
old”...
You return destroyed to Helvoirt where your father had just been appointed.
Your family find you removed, sad, mutique.