Van Gogh in

Schenkweg 138

Vincent lived at Schenkweg 138 from 1 January 1882 to 4 July 1882. He also had a studio there. It was only a few streets away from the studio of artist Anton Mauve (1838–1888), a key figure in Vincent’s life at the time. On 3 January 1882, just a week after arriving in The Hague after a fierce row with his father, Vincent wrote to his brother Theo that he had rented a studio:

“Now as to me, it will perhaps not be disagreeable for you to learn that I’m installed in a studio of my own. A room and alcove, the light is bright enough, for the window is large (twice as large as an ordinary window), and it’s more or less facing south. I’ve bought furniture in true ‘village constable style’, as you call it, but I think that mine resembles it much more than yours, although it was you who coined the phrase. (I have real kitchen chairs, for example, and a really sturdy kitchen table.) Mauve lent me some money, 100 guilders, to rent it, furnish it and get the window and light fixed up. … And now that I’m in my own studio, it will most probably make a not unfavourable impression on some people who until now have thought that I’m merely dabbling, idling or loafing about. – The plan is that I continue to work regularly from a model. That’s expensive, and yet it’s the cheapest way…” Read the complete letter

The studio cost him 7 guilders a month. It is likely that there was another tenant, for Vincent rented only part of the upstairs apartment. He often had trouble paying his landlord, Adrianus Johannes van der Drift, because he was not earning enough yet and was frequently short of money. He depended financially on his brother Theo, who sent him 100 francs (about 50 guilders) every month.

But Vincent did sell his first drawings while living at the studio. His former employer at Goupil& Cie H.G. Tersteeg, bought one, and his uncle ‘Cor’ (Cornelis Marinus van Gogh, often referred to as “C.M.” in correspondence) commissioned him to draw twelve city views. Immediately upon paying for the commission, C.M. asked for six more detailed drawings Straatgezicht, Paddemoes, Scheveningseweg, Bakkerij in de Geest en Zandgravers in het duin Immediately upon paying for the commission, C.M. asked for six more detailed drawings.

Soon after moving into his studio, Vincent met the pregnant prostitute Clasina Maria “Sien” Hoornik (1850–1904), who became his model and lover. They decided she, her daughter and the new baby would come and live with Vincent. That meant he needed more room and the house was shabby anyway. So Vincent made future plans to move to the building next door at Schenkweg 136, which was more spacious and in better shape. Vincent moved to Schenkweg 136 on 4 July 1882.