Now, to Nuenen.

The Van Gogh Documentatiecentrum. (Documentation center) It used to be a weaving house (1837) which is quite appropriate given Vincent’s love of weavers.

Vincent’s father’s church. A place he painted, a place he occupied often, a place he resisted.

Nuenen in the rain… At this point, it was raining so hard, my photos came out quite blurry. I translated this into the soft glow you’ll see in the next few photos… So I’m not just romanticizing things! ;)

This is the house inside of which Vincent painted his studies for The Potato Eaters, his first masterpiece.

For those who remember the post I made on this day, I spoke of a muddy back road often traveled by Vincent: this is it. I also spoke of four horses who stared at me, ran swiftly away, and then turned around, as if waiting for me to follow…

I still feel it was Vincent.

This flour mill was built in 1884, the first year Vincent van Gogh lived in Nuenen. It is featured in several of his drawings. It is of the moment.

This local church I believe is the one that caused Vincent some trouble (as there is no other in town I could see): The priest here often interfered with Vincent’s work, obsessed with the idea that his mixing with the lower classes (read: his models) was dangerous. At one point, the priest even offered money to the townspeople to not pose for him.

(cough cough bastard cough cough)

This is the old parsonage where Vincent lived with his parents.  In the next post, I’ll share my photos from the back where you can see his studio area, and the door I imagine he used often to avoid his family. (just a guess! they didn’t get along very well)

This monument to Vincent was built in 1932 by Hildo Krop. It was the  first monument erected for Van Gogh in the Netherlands. I think it’s positively perfect. The sun is about hand-sized.

It felt like the sun, and it felt like your heart.