Nuenen: From May 1884 Vincent rented a studio from the Catholic verger Johannes Schafrat at what was then the Heieind 540. This space was more suitable for working with models. Vincent also lived in the verger’s house after the death of his father. After a while it became difficult to find models. The priest forbade his parishioners from posing. He even paid them for not doing it. That is one of the reasons why Vincent left Nuenen at the end of November and departed for Antwerp. Moreover he hoped to establish an academy there and longed for the art world that had eluded him for so many years. In 1914 Anton Kerssemakers who had been a friend of Vincent committed his memories of the studio to paper. The verger’s house was demolished in 1936.
