Site of the vicarage with Vincent’s first studio.

Vincent van Gogh had his first studio in the vicarage in Etten-Leur. The actual building is no longer there but a statue marks the spot.

After various attempts, and encouraged by his brother Theo, Vincent decided he wanted to become an artist and returned to his parents’ house in Etten. He made a drawing of the vicarage which must have stood somewhere close by. Vincent worked and slept in the adjacent building. He studied mostly drawing books and life drawing. He worked regularly outdoors, and as always he wrote to Theo about books and art that interested him. In Etten he started writing about his preparations to become an artist, and sometimes included a sketch of what he was working on at the time.