Vincent van Gogh's father was the minister at the Reformed Church in Helvoirt from February 1871. Vincent never lived in Helvoirt, he had left his parents' house two years earlier and worked at the Goupil Art Dealers, first in The Hague, and later in London and Paris.
He visited the vicarage at Christmas or during his holidays. He sketched the Reformed Church where his father preached and also made drawings for Betsy Tersteeg, the daughter of his boss in The Hague. When he was twenty he was called up to apply for military service in Oisterwijk. His father arranged for a substitute, which cost him a lot of money.
