The Van Gogh family lived here from 1882 to 1886, when mother moved to Breda. Vincent from December 1883 to May 1884. The parsonage was built in 1764 by the civil municipality, which was then still obliged to provide housing for the reformed minister. Vincent van Gogh's father, Theodorus van Gogh, was pastor in the congregation.
Vincent had his first studio in Nuenen in the laundry room behind the rectory. His parents put in a stove, wooden ottoman and crib and had the whole place "further fluffed up" to make it comfortable. Vincent preferred not to have his father put a large window in the wall.
A few months later, Vincent inquires of Theo about a fixed financial allowance: "Why I need to know this is because if I can count on it, I would take another spacious studio somewhere that I need to be able to work with models. That which I have these days has the following geographic location. And my imagination is not strong enough to find this progress on the situation of last year'. His added sketch indicating the coal shed, toilet, sewer and manure pit should convince Theo that it is not a flourishing workplace. Indeed, in early May 1884, he decided to rent a larger studio from Catholic sexton Johannes Schafrat and his wife. A year later, after his father had since died and friction arose with his sister Anna, he would leave the rectory to live in that studio.
The residence dates back to 1764, as can still be read on the wall anchors on the front facade. To the right of the house, Theodorus' predecessor, Reverend Begemann, had a carriage house built in 1840. Before the family moved into its new home, it needed considerable refurbishment. Both before and after its occupancy by the Van Goghs, the rectory underwent considerable restoration. The plaster-like cement layer was removed during a restoration in 1957. This layer and also the coach house are visible in the painting The presbytery at Nuenen from the autumn of 1885. Vincent draws and paints both the front and back of the presbytery, even after he has left the house. Since this painting and the drawing of the same name came into the hands of Theo and Willemien, respectively, they may have been intended as souvenirs of the parental home.
The deep backyard is a favorite spot for Vincent. It is a beautiful garden with a lawn, flowers, fruit trees, and in the back a vegetable garden and a large pond with a deck. Vincent records the garden frequently, from different angles and in various seasons. The first drawings emerge as early as his month of arrival. In March 1884, he makes a series of ambitious pen drawings, including of the garden in winter mood. Then he also draws the path "behind the hedges," which lies behind the garden. In the watercolor The garden of the presbytery at Nuenen, he transforms the backyard into a public park, placing not only figures in the representation, but also the now demolished Old Tower. Today, the garden is less richly vegetated, but has remained largely the same; the pond has been restored in recent times.
Even today, the rectory is still a residence. Several times a year it is possible to visit Vincent's studio and garden.
