1881
- April: moves back to Etten and draws.
- April 17: meets Theo.
- Mid-June: Rappard on visit in Etten.
- Summer: Kee Vos Stricker spends some time in Etten with Vincent's parents, who falls in love with her.
- August 23–26: trip to The Hague; he visits Anton Mauve and Théophile de Bock, sees some exhibitions and the recently opened Panorama Mesdag.
- late November: writes letter to Uncle Stricker, and within a couple of days goes to Amsterdam in person himself.
- ?: arrives in Amsterdam and demands to see Kee but does not see her; aunt and uncle Stricker accompany him to a good and cheap lodging, where he stays for some days.
- November 27 or December 4: "Sunday evening" at about 7 o'clock, he arrives in The Hague to stay with Anton Mauve for some time. Mauve encourages him to work in oils and watercolours.
- December 19: Vincent is still in The Hague and unable to leave, as he is short of money. A few days later he is back to Etten, and confesses that recently—evidently for the first time in his life—he sought the administrations of a back-street girl.
- December 25: On Christmas Day, Vincent quarrels with his father who had tried to force him to assist the Christmas service, and leaves for The Hague.
Read more about this topic: Vincent Van Gogh Chronology