During his stay in New Amsterdam, Drente the Netherlands, Vincent van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo and to his parents about the kitchen of the inn where he had his room.

“Downstairs there is the inn, and a farmers kitchen with an open peat fire , very cosy in the evening. Such a fireplace with a cradle beside is an excellent place for meditation. When I am feeling melancholy or worried about something, I just go downstairs for a while”. (letter of October 12, 1883 of Vincent to Theo)

“For a month now I have breating the air of the heath. I needed It absolutely - I have sat down by a peat fire with a cradle beside it.”(letter of October 13, 1883 of Vincent to Theo)

“I think there is no better place for meditation than by a rustic hearth and an old cradle with a baby in it, with the window overlooking a delicate green cornfield and the waving of alder bushes.”(letter of October 27, 1883 of Vincent to his parents)