1/4 Jacqueline Bekkers-Vermeulen with the photo of the Van Gogh and Begemann family (Photo: Alice van der Plas)
Next to Vincent van Gogh’s famous old house in Nuenen there is another house. The painter’s great love once lived there: Margot Begemann. This month marks exactly 150 years since her family moved into the monumental building ‘Nune Ville’. Current resident Jacqueline Bekkers-Vermeulen is writing a book about the special house.
It was a ‘romantic whim’ in 2016 when Jacqueline and her family decided to live in Nune Ville. The former house of Van Gogh’s sweetheart had been empty for seven years and was in terrible condition.
“Worker beetle, woodworm, everything was damp, there was no heating and the sewerage was leaking,” says Jacqueline. The renovation took a year and a half. “I’ve sometimes thought, what have I gotten myself into? But I have never had any regrets.”
Jacqueline is a cultural scientist. The book she is working on is about the stories behind the villa. About Van Gogh, but also about wartime. People who have had something to do with the house contribute to the book.
“He had no money and they disapproved of his behavior.”
The house has been completely restored to its former glory. The conservatory was put into use last summer. An important room in the building.
The only photo of the Van Gogh family in Nuenen was taken there. It features Vincent’s mother, Vincent’s sister and the four ladies from the Begemann family, including Van Gogh’s great love, Margot. The family enjoyed tea together.
But the harmony did not last long. 43-year-old Margot and 31-year-old Vincent were in love with each other. Vincent even proposed to her. But Margot’s sisters put a stop to that.
“They thought Vincent was a bad choice,” says Jacqueline. “He had no money and they disapproved of his behavior.” According to the letters Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo, Margot took rat poison. She was taken to Utrecht to recover. The relationship was over.
“Not only do I have the story, I also have the objects.”
Vincent was very heartbroken and took a canteen with him to drink it away. Jacqueline has a canteen from the same period in her home. With an old bottle of Laudanum, a drink of alcohol and opium. “Margot was given that as medicine.”
Jacqueline tries to collect as many things as possible to bring the story of her house to life. There is also a doctor’s case from that time under a table. “I don’t just have the story, I also have the objects.”
She travels to antique markets and auctions to turn her home into a time capsule. She has a salon and a painting room. Works by Vincent’s friends hang there. “It took me twenty years to collect all that.”
“Theo’s son wanted to keep the house in honor of his uncle Vincent.”
Jacqueline had long been interested in Van Gogh. “I had to decide very quickly when buying the house, within two weeks. There was a clause in the notary contract. We had to do something about Van Gogh. The house was also owned by the cousin of the famous painter. He wanted to preserve the house in honor of his uncle Vincent.”
Jacqueline and her family put all their love into it. “Everything here is authentic, including the maids’ rooms in the attic.”
The ice-cold attic keeps Jacqueline as fit as possible. “Everything here is still made of reed and loam, I’m afraid that heating will affect that.” In a display case you can see the same type of revolver as the weapon with which Vincent probably shot himself.
Jacqueline has opened her house to the public. It can be visited every first Saturday of the month, except in the winter months. She hopes to present her book in March.