Eindhoven: Telegraph operator and postal clerk Willem van de Wakker lived at Rozemarijnstraat B 253 (now Jan van Lieshoutstraat) from 3 June 1884 to 10 December 1891. As an amateur painter, he took lessons from Vincent. Van de Wakker – who, according to Vincent, was too posh, too French – recalled in 1927 that Vincent was not an easy teacher. He was sarcastic and swore regularly. He ate, drank and rested very little, and only to the extent that it was strictly necessary. When Willem’s mother offered to share a meal with him, he is said to have replied: “I’ll just have a crust of bread. I don’t eat that proper food.”
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