how can I dare to think
your twisted mixed up lines still sound so lovely
brushed yellow blue a dash of red
when your finest hand
brushed so quick the sun-lit stars
through night skies purple moon-lit sun
beyond fields of gold
past crows
past bars
across white canvas
for an ear? ~ [She said] Gill McGrath© Ode to the Artist (song)
Sien Hoornik…….. Vincent Van Gogh met her, the mother of a 5 year old girl in 1882. She was also pregnant at the time; and a prostitute;, and suffering from venereal disease. She posed for a number of drawings and paintings for him reflecting the difficult life of the working poor in domestic roles such as mother, seamstress and domestic worker. Van Gogh took her into his home and wrote about his love and affection for her in his letters to his brother. When the baby was born he was named Willem after the artist. Van Gogh wanted to marry Sien but was pressured by his father and then his brother to abandon them all . By the end of 1883 he did leave them, for Drenthe. Van Gogh died in 1890. Sien eventually married Anton van Wijk in 1901. She drowned herself 4 years later; 14 years after Van Gogh’s death.
Gill McGrath 