Textile Factory and Residence of Louis Begemann

In Nuenen, in the second half of the nineteenth century, there were five textile factories, including the linen factory of Jacobus Lodewijk (Louis) Begemann (1838–1906) at what is now Berg 65. Louis is an older brother of Vincent’s beloved and neighbour Margot Begemann. When things were going badly with Margot, Vincent confided in him and expressed his concerns: “Louis Begemann – he also had his objections, but he was such and remained such that both she and I could talk with him, and the fact that it did not turn out much worse was precisely because he was humane and calm, and when that happened with her, of which only I knew, he could help, while all the others merely hindered. And in the measures to be taken then we were in complete agreement. Three days earlier, moreover, I had already warned him and said, I am worried about your sister.”

When Margot, in despair, took poison, Vincent went to Louis for help. Margot left for a doctor in Utrecht and they kept the matter quiet under the pretext that “she is travelling for business.” Margot was, after all, a partner in Louis’s enterprise. After the business had gone bankrupt earlier, Margot had put her own money into it. In mid-September 1884 Vincent visited Margot in Utrecht “with some others here from the village”; this was presumably Louis, who was aware of the situation.

Louis’s father, Reverend Willem Lodewijk Begemann, established a linen factory around 1845 to create employment for Protestants. In 1864 Louis started a venture with business partner Jacob Tirion to produce cotton woven goods. In 1870 Louis continued on his own and the following year had a residence and factory built on the Berg. The business went bankrupt in 1879, but made a restart. The factory closed after his death in 1906. The story that, after Vincent’s departure from Nuenen, his belongings and studies left behind were stored in the attic of this factory is not based on facts.

Vincent’s youngest brother Cor van Gogh (1867–1900) came into contact in Nuenen with a son of Louis, Willem Begemann. The boys were the same age and attended the Rijks-hbs in Helmond. After his final exam in July 1884 it was decided that Cor would go to work. Through the contact with the Begemann family he started as an unpaid apprentice in the machine factory of Egbert Haverkamp Begemann in Helmond.

This text has been translated using AI.