As I hear, you are the possessors of one of my favorite paintings 'The children on the beach' and I can tell you that few pictures by me, have so muc… - Jozef Israëls

There are people who think that it [the Watch', in the Rijksmuseum, 1884] is placed beautifully, - it shines, it just roars like a fairground attraction - but is that the way that the greatest art ought to be exhibited? After all, it is unnecessary to add something to the already so strong [light-dark] effect and to the compressing character of the composition, but one must know, learn and feel what Rembrandt really is about. It is no fun or a shout, it is serious and broad art..

No, the Dutchman is not cold, not insensitive, our people are still full of enthusiasm for what is noble and good. Holland above all! We artists, from Rembrandt to Maris, rave over our country. We find our Holland a delicious beautiful country with its meadows, its beaches, its sea, its domestic interiors, its figures, peasants, farmers, Jews, merchants, everything is similar picturesque as it is all just up for grabs. The most beautifully in the Netherlands is however Amsterdam, that delicious spacious Amsterdam, which is expressing so much and uniting so much in itself. (translation from the original Dutch: Fons Heijnsbroek)

You should write about me, just like you did about Degas (translation from the original Dutch: Fons Heijnsbroek)