THE CONCEPT
 

Van Gogh`s favorite English writer was Charles Dickens (Oliver Twist ...)
Dickens opened Van Gogh`s eyes to modern human misery.

Dickens died in 1870, just before Van Gogh got there.
To commemorate his death, one of Van Gogh`s favorite Victorian sentimentalists, Luke Fildes, produced an unforgettable image of Dickens`empty chair, pushed away from his desk.
Van Gogh bought this illustration and learned from it how an empty chair can stand in so poignantly for a missing person.

Haunted by this image, Van Gogh went on to become the greatest painter of empty chairs there`s ever been.