Focus on Sorrow (Van Gogh) and explore the Relationship with Sien.
Van Gogh is reported to have encountered Sien Hoornik wandering the streets of The Hague with her five-year-old daughter Maria Wilhelmina in January 1882. She was destitute and pregnant, with addictions to alcohol and tobacco and reportedly working as a prostitute. Van Gogh cared for her for around a year between 1882 and 1883, reportedly out of pity and a sense of duty. From Hoornik's perspective their relationship is not reported to have been anything more than a convenient solution to a difficult situation.  Van Gogh was, however, reported at one stage to have been planning to marry her.  He provided shelter and in return Hoornik modelled for him.In July 1882, Hoornik gave birth to a son, Willem, at the Maternity Hospital in Leiden. After the birth, she and Van Gogh moved into an apartment with a studio. This was reportedly a happy period for Van Gogh but by early 1883 Hoornik had started drinking again and returned to prostitution. The shared apartment became squalid, and the relationship between them deteriorated. Van Gogh found it increasingly difficult to support Hoornik and her children, in September 1883 they parted and Van Gogh left to further his career. In 1904, Clasina Maria Hoornik drowned herself in the Schelde River.
The Hague Schelde River