"What I dislike in him is that 'while painting' he complains about terrible boredom and idleness.. .In short, I find him a sympathetic figure, but I would rather read the life of père Millet or T. Rousseau or Daubigny [all artists of the School of Barbizon ].. ..G. Bilders was a romantic in his outlook on life, and he never got over his lost illusions. For my part I regard it as in a sense a privilege that I began when romantic illusions were a thing of the past. Now I have some way to catch up, work hard, but particularly when you have lost illusions behind you, work is something you need and one of the few pleasures left. And from this comes a great peace and calm.. ..too often with G. Bilders it's [in his diary and letters] 'I was in a bad mood this week and made a mess of things..'."