Clasina Maria “Sien” Hoornik (1850–1904) was Vincent's girlfriend in 1882 and 1883. Sien and her mother, Maria Wilhelmina Hoornik-Pellers (1829–1910), lived at Noordstraat 16 in March and/or April 1882. A drawing that must have been made from the first-floor window, Torn-up Noordstraat with Diggers, shows that Vincent was no stranger to the house. The drawing depicts an excavation carried out across the street in 1882 for the purpose of laying pipes for a bakery that was under construction.

In May 1882, Sien and her mother moved to a new address, Slijkeinde 31. Sien, who already had a young daughter and was pregnant with her second child, was to move in with Vincent on Schenkweg after the birth, so that her mother was able to move to a smaller house.