Head of a Woman

Currently on view

Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), Antwerp, December 1885

oil on canvas, 35.2 cm x 24.4 cm

Credits (obliged to state): Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

During his stay in Antwerp, Van Gogh searched for models to sit for portraits. He was hoping to profile himself as a modern painter of contemporary city life. He was particularly interested in working-class people, one of whom was the woman portrayed here. Perhaps she worked in a café and, like many impoverished women, was forced to earn extra money as a prostitute at night.

While her face evinces the traces of hard work, Van Gogh also wanted to convey her beauty. In these ‘studies of heads’ the artist was not interested in depicting an individual likeness, but rather a type. He painted the woman's face and long, loose hair with broad brushstrokes, thereby successfully introducing volume and life into them. He probably depicted the same woman in another painting as well.

F-number
F0206
JH-number
JH0972
Object number
s0059V1962
Dimensions
35.2 cm x 24.4 cm, 52.9 cm x 41.9 cm
Provenance
With his brother Theo van Gogh, Paris, after December 1885; after his death on 25 January 1891, inherited by his widow, Jo van Gogh-Bonger, and their son, Vincent Willem van Gogh, Paris; administered until her death on 2 September 1925 by Jo van Gogh-Bonger, Bussum/Amsterdam/Laren; donated by Vincent Willem van Gogh to the (1st) Vincent van Gogh Foundation, Laren, 11 March 1952; transferred by the (1st) Vincent van Gogh Foundation to the Theo van Gogh Foundation, Laren, 28 December 1960; agreement concluded on 21 July 1962 between the (2nd) Vincent van Gogh Foundation, Amsterdam, and the State of the Netherlands, in which the preservation and management of the collection, and its placing in the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, to be realized in Amsterdam, is entrusted to the State; donated on 21 July 1962 by the Theo van Gogh Foundation to the Vincent van Gogh Foundation; given on loan until the opening of the museum on 2 June 1973 to the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; on permanent loan to the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh from 2 June 1973 and at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, since 1 July 1994.
artist
Vincent van Gogh
Credits (obliged to state)
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

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