Head of a Man

Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), Nuenen, December 1884-January 1885

pencil, pen, brush and coarse brush (?) and ink, on paper, 14.8 cm x 10.4 cm

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

This is just a small drawing – about the size of a postcard. Van Gogh signed it at bottom left, something he did only when he was completely satisfied with a piece. Was he hoping it might find a use as a magazine illustration? He often remarked that such illustrations might one day be a good source of income.

If you look closely at on the man’s cheek, you can see the pencil lines of the preparatory sketch. Van Gogh has drawn over them in ink. The murky background is enlivened by a novel kind of spatter technique.

F-number
F1198
JH-number
JH0564
Object number
d0274V1962
Dimensions
14.8 cm x 10.4 cm
Provenance
Sent by the artist from Nuenen to his brother Theo van Gogh, Paris, sometime between December 1884 and January 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; transferred by Vincent Willem van Gogh, Laren, to the Vincent van Gogh Foundation, Amsterdam, 10 July 1962; agreement concluded between the Vincent van Gogh Foundation 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, 21 July 1962; 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)

Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, De Aardappeleters: misser of meesterwerk?, 8 October 2021-13 February 2022

Den Bosch, Noordbrabants Museum, Van Goghs intimi. Vrienden, familie, modellen, 21 September 2019-12 January 2020

Maastricht, MECC, Van Gogh's drawings. Masterpieces from the Van Gogh Museum, 15-24 March 2013

New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vincent van Gogh. The Drawings, 12 October-31 December 2005, no. 25

Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Van Gogh tekenaar. De meesterwerken, 2 July-18 September 2005, no. 25

Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vincent van Gogh tekeningen. Nuenen 1883-1885, 20 June-12 October 1997, no. zonder nr.

Zurich, Kunsthaus Zürich, Vincent van Gogh. Dessins, aquarelles, 5 April-4 June 1967, no. 19

Lille, Palais des Beaux-Arts (Lille), Vincent van Gogh. Dessins, aquarelles, 14 January-13 March 1967, no. 19

Albi, Musée Toulouse-Lautrec, Vincent van Gogh. Dessinateur, 27 May-31 August 1966, no. 18

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Nuenen, Gemeentehuis, Vincent van Gogh. Schilderijen, aquarellen, tekeningen, 8 August-31 May 1965

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Washington, Washington Gallery of Modern Art, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings, 2 February-19 March 1964, no. 74

Humlebaek, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Vincent van Gogh. Malerier og tegninger, 24 October-15 December 1963, no. 74

Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Tentoonstelling van teekeningen door Vincent van Gogh in het Stedelijk Museum, 22 December 1914-19 January 1915, no. 110

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Groningen, Groningsch Museum, [titel onbekend], 1-7 April 1897

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Heugten, Sjraar van, Vellekoop, Marije, Zwikker, Roelie, Van Gogh tekenaar : de meesterwerken, 2016, p. 63, 187

Heugten, Sjraar van, Berger, Helewise, Prins, Laura, Van Goghs intimi : vrienden, familie, modellen, 2019, p. 56

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Heugten, Sjraar van, Vincent van Gogh tekeningen : Nuenen 1883-1885 : Van Gogh Museum : 2, 1997, p. 124-133

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Gerritse, Bregje, The potato eaters : Van Gogh's first masterpiece, 2021, p. 53, 56

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