Head of a Man

Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), Nuenen, March-May 1885

oil on canvas, 42.5 cm x 32.1 cm

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

To practise portraying peasant types, Van Gogh aimed to paint at least 50 different heads. He began the project in October 1884, on the advice of an artist friend. This Head of a Man is one of the last in the series.

The name and identity of the man are unknown. Van Gogh’s letters tell us little about his models. We only know that he found them in Nuenen, where he had returned to live temporarily with his parents.

F-number
F0179r
JH-number
JH0786
Object number
s0068V1962r
Dimensions
42.5 cm x 32.1 cm, 49 cm x 38.6 cm
Provenance
With his brother Theo van Gogh, Paris, after May 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; given on loan by Vincent Willem van Gogh, Laren to the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, since 16 December 1930; 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, Van Gogh aan het werk, 1 May 2013-13 January 2014

Amsterdam, Hermitage Amsterdam, Vincent. Het Van Gogh Museum in de Hermitage Amsterdam, 29 September 2012-25 April 2013

Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Van Gogh te gast in het Rijksmuseum. Meesterwerken van het Van Gogh Museum, 19 September 1998-2 May 1999

Groningen, Museum van Oudheden, Vincent van Gogh, 18 October-16 November 1947, no. 15

Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Vincent van Gogh. Werken uit de verzameling van Ir. V.W. van Gogh, in bruikleen afgestaan aan de Gemeente Amsterdam, 14 February 1931-1931, no. 13

Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Vincent van Gogh tentoonstelling ter gelegenheid van het internationale jeugdfeest der S.J.I., 15 May-15 June 1926, no. 8 [?]

Berlin, Kunstsalon Paul Cassirer, [titel onbekend], October 1908

Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Tentoonstelling Vincent van Gogh (aanvulling op 1905 Amsterdam I), 15 August-1 September 1905, no. 434

Hulsker, Jan, The new complete Van Gogh : paintings, drawings, sketches, 1996, p. 176

Uitert, Evert van, Hoyle, Michael, Crimpen, Han van, The Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, 1987, p. 320

Paternotte-Limburg, Yvonne, Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh Amsterdam : guide to the collection of paintings, 1979, [unpaged]

Vellekoop, Marije, Hendriks, Ella, Jansen, Leo, Meedendorp, Teio, Bakker, Nienke, Dijk, Maite van, Van Gogh's studio practice, 2013, p. 158, 228

Jansen, Leo, Suijver, Renske, Blokland, Ann, Vincent, 2012, p. 130-131

Faille, Jacob Baart de la, Vincent van Gogh : Gemälde, 1928, vol. 1, p. 55, nr. 179 verso, vol. 2, pl. XLVIII

Tilborgh, Louis van, Vellekoop, Marije, Vincent van Gogh paintings : Volume I : Dutch period 1881-1885 : Van Gogh Museum, 1999, p. 84-105

Tilborgh, Louis van, Vellekoop, Marije, Vincent van Gogh schilderijen : Nederlandse periode, 1881-1885 : Van Gogh Museum : 1, 1999, p. 84-105

Faille, Jacob Baart de la, Gelder, Jan Gerrit van, Hammacher, A.M., The works of Vincent van Gogh : his paintings and drawings, 1970, p. 100-101, 618

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