Kingfisher by the Waterside

Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), Paris, July-August 1887

oil on canvas, 26.6 cm x 19.1 cm

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

This kingfisher sits by the waterside, on the lookout for fish. Van Gogh had a mounted kingfisher, which has been preserved. Comparing this painting to the mounted bird, one notices a couple of differences. Van Gogh made the tail slightly longer in the painting, probably to achieve a balance with the raised beak. He also gave the bird feet – useful to have when perched on a reed stem. The kingfisher's brilliant blue plumage looks a little dull here.

F-number
F0028
JH-number
JH1191
Object number
s0100V1962
Dimensions
26.6 cm x 19.1 cm
Provenance
Left by the artist at the apartment of his brother Theo van Gogh, Paris, July-August 1887; 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)

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