Still Life with Bible
Currently on view
Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), Nuenen, October 1885
oil on canvas, 65.7 cm x 78.5 cm
Credits (obliged to state): Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
This hefty Bible had belonged to Van Gogh's father, a Protestant minister. Van Gogh painted it just after his father's death. He placed his own copy of Émile Zola's La joie de vivre next to it. That book was a kind of 'bible' for modern life. The books symbolize the different worldviews of Van Gogh and his father.
Vincent described this work to Theo as 'a still life of an open, hence an off-white Bible, bound in leather, against a black background with a yellow-brown foreground, with an additional note of lemon yellow.' He wanted to show that the colour black could be effective. The brothers had previously discussed this question at length.
Theo thought Vincent's canvases were too dark and gloomy. He encouraged his brother to use lighter, brighter tones, as the Impressionists did.
- F-number
- F0117
- JH-number
- JH0946
- Object number
- s0008V1962
- Dimensions
- 65.7 cm x 78.5 cm, 88 cm x 101 cm, 5.5 cm
- Provenance
- Taken by the artist from Nuenen to Antwerp, November 1885; taken by the artist to his brother Theo van Gogh, Paris, at the end of February 1886; 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 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, Kiezen voor Vincent. Portret van een familiegeschiedenis, 10 February-10 April 2023
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Charleroi, Palais des Beaux-Arts (Charleroi), Vincent van Gogh. Schilderijen, aquarellen, tekeningen, 9 January-9 February 1965, no. 5
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Humlebaek, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Vincent van Gogh. Malerier og tegninger, 24 October-15 December 1963, no. 8
Kansas City, William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings, 7 February-26 March 1963, no. 8
Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings, 11 December 1962-29 January 1963, no. 8
Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), Carnegie Institute, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings, 18 October-4 November 1962, no. 8
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Buffalo (New York), Albright Art Gallery, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings, 30 January-11 March 1962, no. 8
Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings, 5 December 1961-14 January 1962, no. 8
Baltimore, Baltimore Museum of Art, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings, 18 October-26 November 1961, no. 8
Toronto, The Art Gallery of Toronto, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings-Drawings / Tableaux-Dessins, 10 February-12 March 1961, no. 17
Winnipeg, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings-Drawings / Tableaux-Dessins, 29 December 1960-31 January 1961, no. 17
Ottawa, National Gallery of Canada, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings-Drawings / Tableaux-Dessins, 17 November-18 December 1960, no. 17
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Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, 3 ages, leeftijden, alter, 30 June-19 September 1960, no. 12
Seattle, Seattle Art Museum, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings and Drawings, 7 March-19 April 1959, no. 11
Portland (Oregon), Portland Art Museum (Oregon), Vincent van Gogh. Paintings and Drawings, 28 January-1 March 1959, no. 11
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings and Drawings, 10 December 1958-18 January 1959, no. 11
San Francisco, M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings and Drawings, 6 October-30 November 1958, no. 11
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Breda, Cultureel Centrum De Beyerd, Vincent van Gogh, 2-24 February 1957, no. 27
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Manchester (England), Manchester City Art Gallery, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings & Drawings, Mainly from the Collection of Ir. V.W. van Gogh, 17 December 1955-4 February 1956, no. 6
Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings & Drawings, Mainly from the Collection of Ir. V.W. van Gogh, 29 October-10 December 1955, no. 6
Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Vincent van Gogh, 24 June-September 1955, no. 31
Antwerp, Zaal Comité voor Artistieke Werking, Vincent van Gogh, 7 May-19 June 1955, no. 60
New York, Wildenstein & Company, Vincent van Gogh Loan Exhibition, 24 March-30 April 1955, no. 7
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Zurich, Kunsthaus Zürich, Vincent van Gogh, 9 October-21 November 1954, no. 3
Toledo (Ohio), Toledo Museum of Art, Vincent van Gogh 1853-1890, 7 March-30 April 1954, no. 33
Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Philadelphia Museum of Art, Vincent van Gogh 1853-1890, 2 January-28 February 1954, no. 33
Saint Louis, City Art Museum of Saint Louis, Vincent van Gogh 1853-1890, 17 October-13 December 1953, no. 33
Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Eeuwfeest Vincent van Gogh, 23 July-20 September 1953, no. 26
Otterlo, Kröller-Müller Museum, Eeuwfeest Vincent van Gogh, 24 May-19 July 1953, no. 26
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Bergen (Norway), Kunstforening, Vincent van Gogh, 23 March-18 April 1948, no. 4
Glasgow, City Art Gallery, Vincent van Gogh 1853-1890. An Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings, 21 February-14 March 1948, no. 9
Birmingham (England), City Art Gallery, Vincent van Gogh 1853-1890. An Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings, 24 January-14 February 1948, no. 9
London, Tate Gallery, Vincent van Gogh 1853-1890. An Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings, 10 December 1947-14 January 1948, no. 9
Groningen, Museum van Oudheden, Vincent van Gogh, 18 October-16 November 1947, no. 14
Mons, Museum voor Schoone Kunsten, Vincent van Gogh, 27 December 1946-January 1947, no. 31
Luik, Museum voor Schoone Kunsten, Vincent van Gogh, 12 October-3 November 1946, no. 31
Copenhagen, Charlottenborg, Vincent van Gogh. Udstilling af malerier og tegninger, 22 June-14 July 1946, no. 16
Malmö, Malmö Museum, Vincent van Gogh. Utställning anordnad till förmån för svenska hollandshjälpen, 29 May-16 June 1946, no. 17
Gothenburg, Göteborgs Konstmuseum, Vincent van Gogh. Utställning anordnad till förmån för svenska hollandshjälpen, 3-26 May 1946, no. 17
Stockholm, Nationalmuseum (Stockholm), Vincent van Gogh. Utställning anordnad till förmån för svenska hollandshjälpen, 8 March-28 April 1946, no. 17
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Greer, Joan Eileen, "Een man van smerten ende versocht in krankheyt" : het christologische beeld van de kunstenaar in Van Goghs Stilleven met open bijbel, p. 30-42