Haymaking
Currently on view
Léon-Augustin Lhermitte (1844 - 1925), 1887
oil on canvas, 215.9 cm x 265.8 cm
Credits (obliged to state): Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (purchased with support from the Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
In this painting, Lhermitte depicted a farmer family taking a break during haymaking. The scene is romanticised; there is no trace of the hard labour the resting workmen have just performed. Additionally, subtle symbolism is incorporated into the painting. It portrays various stages of life: youth, adulthood, and old age. The older man in the front holds a scythe, a traditional reference to the transience of life.
Like Lhermitte, Van Gogh hoped to establish himself as a painter of rural life. According to Van Gogh, the secret to the French artist’s success was that he knew ‘the sturdy, severe workman’s figure – through and through.’
- Object number
- s0424M1991
- Dimensions
- 215.9 cm x 265.8 cm, 252.3 cm x 303.2 cm, 13.5 cm
- artist
- Léon-Augustin Lhermitte
- Credits (obliged to state)
- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (purchased with support from the Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Illusie en werkelijkheid : naturalistische schilderijen, foto's en film, 1875-1918, 8 October 2010-16 January 2011, no. zonder nr.
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Illusions of Reality. Naturalist painting, photography and cinema, 1875-1918, 8 October 2010-16 January 2011
Oshkosh, Paine Art Center and Arboretum, Léon Lhermitte, 21 September-10 November 1974, no. 28
Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts, Selected Paintings from the Albright Art Gallery and a Collection of Recent Work By British Artists, January 1916, no. 20
Buffalo (New York), Albright Art Gallery, The Inaugural Loan Collection of Paintings, 31 May-1 July 1905, no. 105
Chicago, World’s Columbian Exposition, 1 May-30 October 1893, no. 569
Saint Louis, St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall, St. Louis Exposition, 1891
Paris, Palais du Champ de Mars, Exposition Universelle Internationale de 1889, 6 May-31 October 1889, no. 941
Paris, Palais des Champs-Élysées, Salon de 1887, 1 May-30 June 1887, no. 1519
Gerritse, Bregje, De aardappeleters : Van Goghs eerste meesterwerk, Amsterdam, 2021, p. 36-37
Gerritse, Bregje, The potato eaters : Van Gogh's first masterpiece, Amsterdam, 2021, p. 36-37
Darley, Esther, Suijver, Renske, Meesterwerken in het Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 2019, p. 50
Darley, Esther, Suijver, Renske, Masterpieces in the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 2019, p. 50
Tilborgh, Louis van, Een Japanse Caillebotte in Amsterdam, p. 6-8
Vignot, E., Sérullaz, A., La main dans l'art, Paris, 2010, p. 96-97
Weisberg, Gabriel P., Becker, Edwin, Haan, M. de, Jackson, D., Illusie en werkelijkheid : naturalistische schilderijen, foto's, theater en film, 1875-1918, Brussel, 2010, p. 49, 90-91, 142, 150, 152, 177, 217
Sanchez, Pierre, Les catalogues des salons des beaux-arts XV (1887-1889), Dijon, 2009, p. 126
Vergeest, Aukje, The French collection : nineteenth-century French paintings in Dutch public collections, Amsterdam, 2000, p. 212-213
Bodt, Saskia de, Leeman, Fred, Leeuw, Ronald de, Pennock, Hanna, Museum Mesdag : catalogue of paintings and drawings, Zwolle, 1996, p. 343-344
Leeuw, Ronald de, Tilborgh, Louis van, Esner, Rachel, Becker, Edwin, Heugten, Sjraar van, Leeman, Fred, Vriend, Anita, Van Gogh Museum Journal 1995, Amsterdam, 1995, p. 191
Leeuw, Ronald de, Van Gogh Museum : schilderijen en pastels, Zwolle, 1993, p. 22-23
Van Gogh Museum : jaarverslag 1991, Amsterdam, 1992, p. 16, 19-20
Heugten, Sjraar van, Leeman, Fred, Tilborgh, Louis van, Aanwinsten, p. 10-11
Heugten, Sjraar van, Leeman, Fred, Tilborgh, Louis van, Acquisitions, p. 10-11
19th century european paintings and drawings, New York, 1991, Cat.nr. 17
Pelley Fonteny, M. le, Léon Augustin Lhermitte (1844-1925) : catalogue raisonné, Paris, 1991, pp. 130-131
Hamel, M.M., Léon Lhermitte : an international exhibition organized by the Paine Art Center & Arboretum, Oshkosh, 1974, p. 17-18, 20, 28, 30, 38, 62
Exposition Universelle Internationale de 1889 : catalogue générale officiel : groupe I oeuvres d'art classes 1 à 5, Lille, 1889, p. 38
Baschet, Ludovic, Salon de 1887 : catalogue illustré, peinture & sculpture, Paris, [1887], p. 126
Goupil, F., Ollendorf, G., Salon de 1887, Paris, 1887, p. 79