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, aardappeleters : Van Goghs eerste meesterwerk, 2021, p. 36-37