The Discus Thrower
Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), Antwerp, Februari 1886
chalk on paper, 56.2 cm x 44.3 cm
Credits (obliged to state): Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
This drawing by Van Gogh shows a plaster model of Myron's Discus Thrower, a famous sculpture from the ancient world. He drew it at the Antwerp art academy.
His assignment was first to sketch the outlines and then to fill in the shadows and lighter parts of the figure. Van Gogh also devoted considerable energy to the background. He was the only student in his class allowed to do that, because he was making such good progress. He added a heavily shaded area.
- F-number
- F1364e
- JH-number
- JH1080
- Object number
- d0398V1962
- Dimensions
- 56.2 cm x 44.3 cm
- Provenance
- With his brother Theo van Gogh, Paris, after Fabruary 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; 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
Maastricht, MECC, Van Gogh's drawings. Masterpieces from the Van Gogh Museum, 15-24 March 2013
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vincent van Gogh. The Drawings, 12 October-31 December 2005, no. 33
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Van Gogh tekenaar. De meesterwerken, 2 July-18 September 2005, no. 33
Hamburg, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Vincent van Gogh. Die Pariser Zeichnungen, 22 March-16 June 2002, no. 12
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vincent van Gogh tekeningen. Antwerpen & Parijs, 1885-1888, 28 September 2001-6 January 2002, no. zonder nr.
Otterlo, Kröller-Müller Museum, Vincent van Gogh. Tekeningen, 30 March-29 July 1990, no. 138
Nijmegen, Cultureel Centrum de Lindenberg, Kijken naar de Spelen, 26 August-23 September 1972, no. 9
Bern, Kunstmuseum (Bern), Vincent van Gogh, 27 November 1954-30 January 1955, no. 120
Leeman, Fred, Prins, Laura, Meedendorp, Teio, Impressionism & beyond : a wonderful journey : a selection from the John & Marine van Vlissingen Art Foundation, 2018, p. 19