Portrait of Vincent van Gogh
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864 - 1901), 1887
pastel on paper, 54.2 cm x 46 cm
Credits (obliged to state): Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
According to the artist Paul Signac, Vincent van Gogh rounded off every day in the bar, where the ‘absinthes and brandies would follow each other in quick succession’. Van Gogh himself later [admitted(http://vangoghletters.org/vg/letters/let694/letter.html) that he was ‘almost an alcoholic’ by the time he left for Arles. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec had good reason, therefore, for sketching his friend at a table with a glass of absinthe.
The French painter met Van Gogh, who was eleven years older than him, at Fernand Cormon’s studio, where they were both taking lessons. They probably worked together intensively for a while, as the style and technique of their paintings in this period look very similar.
Toulouse-Lautrec sprang to his friend’s defence at the exhibition of ‘Les Vingt’ in Brussels in early 1890. Van Gogh had submitted six paintings, which caused a furore during the opening. Toulouse-Lautrec was so angry about some of the negative comments he heard about Vincent’s work that he almost got into a fight with another artist. The two painters might saw each other one last time a few months later, when Van Gogh visited his brother Theo in Paris from Auvers-sur-Oise. Little else is known about their friendship.
- Object number
- d0693V1962
- Dimensions
- 54.2 cm x 46 cm, 53 cm x 45.6 cm, 64 cm x 56 cm
- Provenance
- Acquired from the artist, Paris by Vincent or Theo van Gogh, Paris; Theo van Gogh, Paris; 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; on permanent loan to the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh from the opening of the museum on 2 June 1973, and at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, since 1 July 1994.
- artist
- Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
- Credits (obliged to state)
- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, In the Picture. Kunstenaarsportretten, 21 February-30 August 2020
Paris, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Resolument Moderne, 9 October 2019-27 January 2020, no. 63
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Van Gogh aan het werk, 1 May 2013-13 January 2014
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Van Goghs brieven. De kunstenaar aan het woord, 9 October 2009-3 January 2010
Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre, 16 July-10 October 2005, no. 88
Washington, National Gallery of Art, Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre, 20 March-12 June 2005, no. 88
Paris, Musée d'Orsay, Theo van Gogh 1857-1891. Marchand de tableaux, collectionneur, frère de Vincent, 27 September 1999-9 January 2000, no. 162
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Theo van Gogh 1857-1891. Kunsthandelaar, verzamelaar en broer van Vincent, 24 June-5 September 1999, no. 161
Paris, Musée d'Orsay, Van Gogh à Paris, 2 February-15 May 1988, no. 122
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, Van Gogh en zijn Franse vrienden. Het cloisonisme als stijl 1886-1891, 9 April-14 June 1981, no. 117
Toronto, Art Gallery of Ontario, Vincent van Gogh and the Birth of Cloisonism, 24 January-22 March 1981, no. 117
Paris, Musée de l'Orangerie, Vincent van Gogh. Collection du Musée National Vincent van Gogh à Amsterdam, 21 December 1971-10 April 1972, no. 112
Humlebaek, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Toulouse-Lautrec, 23 March-21 April 1968
Stockholm, Nationalmuseum (Stockholm), Toulouse-Lautrec, 26 December 1967-3 March 1968, no. 10
Paris, Musée du Petit Palais, Centenaire de Toulouse-Lautrec, October-December 1964, no. 23
Albi, Palais de la Berbie, Musée Toulouse Lautrec, Centenaire de Toulouse-Lautrec, June-September 1964, no. 23
Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 29 December 1961-25 February 1962, no. 135
Munich, Haus der Kunst, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 17 October-17 December 1961, no. 135
Paris, Institut Néerlandais, Les amis de Van Gogh, 9 November-17 December 1960, no. 83
London, Marlborough Fine Art, XIXth and XXth Century European Masters, June-July 1960
Otterlo, Kröller-Müller Museum, Collectie Theo van Gogh, April-May 1960, no. 151
Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Collectie Theo van Gogh, February 1960, no. 151
Mons, Museum voor Schoone Kunsten, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). Son art et ses amis, 22 March-5 May 1958, no. 104
Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, Toulouse-Lautrec, 2 January-15 February 1956, no. 11
Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Philadelphia Museum of Art, Toulouse-Lautrec, 29 October-11 December 1955, no. 11
Antwerp, Zaal Comité voor Artistieke Werking, Vincent van Gogh, 7 May-19 June 1955, no. 9
Albi, Musée d'Albi, Toulouse-Lautrec, ses amis et ses maîtres. Cinquantenaire de la mort de Toulouse-Lautrec, 11 August-28 October 1951, no. 137
Paris, Musée de l'Orangerie, Toulouse-Lautrec. Exposition en l'honneur du cinquantième anniversaire de sa mort, May-August 1951, no. 90
Brussels, Paleis voor Schone Kunsten (Brussel), Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901), July-August 1947, no. 11
Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Vincent van Gogh, 14 September-1 December 1945
Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Vincent van Gogh en zijn tijdgenooten, 6 September-2 November 1930, no. 299
The Hague, Museum Mesdag, Zonder titel [Presentatie in het museum], April-May 1926
Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Tentoonstelling Vincent van Gogh, 15 July-1 September 1905, no. a
Vienna, Wiener Secession, Entwicklung des Impressionismus in Malerei u. Plastik. XVI. Ausstellung der Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs Secession Wien, 17 January-1 February 1903, no. 183
Brussels, Musée Royal de Peinture, Ve Exposition des XX, 1888, no. 8
Faass, Martin, Klarmann, Julia, Nouwen, Margreet, Prins, Laura, Liebermann und Van Gogh : eine Ausstellung der Liebermann-Villa am Wannsee, Berlin, Köln, 2015, pp. 38-39
Easton, E., Bark, J., 'Pictures properly framed': Degas and innovation in Impressionist frames, pp. 605-606
Bakker, Nienke, Een avond met Van Gogh in Montmartre : muzikale en kunstzinnige ontmoeting, p. 19
Bouchot-Saupique, J., Centenaire de Toulouse-Lautrec, Paris, 1964, pp. 36, 39-40
Guégan, Stéphane, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec : résolument moderne, Paris, 2019, pp. 84-85
Bakker, Nienke, Smit, Lisa, Zeil, Wieteke van, Blokland, Ann, Prins, Laura, Hoeven, Joost van der, In the picture : kunstenaarsportretten, Bussum, 2020, pp. 29, 38-39
Bakker, Nienke, Smit, Lisa, Zeil, Wieteke van, Blokland, Ann, Prins, Laura, Hoeven, Joost van der, In the picture : portraying the artist, Bussum, 2020, pp. 29, 38-39
Bailey, Martin, Living with Vincent van Gogh : the homes & landscapes that shaped the artist, London, 2019, p. 106
Darley, Esther, Suijver, Renske, Masterpieces in the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 2019, p. 84
Darley, Esther, Suijver, Renske, Meesterwerken in het Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 2019, p. 84
Monnier, G., Pastels : from the 16th to the 20th century, Geneva, 1995, pp. 60-61
Uitert, Evert van, Hoyle, Michael, Crimpen, Han van, The Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam, 1987, p. 495
Stolwijk, Chris, Thomson, Richard, Heugten, Sjraar van, Theo van Gogh 1857-1891 : art dealer, collector and brother of Vincent, Amsterdam ; Zwolle, 1999, pp. 161, 163
Dahlbäck, Bengt, Grate, P., Toulouse-Lautrec, Stockholm, 1967, p. 22
Thomson, Richard, Cate, Phillip Dennis, Chapin, Mary Weaver, Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre, Washington, 2005, pp. 17, 69, 82, 256
Bakker, Nienke, Van Gogh and Montmartre, Amsterdam, 2011, pp. 66-67
Dorn, Roland, Keyes, G., Rishel, Joseph .J., Sachs, K., Van Gogh face to face : the portraits, Detroit, 2000, pp. 101, 117
Dumas, Ann, Ferretti Bocquillon, Marina, Van Gogh in Paris, London, 2013, p. 20
Leeuw, Ronald de, Van Gogh Museum : schilderijen en pastels, Zwolle, 1993, pp. 106-107
Heugten, Sjraar van, Berger, Helewise, Prins, Laura, Van Goghs intimi : vrienden, familie, modellen, Zwolle, 2019, pp. 76-77
Denvir, Bernard, Vincent : a complete portrait : all of Vincent van Gogh's self-portraits, with excerpts from his writings, Philadelphia, 1994, pp. 112-113
Gogh, Vincent Willem van, Tralbaut, Marc Edo, Wilms, J., Vincent van Gogh, s.l., 1955, [unpaged]
Welsh-Ovcharov, Bogomila, Vincent van Gogh and the birth of Cloisonism, Toronto, 1981, pp. 40, 332
Bailey, Martin, Van Gogh's finale : Auvers and the artist's rise to fame, London, 2021, pp. 97-98
Fossi, Gloria, De Marco, Danilo, Dondero, Mario, In search of Van Gogh : capturing the life of the artist through photographs and paintings, New York, 2021, p. 111
Dirven, Ron, November, Hans, Ruud van Empel : inventing Van Gogh, Zundert, 2021, p. 46
Duret, Theodore, Lautrec, Paris, 1920, pp. 40-41
Coquiot, Gustave, Lautrec : ou quinze ans de moeurs Parisiennes 1885-1900, Paris, 1921, pp. 121, 207
Bernard, Emile, Souvenirs sur Van Gogh, p. 394
Astre, A., Geffroy, Gustave, H. de Toulouse-Lautrec, Paris, p. 81
Joyant, M., Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec 1864-1901 : peintre, Paris, 1926, pp. 58-59, 262
Hartrick, Archibald Standish, A painter's pilgrimage through fifty years, Cambridge, 1939, p. 50
Lassaigne, J., Toulouse Lautrec, Paris, 1939, pp. 13, 24, 46. 26 A 19
Jedlicka, G., Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Erlenbach [etc.], 1943, p. 63
Natanson, T., Un Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Genève, 1951, p. 164
Perruchot, Henri, La vie de Toulouse-Lautrec, Parijs, 1958, pp. 136-137
Hammacher, A.M., Vincent van Gogh : Selbstbildnisse, Stuttgart, 1960, p. 8
Dortu, M.G., Toulouse-Lautrec et son oeuvre, New York, 1971, vol. 2, pp. 122-123
Cachin, F., Leeuw, Ronald de, Nonne, Monique, Pabst, S.J., Welsh-Ovcharov, Bogomila, Van Gogh a Paris, Parijs, 1988, pp. 320-321
Murray, G.B., Toulouse-Lautrec : the formative years 1878-1891, Oxford, 1991, pp. 136-138
Murray, G.B., Toulouse-Lautrec : a retrospective, New York, 1992, p. 108
Leeuw, Ronald de, The Van Gogh Museum : paintings and pastels, Zwolle, 1994, pp. 106-107
Childs, Elizabeth C., DuBard, L., Homburg, Cornelia, House, John, Thomson, Richard, Vincent van Gogh and the painters of the Petit Boulevard, Saint Louis, 2001, pp. 20, 27, 213, 220
Naifeh, Steven, Smith, Gregory White, Vincent van Gogh : the life, London, 2011, pp. 551-552
Kinsman, J., Guégan, Stéphane, Toulouse-Lautrec : Paris and the Moulin Rouge, Canberra, 2012, pp. 12, 59, note 21 on p. 61
Versteegh, Jaap, Fatale kunst : leven en werk van Sara de Swart (1861-1951), Nijmegen, 2016, p. 45
Schimmel, H.D., Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri de, The letters of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Oxford, 1991, note 2 on p. 122
Saragoza, Florence, Quand Toulouse-Lautrec regarde Degas, Albi, 2022, p. 40
Jaffé, Hans, Munsterberger, W., Vincent van Gogh : een documentaire tentoonstelling, Amsterdam, 1945
Serres, Karen, Bailey, Martin, Tilborgh, Louis van, Van Gogh : self-portraits, London, 2022, pp. 62-63, 67-68
Benedetti, Maria Teresa, Villanti, Francesca, Van Gogh : masterpieces from the Kröller-Müller Museum, Milano, 2022, pp. 23-24
Hendriks, Ella, Tilborgh, Louis van, Eikema Hommes, M. van, Hageman, Monique, Hoyle, Michael, Vincent van Gogh paintings : volume 2 : Antwerp & Paris 1885-1888, Amsterdam, 2011, p. 319
Gauzi, François, Lautrec et son temps, Paris, 1954, pp. 28-29
Lloyd, Christopher, Impressionist and post-impressionist drawings, London, 2019, pp. 266, 270
Becker, Edwin, Mendgen, Eva, In perfect harmony : picture + frame 1850 - 1920, Zwolle, 1995, p. 172
Cohen Gosschalk, Johan, Catalogus der tentoonstelling van schilderijen en teekeningen door Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam, 1905, p. 41
Dongen, Alexandra van, Dichter bij Vincent : alledaagse voorwerpen in het werk van Vincent van Gogh, Gorredijk, 2022, pp. 137-138
Hoeven, Joost van der, Roos Rosa de Carvalho, Fleur, Blok, Franka, Smit, Lisa, Reid, Nina, Suijver, Renske, Tas, Sara, Contemporaries of Van Gogh 1 : works collected by Theo and Vincent, Amsterdam, 2023
Jansen, Mariëtta, Rode, Belle de, Vries, Anneke de, Jongsma, Lieuwe, Lem, Anton van der, Ploeg, Kees van der, Uhm, Juliette van, Hoe Van Gogh naar Groningen kwam, Zwolle, 2024, pp. 68, 70
