The Sheepshearer (after Millet)
Currently on view
Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, September 1889
oil on canvas, 43.6 cm x 29.5 cm
Credits (obliged to state): Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Van Gogh painted this woman shearing sheep ‘in a colour scale ranging from lilac to yellow’. He said so in a letter he wrote to his brother Theo from the psychiatric clinic in Saint-Rémy where he was an inmate. Vincent regained his self-confidence by copying works by other painters. He worked from black-and-white prints, copying the images fairly accurately but choosing the colours himself.
He based this painting on a small wood engraving. It was part of Travaux des champs (‘Work in the Fields’), a ten-part series of prints based on paintings by Jean-François Millet (1814-1875). Vincent wrote, ‘not having any models for the moment it will ensure […] that I don’t lose sight of the figure.’
- F-number
- F0634
- JH-number
- JH1787
- Object number
- s0042V1962
- Dimensions
- 43.6 cm x 29.5 cm, 57.8 cm x 44 cm, 6.9 cm
- Provenance
- Probably sent by the artist from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence to his brother Theo van Gogh, Paris, at the end of April 1890; 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, Laren to the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, since 22 October 1931; transferred by Vincent Willem van Gogh on 10 July 1962 to the Vincent van Gogh Foundation, Amsterdam; 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)
Saint Louis, Saint Louis Art Museum, Millet and Modern Art: From Van Gogh to Dalí, 16 February-7 September 2020, no. zonder nr.
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Jean-François Millet. Zaaier van de moderne kunst, 4 October 2019-12 January 2020, no. zonder nr.
Arles, Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles, Soleil Chaud, Soleil Tardif. Les modernes indomptés, 21 April-28 October 2018, no. zonder nr.
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Van Gogh aan het werk, 1 May 2013-13 January 2014, no. zonder nr.
Amsterdam, Hermitage Amsterdam, Vincent. Het Van Gogh Museum in de Hermitage Amsterdam, 29 September 2012-25 April 2013, no. 33
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Van Goghs brieven. De kunstenaar aan het woord, 9 October 2009-3 January 2010, no. zonder nr.
Hiroshima, Hiroshima Museum of Art, Van Gogh, Millet and the Barbizon artists, 24 August-17 October 2004, no. 19
Morioka, Iwate Museum of Art, Van Gogh, Millet and the Barbizon artists, 22 June-15 August 2004, no. 19
Nagoya, Nagoya City Art Museum, Van Gogh, Millet and the Barbizon artists, 16 April-13 June 2004, no. 19
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, De keuze van Vincent. Van Goghs Musée imaginaire, 14 February-15 June 2003, no. 49
Indianapolis, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Van Gogh and the Labors of the Field, 15 January-9 June 2002, no. zonder nr.
Copenhagen, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Gloria Victis! : vindere og tabere i fransk kunst 1848-1910, 1 September-12 October 2000, no. zonder nr.
Paris, Musée d'Orsay, Millet - Van Gogh, 14 September 1998-10 January 1999, no. 63
Brisbane, Queensland Art Gallery, Van Gogh. His Sources, Genius and Influence, 22 January-13 March 1994, no. 46
Melbourne, National Gallery of Victoria, Van Gogh. His Sources, Genius and Influence, 19 November 1993-16 January 1994, no. 46
Tokyo, Seiji Togo Memorial Yasuda Kasai Museum of Art, Vincent van Gogh and his time. Van Gogh & Millet from the Vincent van Gogh Museum and the H.W. Mesdag Museum, 15 September-14 November 1993, no. 6
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, Van Gogh & Millet, 9 December 1988-26 February 1989, no. 51
Tilburg, Nederlands Textielmuseum, Het textielambacht in de schilderkunst van de 16e tot de 20e eeuw, 21 April-1 August 1967, no. 17
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. 65
Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings, 11 December 1962-29 January 1963, no. 65
Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), Carnegie Institute, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings, 18 October-4 November 1962, no. 65
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), Vincent van Gogh. Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings, 22 March-29 April 1962, no. 65
Buffalo (New York), Albright Art Gallery, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings, 30 January-11 March 1962, no. 65
Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings, 5 December 1961-14 January 1962, no. 65
Baltimore, Baltimore Museum of Art, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings, 18 October-26 November 1961, no. 65
Utrecht, Centraal Museum, Vincent van Gogh schilderijen en tekeningen, verzameling Ir. V.W. van Gogh, 18 December 1959-1 February 1960, no. 55
Seattle, Seattle Art Museum, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings and Drawings, 7 March-19 April 1959, no. 71
Portland (Oregon), Portland Art Museum (Oregon), Vincent van Gogh. Paintings and Drawings, 28 January-1 March 1959, no. 71
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings and Drawings, 10 December 1958-18 January 1959, no. 71
San Francisco, M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings and Drawings, 6 October-30 November 1958, no. 71
Mons, Museum voor Schoone Kunsten, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). Son art et ses amis, 22 March-5 May 1958, no. 44
Deventer, De Muntentoren, Schilderijen van Vincent van Gogh, 31 January-20 February 1958, no. 33
Schiedam, Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, Vincent van Gogh, 21 December 1957-27 January 1958, no. 43
Leiden, Museum De Lakenhal, Vincent van Gogh, 9 November-16 December 1957, no. 43
Marseille, Musée Cantini, Vincent van Gogh, 12 March-28 April 1957, no. 73
Breda, Cultureel Centrum De Beyerd, Vincent van Gogh, 2-24 February 1957, no. 77
Newcastle upon Tyne, Laing Art Gallery, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings & Drawings, Mainly from the Collection of Ir. V.W. van Gogh, 11 February-24 March 1956, no. 64
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. 64
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. 64
Antwerp, Zaal Comité voor Artistieke Werking, Vincent van Gogh, 7 May-19 June 1955, no. 315
Bern, Kunstmuseum (Bern), Vincent van Gogh, 27 November 1954-30 January 1955, no. 53
Zurich, Kunsthaus Zürich, Vincent van Gogh, 9 October-21 November 1954, no. 70
Eindhoven, Van Abbemuseum, Vincent van Gogh, 22 March-4 May 1952, no. 65
Enschede, Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Vincent van Gogh, 20 February-16 March 1952, no. 66
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vincent van Gogh Paintings and Drawings. A Special Loan Exhibition, 21 October 1949-15 January 1950, no. 115
Middelburg, Kunstmuseum Middelburg, Van Gogh-tentoonstelling, 9 April-1 May 1949, no. 36
The Hague, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Vincent van Gogh. Collectie ir. V.W. van Gogh, 12 October 1948-10 January 1949, no. 149
Oslo, Kunstnernes Hus, Vincent van Gogh, 24 April-15 May 1948, no. 51
Bergen (Norway), Kunstforening, Vincent van Gogh, 23 March-18 April 1948, no. 51
Groningen, Museum van Oudheden, Vincent van Gogh, 18 October-16 November 1947, no. 83
Mons, Museum voor Schoone Kunsten, Vincent van Gogh, 27 December 1946-January 1947, no. 153
Luik, Museum voor Schoone Kunsten, Vincent van Gogh, 12 October-3 November 1946, no. 153
Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Vincent van Gogh, 14 September-1 December 1945, no. zonder nr.
Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Vincent van Gogh. Werken uit de verzameling van Ir. V.W. van Gogh, in bruikleen afgestaan aan de Gemeente Amsterdam, 14 February 1931-1931, no. 79
London, Leicester Galleries, Vincent van Gogh, June 1930, no. 23
Utrecht, Vereeniging Voor de Kunst, Tentoonstelling van schilderijen door Vincent van Gogh, 1 May-5 June 1929, no. 41
Leipzig, Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig, Vincent van Gogh. Fünfunddreißig unbekannte Gemälde aus Privatbesitz, 24 February-31 March 1929, no. zonder nr.
Munich, Graphisches Kabinett (München), Vincent van Gogh. Fünfunddreißig unbekannte Gemälde aus Privatbesitz, 22 November-24 December 1928, no. 28
Hannover, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Vincent van Gogh. Fünfunddreißig unbekannte Gemälde aus Privatbesitz, 3 October-11 November 1928, no. zonder nr.
The Hague, Pulchri Studio, Tentoonstelling Vincent van Gogh, 21 March-26 April 1925, no. 55
Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Tentoonstelling Vincent van Gogh, 15 July-1 September 1905, no. 182
Paris, Galerie Vollard, [Vincent van Gogh], December 1896-February 1897, no. zonder nr.
Harmsen, Frieda, Arts begets art : eight engravings by Millet transformed by Vincent van Gogh, p. 28
