Portrait of an Old Man
Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), Antwerp, December 1885
oil on canvas, 44.4 cm x 33.7 cm
Credits (obliged to state): Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Van Gogh painted this man in Antwerp (BE), where he lived from late November 1885 to late February 1886. He has impressive features, as Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo: 'I have an appointment for tomorrow with a splendid old man — will he come???'
Van Gogh had a hard time finding suitable models. Besides, models were expensive. But this man did show up to pose for him. Van Gogh thought that the man's full beard made him look like the author Victor Hugo. Using rough but well-placed brushstrokes, he made a compelling portrait.
- F-number
- F0205
- JH-number
- JH0971
- Object number
- s0061V1962
- Dimensions
- 44.4 cm x 33.7 cm, 58.6 cm x 48.5 cm, 6.5 cm
- Provenance
- With his brother Theo van Gogh, Paris, after December 1885; 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 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, Munch : Van Gogh, 24 September 2015-17 January 2016
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Baltimore, Baltimore Museum of Art, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings and Drawings, 11 October-29 November 1970, no. 10
Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Philadelphia Museum of Art, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings and Drawings, 28 February-5 April 1970, no. 10
Saint Louis, City Art Museum of Saint Louis, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings and Drawings, 20 December 1969-1 February 1970, no. 10
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Antwerp, Zaal Comité voor Artistieke Werking, Vincent van Gogh, 7 May-19 June 1955, no. 119
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Eindhoven, Van Abbemuseum, Vincent van Gogh, 22 March-4 May 1952, no. 14
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Groningen, Museum van Oudheden, Vincent van Gogh, 18 October-16 November 1947, no. 19
Vanbeselaere, Walther, Appendixe Antwerpsche tijd (nov. '85 - febr. '86), s.a., p. 541
