An Old Woman of Arles
Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), Arles, February 1888
oil on canvas, 58 cm x 42 cm
Credits (obliged to state): Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Van Gogh painted this woman while staying in the Carrel hotel in the southern French city of Arles. It is probably Elisabeth Garcin, the hotel owner's mother-in-law. She was 68 years old at the time. The knotted black kerchief on her head was a typical part of a widow's mourning dress. Part of a bed can be seen in the background.
Throughout his life, Van Gogh liked to paint things and people that bore the marks of a hard life. This figure study can be seen in that context.
- F-number
- F0390
- JH-number
- JH1357
- Object number
- s0145V1962
- Dimensions
- 58 cm x 42 cm, 75.5 cm x 60 cm, 8.5 cm
- Provenance
- Sent by the artist from Arles to his brother Theo van Gogh, Paris, at the beginning of May 1888; 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)
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