Self-Portrait or Portrait of Theo van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), Paris, Summer 1887
oil on cardboard, 19 cm x 14.1 cm
Credits (obliged to state): Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
This painting was long thought to be a self-portrait of Vincent; however, another view is that it shows his brother Theo.
The brothers, namely, bore a striking resemblance to one another. Unfortunately, there is no decisive evidence to determine who is actually portrayed, which is why the painting now has a double title.
The portrait is unusually small and painted in considerable detail. Van Gogh was probably trying to compete with portrait photos. He had written some time earlier, 'it's a cause worth fighting for to show people that there's something else in human beings besides what the photographer is able to get out of them with his machine.'
- F-number
- F0294
- JH-number
- JH1209
- Object number
- s0157V1962
- Dimensions
- 19 cm x 14.1 cm, 28.7 cm x 23.9 cm, 3.5 cm
- Provenance
- Left by the artist at the apartment of his brother Theo van Gogh, Paris, summer 1887; 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)
Den Bosch, Noordbrabants Museum, Van Goghs intimi. Vrienden, familie, modellen, 21 September 2019-12 January 2020
Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of Art, Van Gogh in Paris. New perspectives, 15 July-23 September 2013
Sendai, Miyagi Museum of Art, Van Gogh in Paris. New perspectives, 26 May-8 July 2013
Kyoto, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Van Gogh in Paris. New perspectives, 30 March-19 May 2013
Seoul, Seoul Arts Center, Van Gogh in Paris. A dialogue with modernism, 4 November 2012-24 March 2013
Nagasaki, Huis ten Bosch (Japan), Van Gogh in Paris: New perspectives, 29 July-28 October 2012
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Van Gogh in Antwerpen en Parijs: nieuwe inzichten, 22 June-18 September 2011
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), Van Gogh. Face to Face, 2 July-24 September 2000
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Van Gogh's Van Goghs. Masterpieces from the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 17 January-16 May 1999, no. 22
Washington, National Gallery of Art, Van Gogh's Van Goghs. Masterpieces from the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 4 October 1998-3 January 1999, no. 22
Hamburg, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Van Gogh. Die Pariser Selbstbildnisse, 17 March-28 May 1995, no. zonder nr.
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Parijse zelfportretten van Vincent van Gogh, 10 June-9 October 1994
Gothenburg, Göteborgs Konstmuseum, Vincent van Gogh. Målningar, akvareller, teckningar, 30 December 1965-20 February 1966, no. 23
Sheffield, Graves Gallery (Museums Sheffield), Vincent van Gogh. Paintings and Drawings, 21 April-19 May 1963, no. 6
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. 27
Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings, 11 December 1962-29 January 1963, no. 27
Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), Carnegie Institute, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings, 18 October-4 November 1962, no. 27
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), Vincent van Gogh. Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings, 22 March-29 April 1962, no. 27
Buffalo (New York), Albright Art Gallery, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings, 30 January-11 March 1962, no. 27
Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings, 5 December 1961-14 January 1962, no. 27
Baltimore, Baltimore Museum of Art, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings, 18 October-26 November 1961, no. 27
London, Marlborough Fine Art, Van Gogh Selfportraits, October 1960, no. 15
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. 29
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. 29
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. 29
Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Vincent van Gogh, 24 June-September 1955, no. 112
Antwerp, Zaal Comité voor Artistieke Werking, Vincent van Gogh, 7 May-19 June 1955, no. 204
Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Eeuwfeest Vincent van Gogh, 23 July-20 September 1953, no. 59
Otterlo, Kröller-Müller Museum, Eeuwfeest Vincent van Gogh, 24 May-19 July 1953, no. 59
The Hague, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Vincent van Gogh, 30 March-17 May 1953, no. 72
Albi, Musée d'Albi, Toulouse-Lautrec, ses amis et ses maîtres. Cinquantenaire de la mort de Toulouse-Lautrec, 11 August-28 October 1951, no. 331
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vincent van Gogh Paintings and Drawings. A Special Loan Exhibition, 21 October 1949-15 January 1950, no. 56
The Hague, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Vincent van Gogh. Collectie ir. V.W. van Gogh, 12 October 1948-10 January 1949, no. 73
Groningen, Museum van Oudheden, Vincent van Gogh, 18 October-16 November 1947, no. 25
Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Vincent van Gogh, 14 September-1 December 1945, no. zonder nr.
Snell, Sylvia, Vincent van Gogh : the self-portraits : what do they tell us about the man and the artist?, 2014, p. 77-78
