Head of a Man
Framed: 23 5/8 x 19 7/16 x 2 1/2 inches (60.01 x 49.37 x 6.35 cm)
- 127
Kunsthandel Wed. Oldenzeel, Rotterdam, Netherlands, September 15, 1908, no. 75, no cat.
Five Years of Collecting, The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, MO, December 4–11, 1938, no cat.
Work by Vincent Van Gogh, Cleveland Museum of Art, November 3–December 12, 1948, no. 2, as Head of Peasant (Portrait de Paysan).
Two Sides of the Medal: French Painting from Gérôme to Gauguin, Detroit Institute of Arts, September 16–October 6, 1954, no. 120, as Head of a Peasant.
Possibly Impressionism: Selections from Five American Museums, The Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, November 4-December 31, 1989, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, January 27–March 25, 1990, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, March 21–June 17, 1990, The Saint Louis Art Museum, July 14–September 9, 1990, The Toledo Museum of Art, September 30–November 25, 1990, hors cat., as Head of a Peasant.
From Farm to Table: Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Masterworks on Paper , The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, August 12, 2017–January 21, 2018, no cat.
". . . The color [the peasants] are painted now is something like the colorof a really dusty potato, unpeeled of course." -Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo, on or about May 2, 1885
Van Gogh employed all of his senses when painting. This study is one of atleast forty he made of peasants while living with his parents in the Netherlands. It wasimportant to him that these figures conveyed the harsh reality of country life, so hepainted them with the colors of the soil.
Van Gogh was still learning about color theory, and he began to placecontrasting colors near one another: a green coat near red lips, an orange face near blue strokesof a cap. He mixed pure colors on his palette before applying them to the canvas, making themappear muddy and earthy.
With Kunsthandel Wed. Oldenzeel, Rotterdam, Netherlands, by September 15, 1908, no. 75 [1];
Anna Müller-Abeken (1868–1922), Scheveningen, The Hague, by May 19, 1920 [2];
Her sale, Tableaux et Aquarelles Modernes Provenant de I. Collection G. W. van N . . . à Amsterdam, II. Collection d’un amateur à B . . . , III. Collection W. P. van Ingenegeren à Utrecht, IV. Collection Mme A. Müller-Abeken à Schéveningue, V. Collection M. H. Souget à Bussum, VI. Liquidation de la Société Fierens, De Maeght et Cie á Bruxelles, VII. Diverses Provenances, Frederik Muller et Cie, Amsterdam, May 19, 1920, no. 87, as Portrait d’homme;
With Kunsthandel Huinck und Scherjon, Utrecht, Netherlands, by 1928 [3];
Mlle E. Snellen, Utrecht, Netherlands, by December 10, 1935 [4];
Purchased at her sale, Tableaux Anciens et Modernes Antiquités: Collections et Successions: M.lle. – E. Snellen, Utrecht; M.- H. Klein Van Gogh, Amsterdam; M.-Ruys de Perez, Amsterdam; M.- L. J. Brantjes, Driebergen; Diverses Provenances , Frederik Muller et Cie, Amsterdam, December 10–11, 1935, no. 103, as Portrait d’homme, by Bernheim-Jeune et Cie., Paris, stock no. 26801, as Portrait d’homme, December 13, 1935–February 25, 1936 [5];
Purchased from Bernheim-Jeune et Cie, Paris, probably through Henri Pierre Roché, Paris, by Theodore Schempp, Brodhead, WI, February 25, 1936–January 18, 1937 [6];
Purchased from Theodore Schempp by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1937.
NOTES:
[1] See decorative rectangular paper label on the painting’s backing board, middle right side, with green Art Nouveau woman holding a paintbrush, in printed text: Kunsthandel / Wed. Oldenzeel / Rotterdam / 20, Gedempte / Glashaven. / [at left corner of label] Dagelijks / geopend / van / 10-4 [uur.] / [on right side of label] Permanente / Tentoonstelling / van Schilderijen / en Aquarellen / [handwritten in pen] Vincent van Gogh. / N o 75 / 15 September 1908. It is not clear if the painting was lent for exhibition or was owned by Oldenzeel. According to Martha Op de Coul, “In search of Van Gogh’s Nuenen studio: the Oldenzeel exhibitions of 1903,” Van Gogh Museum Journal (2002), no archives of the Oldenzeel firm appear to have survived.
[2] Anna Müller-Abeken was married to Gustav Harry Müller (1865–February 19, 1913). His sister was Helene Kröller-Müller (1869–1939), who was an avid Van Gogh collector and later donated her collection to the Dutch government (now the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo). In 1908, Helene Kröller-Müller began hosting lectures in her home by the noted van Gogh enthusiast, H. P. Bremmer (1871–1956), to which she also invited her brother and sister-in-law. According to Teio Meedendorp, Drawings and prints by Vincent van Gogh in the collection of the Kröller-Müller Museum (Delft, The Netherlands: Thieme GrafiMedia Groep, 2007), 274, Mrs. Kröller-Müller passed on the opportunity to buy the painting now in the collection of the Nelson-Atkins.
[3] According to the RKD (Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis, Netherlands Institute for Art History), the archive for Huinck and Scherjon was destroyed. The painting was in the collection of this dealer when it was published in Jacob-Baart de la Faille, L’Œuvre de Vincent Van Gogh: Catalogue Raisonné (Paris: éditions G. Van Oest, 1928), no. 165.
[4] This is possibly Emma Snellen (1872–1940). Her sister was Kate Dusser de Barenne-Snellen (1883–1931), a small-scale art collector who attended art classes in the 1920s by H. P. Bremmer. According to Hildelies Balk, Kate attended the classes with one of her six sisters , another art collector. Unfortunately, this sister is not identified by name. See Hildelies Balk, “De freule, de professor, de koppman en zijn vrouw, het publiek van H. P. Bremmer,” Jong Holland2 (1993): 13.
A provenance is listed on a label found on the painting’s backing board, bottom center side, on piece of ledger paper, handwritten in ink: Hauteur HH. Largeur 32. / Peint à Nuenen entre 1883.1885 / Collection M me : A Muller. Abeken, Schiveningue 1920 / " [ditto marks indicating “Collection”] MelleE Snellen, Utrecht. / " [ditto marks indicating “Collection”] Israël / Reproduit dans : J. B. de la Faille, l’Œuvre de Vincent Van Gogh / catalogue raisonné no: 165.
It is unknown who “Israël” might be. Snellen’s sales catalogue was published by “Atelier Isaac Israels” in 1935. The Dutch artist, Isaac Israël (1865–1934), died almost a year before Snellen’s sale, making it difficult to rectify his ownership in this provenance narrative.
[5] Bernheim-Jeune purchased the painting from the “Hôtel des ventes
d’Amsterdam” on December 13, probably meaning they bought it directly from
Snellen’s sale. See letter from Guy-Patrice Dauberville, Bernheim-Jeune et
Cie, Paris, to Meghan Gray, NAMA, September 1, 2011, NAMA curatorial file.
See also small, rectangular label on the painting’s backing board, middle
left side, typewritten: 1936 / N o [handwritten in pen:] 26801 /
Van Gogh / Paysan / L.Z.
E. Z.
It is unclear to what “L.Z.” might refer.
[6] According to Bernheim-Jeune’s stock books, they sold the painting to “Roche.” See letter from Guy-Patrice Dauberville, Berheim-Jeune et Cie, Paris, to Meghan Gray, NAMA, September 1, 2011, NAMA curatorial file. This was probably Henri-Pierre Roché (1879–1959), a French journalist, author, art collector, advisor, and dealer. By 1919, he was working in Paris as an agent and dealer with many contacts. According to a letter from dealer Theodore Schempp to Paul Gardner, NAMA, January 18, 1937, Schempp purchased the painting from Bernheim-Jeune on July 21, 1936.
For more on these two dealers, see Sean O’Hanlan, “Henri-Pierre Roché,” and Maria Castro, “Theodore Schempp,” in The Modern Art Index Project (August 2018), Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, https://doi.org/10.57011/NHLY4635 and https://doi.org/10.57011/ACVY8386 .
Tableaux et Aquarelles Modernes Provenant de I. Collection G. W. van N . . . à Amsterdam, II. Collection d’un amateur à B . . . , III. Collection W. P. van Ingenegeren à Utrecht, IV. Collection Mme A. Müller-Abeken à Schéveningue, V. Collection M. H. Souget à Bussum, VI. Liquidation de la Société Fierens, De Maeght et Cie á Bruxelles, VII. Diverses Provenances (Amsterdam: Frederik Muller, May 19, 1920), 22, as Portrait d’homme.
Jacob-Baart de la Faille, L’Œuvre de Vincent Van Gogh: Catalogue Raisonné (Paris: éditions G. Van Oest, 1928), no. 165, pp. 1:52, 2pt1:pl. XLIV, (repro.), as Portrait de paysan.
Mensing et Fils, Tableaux Anciens et Modernes Antiquités: Collections et Successionions: M.lle. –E. Snellen, Utrecht; M.- H. Klein Van Gogh, Amsterdam; M.-Ruys de Perez, Amsterdam; M.- L. J. Brantjes, Driebergen; Diverses Provenances (Amsterdam: Atelier Isaac Israels, December 10–11, 1935), 8, as Portrait d’homme .
Gertrude R. Benson, “Exploding the van Gogh Myth,” American Magazine of Art 29, no. 1 (January 1936): 10–11.
Louis Piérard, Van Gogh (Paris: Les Editions Braun et Cie, 1936), (repro.), as Portrait de Paysan.
“Art Throughout America: Kansas City: Van Gogh,” Art News 35, no. 22 (February 27, 1937): 19–20, (repro.), as Portrait of a Peasant .
“Masterpiece of the Month,” News Flashes (The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Atkins Museum of Fine Arts) 3, no. 7 (March 1, 1937): 1–2, as Portrait of a Peasant.
“Head of a Toiler,” Art Digest 11, no. 11 (March 1, 1937): 20, (repro.), as Portrait of a Peasant.
Walther Vanbeselaere, De Hollandsche Periode (1880–1885) in het werk van Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890)(Antwerp: De Sikkel, 1937), 290, 342, as Boerenkop (de face).
“On Exhibition This Month . . . .,” Shoppers’ Guide(March 1937), clipping, Scrapbooks, NAMA archives, (repro.).
The Independent: Kansas City’s Weekly Journal of Society (July 10, 1937), (repro.).
“Local Museums, Art Associations, Other Organizations,” American Art Annual 34 (1937–1938): 282, as Head of a Peasant.
“Museum Directors Have to Play Detective Now and Then,” Kansas City Star 58, no. 210 (April 15, 1938): 14.
“‘Visit Your Gallery Week’ Designated December 4–11,” Kansas City Journal-Post 85, no. 68 (November 27, 1938): 36, as Head of a Peasant.
“Five Years of Collecting,” News Flashes (The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Atkins Museum of Fine Arts) 5, no. 9 (December 1, 1938): 1, Head of a Peasant.
Paul Gardner, “Kansas City: Jubilee and an Acquisition,” Art News 37, no. 10 (December 3, 1938): 19, as Head of a Peasant.
“Kansas City’s Nelson Gallery Celebrates its Fifth Anniversary,” Art Digest 13, no. 6 (December 15, 1938): 7, as Head of a Peasant.
J. D. W., “A Happier View of Van Gogh as Artist Absorbed in Work,” Kansas City Star 59, no. 191 (March 27, 1939): D[16], (repro.), as a peasant head, probably a study for ‘The Potato Eaters.’
J.-B. de la Faille, Vincent van Gogh, trans. Prudence Montagu-Pollock (New York: French and European Publications, 1939), no. 185, p. 153, (repro.), as Portrait of a Peasant.
R. H. Wilenski, Modern French Painters (New York: Reynal and Hitchcock, [1940]), 73, 86, (repro.), as Paysan hollandaise.
The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, The William Rockhill Nelson Collection, 2nd ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1941), 41, 52, 168, (repro.), as Head of a Peasant.
“Masterpiece Room,” Gallery News (The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts) 8, no. 6 (March 1942): 3, as Portrait of a Peasant Boy.
Rosamund Frost, Contemporary Art: The March of Art from Cézanne until Now (New York: Crown, 1942), vi, 40, (repro.), as Head of a Peasant.
“Gallery Changes: Gallery 19,” Gallery News (The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts Museum) 10, no. 3 (November 1943): 5.
Ethlyne Jackson, “Museum Record: Kansas City’s Tenth Birthday,” Art News 42, no. 15, (December 15–31, 1943): 15–16, (repro.), as Head of a Peasant .
Marco Valsecchi, Disegni di Vincent Van Gogh, 2nd ed. (Milan: Ulrico Hoepli, 1944), 19.
André Leclerc, Van Gogh (New York: Hyperion Press, 1948), 16, (repro.), as Portrait of a Peasant.
Work by Vincent Van Gogh, exh. cat. (Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1948), 12, 15, (repro.), as Head of Peasant (Portrait de Paysan) .
Dorothy Adlow, “Art in Kansas City—Music and Theaters—Exhibitions in San Francisco: Masterpieces of Many Schools to Be Seen in Nelson Gallery,” The Christian Science Monitor 40, no. 197 (July 17, 1948): 12, as Head of a Peasant.
Jack Levine, “Homage to Vincent,” Art News 47, no. 8 (December 1948): 26, 59, (repro.), as Head of a Peasant.
The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, The William Rockhill Nelson Collection, 3rd ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1949), 66, (repro.), as Head of a Peasant.
“Special Sunday Lecture,” Gallery News (The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts) 18, no. 10 (November 1951): unpaginated, as Head of Peasant.
The Two Sides of the Medal: French Painting from Gérôme to Gauguin , exh. cat.(Detroit: Detroit Institute of Arts, 1954), 55, 57, as Head of a Peasant.
Ross E. Taggart, “Kansas City Art,” Library Journal 82, no. 12 (June 15, 1957): 1596.
Paul Mahlberg, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890): Leben und Schaffen, exh. cat. (Essen, Germany: Villa Hügel, 1957), unpaginated.
Ross E. Taggart, ed., Handbook of the Collections in the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts , 4th ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1959), 125, (repro.), as Head of a Peasant .
Paolo Lecaldano, L’opera pittorica completa di Van Gogh e i suoi nessi grafici , new series (1966, 1971; repr., Milan: Rizzoli Editore, 1977), no. 106, p. 1:99, (repro.), as Busto di Contadino (con berretto, di fronte).
Jean Leymarie, Who Was Van Gogh?, trans. James Emmons (Geneva: Editions d’Art Albert Skira, 1968), 52.
J.-B. de la Faille,The Works of Vincent van Gogh: His Paintings and Drawings, rev. ed. (Amsterdam: Meulenhoff International, 1970), no. F 165 [H 185], pp. 96–97, 617, 677, 688, (repro.), as Portrait of a Peasant .
Ross E. Taggart and George L. McKenna, eds., Handbook of the Collections in The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, Missouri , vol. 1, Art of the Occident,5th ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1973), 164, (repro.), as Head of a Peasant.
Jacques Lassaigne, Les impressionnistes(Milan: Fratelli Fabbri Editori, 1974), 1:95.
National Catholic Reporter 12, no. 14 (January 30, 1976): 13, (repro.), as Head of a Peasant.
Jan Hulsker, Van Gogh en zijn weg: Al zijn tekeningen en schilderijen in hun samenhang en ontwikkeling , 1st ed.(Amsterdam: Meulenhoff International bv, 1977), no. 688, p. 152, (repro.), as Boer, kop.
Robert H. Terte, “The Phenomenal Nelson Gallery,” Antiques World 1, no. 3 (January 1979): 46.
Paul Aletrino, Tout Van Gogh 1888-1890, trans. Sylvie Desmaison (Paris: Flammarion, 1980), 32, 40, (repro.), as Tète de paysan .
Jan Hulsker, The Complete Van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings, Sketches, 2nd ed. (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1980), no. 688, p. 152, (repro.), as Peasant, Head.
Vincent van Gogh Exhibition, exh. cat. (Tokyo: Tokyo Shimbun, 1985), 63–64.
Cathy Johnson, “Young at Art: Learning from the Masters,” Artist’s Magazine 3, no. 11 (November 1986): 86, as Head of a Peasant.
Peter C. Sutton, A Guide to Dutch Art in America (Washington, DC: Netherlands-American Amity Trust; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986), 122, 127.
“Museums to Sports, KC Has It All,” American Water Works Association Journal 79, no. 4 (April 1987): 133.
Marc S. Gerstein, Impressionism: Selections from Five American Museums , exh. cat. (New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1989), 20.
Jan Hulsker,Van Gogh en zijn weg: Het complete werk, 6th ed., rev. and expanded (Amsterdam: Meulenhoff Nederland bv, 1989), no. 688, p. 152, (repro.), as Boer, kop.
Geoffrey J. Warner, A Submission of Observations on Vincent van Gogh: His Paintings and His Drawings, a new perspective , (Salisbury, Wiltshire, England: Geoffrey J. Warner, 1989–1990), 1: 51–52, 2: unpaginated, 3: 446, as Portrait of a Peasant.
Giovanni Testori and Luisa Arrigoni, Van Gogh: catalogo completo dei dipinti (Firenze: Cantini, 1990), 58, (repro.), as Contadion, busto, con berretto, visto di fronte .
Teio Meedendorp,Drawings and prints by Vincent van Gogh in the collection of the Kröller-Müller Museum(Delft, The Netherlands: Thieme GrafiMedia Groep, 2007), 274, as Head of a man .
Ingo F. Walther and Rainer Metzger, Vincent van Gogh: The Complete Paintings , part 1 (1990; repr., Cologne: Taschen GmbH, 2012), 89, (repro.), as Head of Young Peasant in a Peaked Cap .
Alice Thorson, “The Nelson Celebrates its 60th: Museum built its reputation, collection virtually ‘from scratch’,” Kansas City Star 113, no. 304 (July 18, 1993): J4.
Michael Churchman and Scott Erbes,
High Ideals and Aspirations: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1933–1993
(Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1993), 53, as
Portrait of Gysbertus
[sic] de Groot.
Bernard Denvir, The Chronicle of Impressionism: An Intimate Diary of the Lives and World of the Great Artists (London: Thames and Hudson, 1993), 279.
Jan Hulsker, Vincent Van Gogh: A Guide to His Work and Letters (Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum, 1993), 74.
Possibly Louis van Tilborgh, The Potato Eaters by Vincent Van Gogh , exh. cat., Cahier Vincent 5(Zwolle, The Netherlands: Waanders, 1993), 103.
“Music Teachers National Association National Convention, March 23–27, 1996, Kansas City, Missouri,” American Music Teacher 45, no. 4 (February–March 1996): 23.
Jan Hulsker,
The New Complete Van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings, Sketches; Revised and
Enlarged Edition of the Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of Vincent Van
Gogh, rev. ed. (Amsterdam: J. M. Meulenhoff, 1996), no. 688, pp. 152, 154, 156,
(repro.), as Peasant, Head.
Marije Vellekoop and Sjraar van Heugten, Vincent van Gogh Drawings , trans. Michael Hoyle (Amsterdam: van Gogh Museum, 2001), 3:60n8.
“Vincent Van Gogh: Honor Anniversary of Modern Master’s Life and Art with a Visit to the Nelson-Akins,” Newsletter(The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art) (March 2003): 8, as Portrait of Gysbertus [sic] de Groot.
Judit Geskó, ed., Van Gogh in Budapest, exh. cat. (Budapest: Museum of Fine Arts, 2006), 277.
Richard R. Brettell and Joachim Pissarro, Manet to Matisse: Impressionist Masters from the Marion and Henry Bloch Collection , exh. cat. (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2007), 15-16, as Portrait of Gysbertus [sic] de Groot.
Deborah Emont Scott, ed., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection , 7th ed. (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008), 124, (repro.), as Portrait of Gysbertus [sic] de Groot.
Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, “Vincent van Gogh, Head of a Man, 1885,” catalogue entry, and Mary Schafer and John Twilley, “Vincent van Gogh, Head of a Man, 1885,” technical entry in French Paintings and Pastels, 1600–1945: The Collections of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, ed. Aimee Marcereau DeGalan (Kansas City: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2023), https://doi.org/10.37764/78973.5.735.
