Art Appreciation Lecture Series 2014 Realism to Surrealism: European art and culture 1848-1936 Van Gogh s Self-Portraits Dr Christopher Allen 4/5 June 2014 Lecture summary: Vincent van Gogh s life as an artist was very short less than ten years, with most of his bestknown works painted over the space of only two, from early to mid-1888 to mid-1890. Thanks to the letters he wrote to his brother Theo, his career is also exceptionally well-documented: we know in many cases not only the month but the day that a particular painting was made, and we have the artist s own extensive commentary on the themes that interested him. In addition to all this, Van Gogh was also the most important and prolific painter of self-portraits since Rembrandt, although most of these belong to the brief period he spent in Paris from 1886 to early 1888, perhaps reflecting the deep transformations taking place in his own life and sense of artistic direction at the time. The finest of his self-portraits are among his most powerful works, and yet in the very fluidity of his expression and even his features, they leave us with a profound sense of the mystery and indeterminacy of the self. Slide list (all works by Vincent van Gogh unless otherwise specified): 1. The Angelus, pencil with red chalk, October 1880, Otterlo, Kröller-Müller Museum 2. Jean-Francois Millet, The Angelus (1857-59), oil on canvas, 55.5 x 66 cm, Paris, Musée d Orsay 3. Jean-François Millet, The Sower, 1850, oil on canvas, 101.6 x 82.6 cm, Boston, MFA 4. The Sower, April 1881, pen and brush on grey paper, Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum (hereafter VGM) 5. Peasants sowing potatoes, April 1885, oil on canvas, Zurich, Kunsthaus 6. Head of a peasant, study for The Potato Eaters, 1884, oil on canvas, 39.4 x 30.2 cm, Sydney, Art Gallery of NSW 7. The Potato Eaters, completed April 1885, oil on canvas, 82 x 114 cm Amsterdam, VGM 8. Bridge at La Grande Jatte, Summer 1887, oil on canvas, 32 x 41 cm, Amsterdam, VGM 9. Road on the outskirts of Paris with a man with a spade, June-July 1887, oil on canvas, 48 x 73 cm, Private Collection 10. Harvest with Montmajour in the background, June 1888, Amsterdam, VGM 11. The sower, June 1888, Otterlo, Kröller-Müller Museum 12. Sower with the sun, November 1888, Zurich, Foundation E.G. Bührle 13. Wheat field with reaper and sun, late June 1889, oil on canvas, Otterlo, Kröller Müller Museum 14. The Starry Night, June 1889; New York, Metropolitan Museum 15. Wheatfield and cypresses, June-July 1889, oil on canvas, 73 x 93.4 cm, New York, Metropolitan Museum 16. Wheat fields with reaper at sunrise, early September 1889, Amsterdam, VGM 17. Wheat field behind St Paul with a reapers, September 1889, Essen Museum Folkwang 18. Road with cypress and star, 1890, Otterlo, Kröller-Müller Museum 19. Wheatfield with crows, July 1890, oil on canvas, 50.5 x 103 cm, Amsterdam, VGM 20. John Peter Russell, Portrait of V. van Gogh, 1886, oil on canvas, Amsterdam, VGM * 21. John Peter Russell, Five studies of Vincent van Gogh, c. 1886-88, pencil on paper, 47 x 62 cm, Sydney, Art Gallery of NSW 22. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Portrait of Vincent van Gogh, 1887, pastel on cardboard, Amsterdam, VGM Proudly sponsored by
23. Paul Gauguin, Portrait of Vincent van Gogh, 1888, Amsterdam, VGM 24. Self-portrait with a dark felt hat, Spring 1886, oil on canvas, 32.5 x 41 cm, Amsterdam, VGM 25. Self-portrait with a dark felt hat at the easel, Spring 1886, oil on canvas, Amsterdam, VGM 26. Self-portrait with a pipe, Spring 1886, Amsterdam, VGM 27. Self-portrait with a pipe, Spring 1886, oil on canvas, Amsterdam, VGM 28. Self-portrait, Autumn 1886, oil on canvas, The Hague, Gemeentemuseum 29. Self-portrait, Autumn 1886, pencil, Amsterdam, VGM 30. Self-portrait with grey felt hat, Winter 1886-87, oil on pasteboard, 41 x 32 cm, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum 31. Self-portrait with pipe and glass, early 1887, Amsterdam, VGM 32. Self-portrait with grey felt hat, March-April 1887, oil on pasteboard, 19 x 14 cm, Amsterdam, VGM 33. Self-portrait, Spring 1887, oil on cardboard, 32 x 24 cm, Otterloo, Kröller-Müller Museum 34. Self-portrait, Spring 1887, oil on pasteboard, 42 x 33.7 cm, Chicago, Art Institute 35. Self-portrait, Spring-Summer 1887, Amsterdam, VGM 36. Self-portrait, Spring-Summer 1887, Amsterdam, VGM 37. Self-portrait, Summer 1887, Amsterdam, VGM 38. Self-portrait, Summer 1887, Hartford, Wadsworth Athenaeum 39. Self-portrait, Summer 1887, oil on canvas, Amsterdam, VGM 40. Self-portrait, Summer 1887, Amsterdam, VGM 41. Self-portrait with a straw hat and a pipe, Summer 1887, Amsterdam, VGM 42. Self-portrait with straw hat, Summer 1887, Amsterdam, VGM 43. Self-portrait with straw hat, Summer 1887, Amsterdam, VGM 44. Self-portrait with a straw hat, Summer 1887, oil on pasteboard, 24.9 x 26.7 cm, Detroit, Institute of Arts 45. Self-portrait with a straw hat, Summer 1887, New York, Metropolitan Museum 46. Self-portrait, Autumn 1887, oil on canvas, 47 x 35 cm, Paris, Musée d Orsay 47. Self-portrait with Japanese print, December 1887 Basel, Kunstmuseum (on loan from Emily Dreyfus Foundation) 48. Self-portrait with pipe and straw hat, Winter 1887/88 (?), oil on pasteboard, 42 x 31 cm, Amsterdam, VGM 49. Self-portrait with grey felt hat, Winter 1887/88, oil on canvas, 44 x 37.5 cm, Amsterdam, VGM 50. Self-portrait, Winter 1887, oil on canvas, 46 x 38 cm, Vienna, Österreichische Galerie in der Stallburg 51. Self-portrait, Winter 1887/88, oil on canvas, 46.5 x 36.5 cm, Zurich, Foundation E.G. Bürhle * 52. Self-portrait in front of the easel, January 1888, oil on canvas, 65 x 50.5 cm, Amsterdam, VGM 53. Painter on his way to work, August 1888, oil on canvas, 48 x 44 cm, (formerly Magdeburg, Kaiser-Friedrich Museum) * 54. Self-portrait dedicated to Paul Gauguin, September 1888, oil on canvas, 62 x 52 cm, Cambridge, Mass., Fogg Art Museum 55. Self-portrait, November - December 1888, Private Collection 56. Self-portrait with bandaged ear, January 1889, oil on canvas, 51 x 45 cm, Private Collection * 57. Self-portrait with bandaged ear, easel and Japanese print, Jan 1889, oil on canvas, 60 x 49 cm, London, Courtauld Galleries 58. Self-portrait, September 1889, oil on canvas, Washington, National Gallery * 59. Self-portrait, September 1889, oil on canvas, 65 x 54 cm, Paris, Musée d Orsay * 60. Self-portrait without beard, end September 1889, oil on canvas, 40 x 31 cm, Private collection Reference: There are two fundamental catalogues raisonnés of the work of Van Gogh: J.-B. de la Faille, L'Œuvre de Vincent van Gogh, catalogue raisonné, ouvrage accompagné de la reproduction de plus de 1.600 tableaux, dessins, aquarelles et gravures du Maître. 6 vols. Les Éditions G. van Oest, Paris & Bruxelles, 1928 [= F numbers] Hulsker, Jan The Complete Van Gogh. Oxford: Phaidon, 1980. [= JH numbers] Two modern catalogues cover the most important periods of his maturity: Ronald Pickvance. Van Gogh in Arles (exh. cat. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: Abrams, 1984.
Ronald Pickvance. Van Gogh In Saint-Rémy and Auvers (exh. cat. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: Abrams, 1986. Van Gogh s correspondence was originally published by his sister-in-law in 1914 (3 vols); it has recently been retranslated and republished: Leo Jansen, Hans Luitjen and Nienke Bakker, Vincent van Gogh: the Letters (6 vols). Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum / Thames and Hudson, 2009. There has been one Australian exhibition dedicated to Ven Gogh, with introductory essay by the present author: Christopher Allen, Vincent van Gogh, The Sower and the Harvest, in James Mollison ed., Van Gogh, his sources, genius and influence, NGV, 1993. Vincent van Gogh s work is exceptionally well represented on the net: all of the pictures, including many of the sketches in the correspondence, and all of the letters, can be found on the following sites: http://www.vangoghgallery.com http://www.wga.hu/index1.html http://vangoghletters.org
Images: John Peter Russell, Five studies of Vincent van Gogh, c. 1886-88, pencil on paper, 47 x 62 cm, Sydney, Art Gallery of NSW Self-portrait in front of the easel January 1888 Oil on canvas, 65 x 50.5 cm Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum
Self-portrait dedicated to Paul Gauguin September 1888 Oil on canvas, 62 x 52 cm Cambridge, Mass., Fogg Art Museum Self-portrait with bandaged ear, easel and Japanese print Around 17 January 1889 Oil on canvas, 60 x 49 cm London, Courtauld Galleries
Self-portrait September 1889 Oil on canvas, 65 x 54 cm Paris, Musée d Orsay Self-portrait without beard, end September 1889 Oil on canvas, 40 x 31 cm Private collection