“It is very rare for a new work to be attributed to Van Gogh. The discovery of one of Van Gogh’s first drawings can be read with particular delight”, in Location The museum that reminds of the painter’s work. “Thanks to the discovery of this study, we have gained special insight into Van Gogh’s work process.”
“We are proud to be able to share this initial design and its history with visitors to our museum,” said Space Director Emily Gordenker.
The drawing is explained as a study of another work and is believed to have been painted in late 1882, when Van Gogh was 29 years old and had been working as an artist for two years. At the time, the painter was doing studies on people, often recruiting models—in the homes of retired women and men—and paying them a modest fee perhaps 10 cents and some coffee, he says. Watchman.
The painting will remain on display at the museum until January 2, 2022, after which it will be returned to the family who loaned it and preferred to remain anonymous.
The drawing represents an old peasant hunched over a wooden chair with his head in his hands. The Van Gogh Museum already had another similar work in its collection, entitled “Worn Out” (translated to Peasant Desgastado).
The painter spoke about these drawings in a letter to his brother Theo. “Today and yesterday I made two portraits of an old man, elbows on his knees, head in hands…Maybe I’ll make a lithograph. What a pretty sight to be given by an old worker, with his patchwork cotton coat and bald head.”
In a typical year, the museum receives up to 300 applications from people who believe they own the lost Van Gogh. However, few of them make it to the museum – and even less is considered true.
In this case, the investigation of the authentication of the design was facilitated by the fact that it did not leave the property of the same family, passing down from generation to generation, having been purchased in 1910 from a famous collector, Henk Bremmer.
The quality of the paper, the type of carpenter’s pencil, and even the distinguishing features of the way the artist attached the paper to the clipboard provided additional clues.
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