Vincent van Gogh

Kunstzalen Oldenzeel, Rotterdam
Georgette P. van Stolk, Rotterdam (acquired from the above in 1906)
Kunsthandel G.J. Nieuwenhuizen Segaar, The Hague (acquired from the above in 1946)
Private Collection, The Netherlands
Sale: Christie's, New York, 9th May 2000, lot 108
Private Collection (purchased at the above sale. Sold: Christie's, New York, 10th May 2007, lot 261)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Rotterdam, Kunstzalen Oldenzeel, Vincent van Gogh, 1903, possibly no. 14
Rotterdam, Kunstzalen Oldenzeel, Vincent van Gogh, 1904, possibly no. 7
Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans, Kersttentoonstelling, 1927-28, no. 25

Jacob-Baart de la Faille, L'Œuvre de Vincent van Gogh, Catalogue Raisonné, Paris, 1928, no. 133, illustrated pl. XXXVI
Walther Vanbeselaere, De Hollandsche periode (1880-1885), Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam, 1937, no. 153, illustrated pl. 28 (titled Boerinnkop)
Jacob-Baart de la Faille, Vincent van Gogh, Paris, 1939, no. 160, illustrated p. 136
Jacob-Baart de la Faille, The Works of Vincent van Gogh: His Paintings and Drawings, Amsterdam, 1970, no. F133, illustrated, p. 86 (titled Head of a Peasant Woman Right Profile)
Jan Hulsker, The Complete Van Gogh, Paintings, Drawings, Sketches, Oxford, 1980, no. 584, illustrated p. 133
Ingo F. Walther & Rainer Metzger, Vincent van Gogh, The Complete Paintings, Cologne, 1993, vol. I, illustrated  p. 69
Jan Hulsker, The New Complete Van Gogh, Paintings, Drawings, Sketches, Amsterdam, 1996, no. 584, illustrated p. 133

The canvas is laid down on panel and the panel is sound. There are scattered areas of retouching throughout the composition, the largest of which is in the white cap, all visible under ultra-violet light. This work is in good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate in the printed catalogue illustration, although the background is slightly less yellow in the original.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The paintings van Gogh completed in Nuenen between 1883-1885 are amongst the first of his early masterpieces and evidence of his distinctive technical and interpretative skill as a painter. While living at his father's vicarage in Nuenen in the Brabant region of Holland, the artist devoted much of his time to painting, and could now afford the relatively costly medium of oil on canvas. Despite his relative professional good fortune during this period, van Gogh was often at odds with his conservative parents and began to paint with an artistic vision notably divorced from the religious idealism and subject matter of his youth. At Nuenen, the artist executed several scenes of peasant life which demonstrated an intense interest in the interplay of light, shadow and natural forms.

Some of the most notable works from this period are the portraits of peasant workers such as Peasant Woman, Head, which speak of a certain sense of solitude and isolation which the artist felt at the time. In fact van Gogh wanted to paint peasants as if he was one of them himself. In a letter to his Paris-based art-dealer brother Theo he noted that ''peasants painted by city dwellers inevitably reminded one of the Paris suburbs', and said that he preferred to live among peasants and share their sober lives (letter 400)' (quoted in Evert van Uitert & Michael Hoyle (ed.), The Rijksmuseum, Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam, 1987, p. 144). Throughout the winter of 1884-85 the artist was studying peasant physiognomy and between December and January he drew and painted no fewer than 60 heads. The artist always had trouble finding models in his early career however in Nuenen he was able to find some peasants who would pose for him regularly. They were members of the de Groot family, who were also the sitters for the seminal painting The Potato Eaters (fig. 1). Their daughter Gordina, also known as Sien de Groot, the figure in a white cap seen from the side in that painting posed at least 20 times for the artist.

Since the weather conditions in Nuenen were too severe to paint outdoors, van Gogh began to work indoors. Painted in a limited range of earthen tones, redolent of the harsh life led by the peasants of Brabant, the sitter in the present work is depicted in solitude caught up in her own thought, almost absent-minded. Writing to Theo on 2nd March 1885, Vincent wrote:  'At present I'm painting not just as long as there's light, but even in the evening by lamplight in the cottages, if I can somehow make things out on my palette, in order to capture if possible something of the singular effects of lighting at night' (quoted in Vincent van Gogh – The Letters, London, 2009, vol. III, no. 484, pp. 209-210).

In many of the canvases of this period, the figures are seen against the light but in the present work, emphasising the sitter's facial expression, van Gogh eliminated all references to the outside world. As Evert van Uitert noted:  'Van Gogh was trying to capture the distinctive characteristic of his peasant figures, and considered it more important for a head to be expressive than the drawing to be absolutely correct' (ibid., p. 144).

Portrait painting gave van Gogh a good opportunity to master the art of conveying a likeness but more importantly it also had a certain artistic value: 'Painting people, that was the old Italian art, that was Millet and that is Breton [...]. The question is simply whether one takes the soul or the clothes as one's starting point, and whether one allows the form to serve as a clothes-horse for bows and ribbons, or whether one should regard the form as a means of expressing an impression, a sentiment' (quoted in Vincent van Gogh – The Letters, London, 2009, vol. III, no. 550, pp. 332-333). This self- justification is perfectly understandable when one remembers that for centuries the portrait had been regarded as a lower from of art, for it merely imitated the model's appearance. By depicting the soul and expressing a feeling, an artist could elevate this literal imitation to a higher plane' (ibid., p. 150).

FIG. 1, Vincent van Gogh, The Potato-Eaters, 1885, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

FIG. 2, Potato picking at Nuenen, circa 1900