Portraits of Vincent van Gogh explained

The portraits of Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) include self-portraits, portraits of him by other artists, and photographs—one of which is dubious—of the Dutch artist. Van Gogh's dozens of self-portraits were an important part of his œuvre as a painter. Most probably, van Gogh's self-portraits are depicting the face as it appeared in the mirror he used to reproduce his face, i.e. his right side in the image is in reality the left side of his face.

Self-portraits

See also: Self-portraiture.

1885

On July 14, 2022, an almost certainly authentic self-portrait of van Gogh was uncovered under his 1885 painting "Head of a peasant woman". Lesley Stevenson, a conservator at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, discovered it during an X-ray examination of their existing pieces. It shows a bearded van Gogh in a brimmed hat and a neckerchief around his throat. His left ear was clearly visible.[1] The portrait is covered under layers of cardboard and glue, which experts are searching for ways to remove in order to confirm its authenticity.[2] They believe it was painted when van Gogh moved to France and learnt about the work of the impressionists there, an experience that influenced his more colourful and expressive style that is much admired today. Van Gogh was known to often reuse his canvases or work on their reverse in order to save money. The X-ray image will be featured at a Royal Scottish Academy exhibit in Edinburgh and displayed using a specially made lightbox.[3] [4]

Paris 1886

The first self-portrait by van Gogh that survived is dated 1886.

Saint-Rémy

All the self-portraits executed in Saint-Rémy show the artist's head from the left, i.e. the side with non-mutilated ear.

Auvers-sur-Oise

No self-portraits were executed by van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise, during the final weeks of his life.

Remarks

Provenances

Scandals

In Nazi Germany, Vincent van Gogh's works were among those labelled generally "degenerate art". Several works were seized and sold/or destroyed by NS authorities including the self-portrait dedicated to Paul Gauguin, September 1888, which was seized from the Neue Staatsgalerie in Munich, part of the Bavarian State Paintings Collections, to be sold at auction in 1939 in Lucerne, Switzerland, while other works by van Gogh could remain in this collection, but were kept under lock and key.

Fakes

Almost at the same time as when his Catalogue raisonné was published, Jacob Baart de la Faille had to admit that he had included paintings emerging from dubious sources, and of dubious quality. Shortly after, in 1930, De la Faille rejected some thirty odd paintings, which he had originally included in his catalogue – together with a hundred of others he had already excluded: Self-portraits – and Sunflowers – held a prominent place in the set he now rejected. In 1970, the editors of De la Faille's posthumous manuscript brand marked most of these dubious Self-portraits as forgeries,[11] but could not settle all disputes, at least on one:

Meanwhile, the authenticity of a second "self-portrait" has been challenged:

Note the painter shows his right ear, if painted via a mirror, while Van Gogh cut his left ear.

See also

Sources

Notes

  1. Web site: Ogg . Jordan . 2022-07-14 . Hidden Van Gogh self-portrait discovered . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220714110456/https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/features/hidden-van-gogh-self-portrait-discovered . 2022-07-14 . National Galleries of Scotland.
  2. News: Timsit . Annabelle . 2022-07-14 . Secret Van Gogh self-portrait discovered by X-ray of another painting . en-US . Washington Post . 0190-8286.
  3. News: Vincent Van Gogh: Self-portrait discovered in Scotland – CBBC Newsround . en-GB . 2022-07-15.
  4. News: 2022-07-14 . Hidden Van Gogh self-portrait found behind painting in Scotland . en . Reuters . 2022-07-18.
  5. Dorn 2005 pp. 19, 21
  6. Hendriks, Tilborgh 2011 pp. 271–273
  7. Tralbaut 1961. pp. 188–189
  8. Pickvance (1986), 131
  9. Web site: To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Saturday, 28 September 1889. Vincent van Gogh: The Letters. Van Gogh Museum. 1r:1. ... a little portrait of me..
  10. Web site: From the Harvard Art Museums' collections Self-Portrait Dedicated to Paul Gauguin .
  11. De la Faille 1970, nos. CHK
  12. De la Faille 1970, no. 476a: inscribed étude à la bougie
  13. Marit Ingeborg Lange: The provenance of Vincent van Gogh's 'Self-portrait' in Oslo, Burlington Magazine CXLVIII/1235, February 2006, pp. 113–116
  14. Web site: Onderzoekers concluderen over betwijfeld schilderij: Dit is toch echt een van Gogh.

References

External links