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List of Works

What impassions me most--much, much more than all the rest of my métier--is the portrait, the modern portrait. I seek it in colour, and surely I am not the only one to seek it in this direction. I should like--mind you, far be it from me to say that I shall be able to do it, although this is what I am aiming at--I should like to paint portraits which would appear after a century to people living then as apparitions.

Vincent van Gogh
Letter W22
5 June 1890


Portraiture was one of Vincent's van Gogh's great loves. Throughout his career Van Gogh found tremendous satisfaction in painting and drawing portraits--from his earliest attempts as an artist, until the final few weeks of his life.

Vincent van Gogh is often perceived today as a solitary, unsociable eccentric. In truth, Van Gogh could be extremely outgoing and compassionate--at his most happy when in the company of others. This is one of the reasons why he enjoyed portraiture so much. Not only did it provide him with much needed human interaction, but Van Gogh also viewed the portrait as playing and important, and long lasting, role in society itself. Van Gogh disliked photography and wrote in 1889:

Those photographic portraits wither much sooner than we ourselves do, whereas the painted portrait is a thing which is felt, done with love or respect for the human being that is portrayed. What is left of the old Dutchmen except their portraits?
Through portraiture Van Gogh established a very human connection with his subject and, as he suggests in the letter shown at the top of the page, this connection has traversed more than the century he envisioned to touch people on another continent.

The "Van Gogh: Face to Face" exhibit is a unique opportunity to see some extraordinary artworks. Van Gogh's entire career is represented--from his earliest studies of peasant workers through to his final paintings in Auvers-sur-Oise. The works in this exhibit appear from museums and collections throughout the world and afford the viewer a exciting chance to see the people in Van Gogh's life as he saw them. In addition, Van Gogh's beautiful drawings are rarely on display because of their fragility--another of the many reasons that this exhibit is not to be missed.

The Detroit Institute of Arts' premier of the first exhibition of portraits by Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) features 67 works of art, 36 of which are paintings and 31 are drawings. Many of the rarely seen drawings are beautifully detailed, and some have never before been on public view. Over 30 international museums and private collections are lending to this major exhibition.

The exhibition's U.S.A. tour features over 100 loans. A number of the portraits will vary as the exhibition's three-city tour subsequently travels to Boston and Philadelphia. Many of the drawings are only on view in one or two venues, because of conservation interests and the need to restrict their exposure to light.

Note: Special thanks to the Detroit Institute of Arts for providing the list of works included in the exhibit.

Paintings

Painting Name

Origin

Current Location

F

JH

Thumbnail

Baby Marcelle Roulin, The Arles, December, 1888 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 441 1641

Girl with Ruffled Hair ("The Mudlark") Arles: June, 1888 La-Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland), Musée des Beaux-Arts 535 1467

Gordina de Groot, Head Nuenen: April, 1885 Edinburgh, National Gallery of Scotland 140 745

Head of a Peasant with Cap Nuenen: December, 1884 Sydney, Art Gallery of New South Wales 160a 563

Head of a Peasant Woman with Red Cap Nuenen: April, 1885 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 160 722

Head of a Young Peasant in a Peaked Cap Nuenen: March, 1885 Brussels, Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België 163 687

Italian Woman (Agostina Segatori?) Paris: December, 1887 Paris, Musée d'Orsay 381 1355

La Berceuse (Augustine Roulin) Arles: February, 1889 Boston, Museum of Fine Arts 508 1671

L'Arlesienne: Madame Ginoux with Gloves and Umbrella Arles: early November, 1888 Paris, Musée d'Orsay 489 1625

Mother Roulin with Her Baby Arles: November-December, 1888 Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art 490 1637

Mother Roulin with Her Baby Arles: November-December, 1888 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art 491 1638

Portrait of Adeline Ravoux Auvers-sur-Oise: June, 1890 Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art 786 2036

Portrait of a Man Paris: Winter, 1886/7 Melbourne, National Gallery of Victoria 209 1201

Portrait of a Man Arles: December, 1888 Otterlo, Kröller-Müller Museum 533 1649

Portrait of a Man with a Skull Cap Paris: Winter, 1886/7 (or 1887/88?) Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 289 1203

Portrait of a One-Eyed Man Arles: December, 1888 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 532 1650

Portrait of Armand Roulin Arles: November-December, 1888 Essen, Museum Folkwang 492 1642

Portrait of Armand Roulin Arles: November-December, 1888 Rotterdam, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen 493 1643

Portrait of a Young Peasant Saint-Rémy: September, 1889 Rome, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna 531 1779

Portrait of Camille Roulin Arles: November-December, 1888 Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art 537 1644

Portrait of Camille Roulin Arles: November-December, 1888 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 538 1645

Portrait of the Art Dealer Alexander Reid Paris: Spring, 1887 Glasgow, Glasgow Art Gallery and Museum 343 1250

Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin Arles: early August, 1888 Boston, Museum of Fine Arts 432 1522

Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin Arles: early August, 1888 Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts 433 1524

Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin Arles: November-December, 1888 Winterthur, Kunstmuseum Winterthur 434 1647

Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin Arles: April, 1889 New York, Museum of Modern Art 436 1675

Self-Portrait Paris: Spring, 1887 Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago 345 1249

Self-Portrait Paris: Spring-Summer, 1887 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 356 1248

Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat Paris: Winter, 1886/7 Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum 295 1211

Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat Paris: Winter, 1887/8 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 344 1353

Self-Portrait with Straw Hat Paris: Summer, 1887 Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts 526 1309

Skull Paris: Winter, 1887/8 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 297a 1347

Two Children Auvers-sur-Oise: June, 1890 Private collection 784 2052

Weaver Facing Left with Spinning Wheel Nuenen: March, 1884 Boston, Museum of Fine Arts 29 471

Woman Sitting by a Cradle Paris: Spring, 1887 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 369 1206

Zouave (Half Length), The Arles, June, 1888 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 423 1486


Drawings

Painting Name

Origin

Current Location

F

JH

Thumbnail

Bent Figure of a Woman (Sien?) The Hague: early May, 1882 Otterlo, Kröller-Müller Museum 935 143

Bookseller Blok, The The Hague: early November, 1882 The Netherlands, private collection 993 254

Daughter of Jacob Meyer, The (after Holbein) Etten: July, 1881 Otterlo, Kröller-Müller Museum 833 13

Figure of a Woman with Unfinished Chair The Hague: early May, 1882 Otterlo, Kröller-Müller Museum 932 145

Fisherman with Sou'wester, Head The Hague: February, 1883 Otterlo, Kröller-Müller Museum 1011 309

Fisherman with Sou'wester, Head The Hague: February, 1883 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 1014 310

Girl with Shawl, Half-Figure The Hague: first half January, 1883 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 1008 301

Head of a Girl Arles: c. 17 June 1888 New York, Guggenheim Museum 1507a 1466

Joseph Roulin, Sitting in a Cane Chair, Three-Quarter-Length Arles: 31 July-3 August, 1888 New York, private collection 1723 1523

La Mousmé, Sitting Arles: c. 23 July 1888 Moscow, Pushkin Museum 1504 1520

Man, Sitting, Reading a Book The Hague: December, 1882 Otterlo, Kröller-Müller Museum 1001 278

Man with Beard, Sitting Antwerp, February, 1886? Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 1369v 1018

Orphan Man in Sunday Clothes with Eye Bandage, Head The Hague: late December, 1882 Cambridge (Mass.), Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University 1003 285

Orphan Man with Long Overcoat and Stick The Hague: September, 1882 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 962 212

Orphan Man with Top Hat, Head The Hague: December, 1882 Heino, Hannema-de Stuers Foundation 961 284

Orphan Man with Top Hat, Drinking Coffee The Hague: second half November, 1882 Otterlo, Kröller-Müller Museum 976 265

Orphan Man with Top Hat, Head The Hague: late December, 1882 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 985 286

Peasant Woman, Head Nuenen: December-January, 1884-85 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 1184 597

Peasant Woman, Head Nuenen: January-February, 1885 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 1170 630

Peasant Woman, Three-Quarter Length Nuenen: March, 1885 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 1224 678

Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin Arles: August, 1888 Brentwood (Cal.), Getty Center 1458 1536

Portrait of Vincent van Gogh, the Artist's Grandfather Etten: July, 1881 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 876 14

Sien with White Cap, Head The Hague: late December, 1882 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 1055 290

Sien with White Cap, Head The Hague: December, 1882 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 931 291

Weaver Facing Right (Half-Figure) Nuenen: January-February, 1884 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 1122 454

Woman, Bareheaded (Sien's Mother?), Head The Hague: March, 1883 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 1009 335

Woman with Dark Cap (Sien's Mother?) The Hague: December, 1882 Groningen, Groninger Museum 1057 294

Woman with Dark Cap (Sien's Mother?) The Hague: December, 1882 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 1006 295

Woman with Hat, Head The Hague: December, 1882 Bern, Kunsmuseum 1054 293

Young Peasant, Head Nuenen: December-January, 1884-85 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum 1145 581

Zouave, Half-Figure Arles: 31 July-6 August, 1888 New York, Guggenheim Museum 1482a 1535

For other insights on Van Gogh's feelings about portraiture, please refer to the following letters:


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