Gallery Label In fall and winter 1889–90, while a voluntary patient at the asylum in Saint-Rémy, Van Gogh painted twenty-one copies after Millet, an artist he greatly admired. He considered his copies "improvisations" or "translations" akin to a musician's interpretation of a composer's work. He let the black-and-white images—whether prints, reproductions, or, as here, a photograph that his brother, Theo, had sent—"pose as subject" then "improvised color on it." For this work of January 1890, Van Gogh squared-up a photograph of Millet's "First Steps" and transferred it to the canvas.
Provenance the artist's brother, Theo van Gogh, Paris (1890–d. 1891; sent to him by the artist on April 29, 1890); his widow, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, Amsterdam (1891–1905; sold in October with six other works for fl. 4,731.60 to Osthaus); Karl Ernst Osthaus, Hagen (1905–at least 1917); [Alfred Flechtheim, Düsseldorf]; W. Russ Young, Serrières (until 1924; sold to Vallotton on December 31); [Galerie Paul Vallotton, Lausanne, 1924–26; sold to Oppenheimer on July 31, 1926]; Julius Oppenheimer, New York (1926–d. 1937); his son, Frank Oppenheimer, San Francisco (1937–at least 1949; sold to Dalzell Hatfield); [Dalzell Hatfield Galleries, Los Angeles, until 1955; sold to Richard]; Mr. and Mrs. George N. Richard, New York (1955–64)
Exhibition History Rotterdam. Kunstzalen Oldenzeel. "Vincent van Gogh," March 1896, no. 19.
Amsterdam. Stedelijk Museum. "Tentoonstelling van Schilderijen en Teekeningen door Vincent van Gogh," July–August, 1905, no. 173.
Hagen, Germany. Museum Folkwang. September–October 1905, no. ?
Hagen, Germany. Museum Folkwang. "Moderne Kunst: Plastik, Malerei, Graphik," July 1912, no. 133.
Kunsthaus Zürich. "Vincent van Gogh," July 3–August 10, 1924, no. 63.
New York. Museum of Modern Art. "First Loan Exhibition: Cézanne, Gauguin, Seurat, van Gogh," November 8–December 7, 1929, no. 88.
Art Institute of Chicago. "A Century of Progress," June 1–November 1, 1933, no. 378.
San Francisco Museum of Art. "Contemporary Art: Paintings, Watercolors and Sculpture owned in the San Francisco Bay Region," January 18–February 5, 1940, no. 9.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Van Gogh: Paintings and Drawings," October 21, 1949–January 15, 1950, no. 127.
Art Institute of Chicago. "Van Gogh: Paintings and Drawings," February 1–April 15, 1950, no. 127.
Nagoya City Museum. "Vincent van Gogh," December 21, 1985–February 2, 1986, no. 85.
Tokyo. National Museum of Western Art. "Vincent van Gogh," October 12–December 8, 1985, no. 85.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Van Gogh in Saint-Rémy and Auvers," November 25, 1986–March 22, 1987, no. 46.
Yokohama Museum of Art. "Treasures from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: French Art from the Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century," March 25–June 4, 1989, no. 99.
Amsterdam. Van Gogh Museum. "Vincent van Gogh and the Modern Movement: 1890–1914," November 16, 1990–February 18, 1991, no. 51.
Essen. Museum Folkwang. "Vincent van Gogh and the Modern Movement: 1890–1914," August 11–November 4, 1990, no. 51.
Melbourne. National Gallery of Victoria. "Van Gogh: His Sources, Genius and Influence," November 19, 1993–January 16, 1994, no. 49.
Brisbane. Queensland Art Gallery. "Van Gogh: His Sources, Genius and Influence," January 22–March 13, 1994, no. 49.
Kunsthalle Bremen. "Van Gogh: 'Fields'. The 'Field with Poppies' and the Artists' Dispute," October 19, 2002–January 26, 2003, no. 31.
Toledo Museum of Art. "Van Gogh: Fields," February 23–May 18, 2003, no. 16.
Barcelona. Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. "Grandes maestros de la pintura europea de The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Nueva York: De El Greco a Cézanne," December 1, 2006–March 4, 2007, no. 41.
Martigny. Fondation Pierre Gianadda. "The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: Chefs-d'œuvre de la peinture européenne," June 23–November 12, 2006, no. 49.
Berlin. Neue Nationalgalerie. "Französische Meisterwerke des 19.Jahrhunderts aus dem Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York," June 1–October 7, 2007, unnumbered cat.
Vienna. Albertina. "Van Gogh: Heartfelt Lines," September 5–December 8, 2008, no. 126.
References Vincent van Gogh. Letter to his brother Theo . [about October 25, 1889] [published in "The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh," 3 vols., Greenwich, Conn., 1958, vol. 3, pp. 224-25, letter no. 611].Letter to his brother Theo . [about January 10, 1890] [published in "The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh," 3 vols., Greenwich, Conn., 1958, vol. 3, p. 248, letter no. 623].Op de Hoogte 2 (August 1905), ill. p. 480.Vincent van Gogh . Potsdam, 1922, pl. 43.L'Oeuvre de Vincent van Gogh: Catalogue Raisonné . Paris, 1928, vol. 1, p. 190, no. 668; vol. 2, pl. 181.French Painting . Boston, 1931, p. 296.Catalogue des tableaux par Vincent van Gogh décrits dans ses lettres. Périodes: St. Rémy et Auvers sur Oise . Utrecht, 1932, p. 98, no. 93, ill.Vincent van Gogh's Great Period: Arles, St. Rémy and Auvers sur Oise (complete catalogue) . Amsterdam, 1937, p. 288, Saint-Rémy no. 93, ill.Vincent van Gogh . London, [1939], pp. 472, 569, 575, 588, no. 685, ill.Vincent van Gogh . New York, 1950, p. 25.L'opera pittorica completa di Van Gogh e i suoi nessi grafici . 2, repr. [1st ed., 1966]. Milan, 1977, p. 226, no. 760, ill. p. 224.French Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art . 3, New York, 1967, pp. 190–91, ill.Van Gogh . [1st ed., 1968]. New York, 1977, pp. 147, 210, ill. p. 167.The Works of Vincent van Gogh: His Paintings and Drawings . Amsterdam, 1970, pp. 262–63, 637, no. 668, ill.The Role of Vincent van Gogh's Copies in the Development of His Art . New York, 1976, p. 190, fig. 42.The Complete Van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings, Sketches . [1st ed., Amsterdam, 1977]. New York, 1980, pp. 432–33, no. 1883, ill.Museum Folkwang Essen: Die Geschichte einer Sammlung junger Kunst im Ruhrgebiet . Cologne, 1983, pp. 16, 18.in Vincent van Gogh . Exh. cat., National Museum of Western Art. Tokyo, 1985, pp. 82, 84, 86, 202–3, 233–34, 236, 266, no. 85, ill. (color).Van Gogh in Saint-Rémy and Auvers . New York, 1986, pp. 18, 172–74, no. 46, ill. (color).Vincent van Gogh & Paul Cassirer, Berlin: The Reception of Van Gogh in Germany from 1901 to 1914 . Zwolle, The Netherlands, 1988, pp. 14–15, 20, 22, 111, 145, 149, 156–57, ill.Vincent van Gogh . New York, [1990], pp. 160–63, ill. (color).in Vincent van Gogh and the Modern Movement: 1890–1914 . Exh. cat., Museum Folkwang, Essen. Freren, Germany, 1990, pp. 160, 163, 165, 167, no. 51, ill. (color).in Vincent van Gogh and the Modern Movement: 1890–1914 . Exh. cat., Museum Folkwang, Essen. Freren, Germany, 1990, p. 316.in Van Gogh: His Sources, Genius and Influence . Exh. cat., National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Sydney, 1993, p. 104, no. 49, ill. in color, dust jacket and p. 105 (overall and details).Vincent van Gogh: A Guide to His Work and Letters . Amsterdam, 1993, pp. 42, 57, 76.Van Gogh: The Songlines of Legend . Melbourne, [1994], p. 26.Vincent van Gogh: Werk und Wirkung . Munich, 1995, pp. 228–29, 232.The Copy Turns Original: Vincent van Gogh and a New Approach to Traditional Art Practice . Amsterdam, 1996, pp. 88–89, 143 n. 277, fig. 38.The New Complete Van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings, Sketches . rev. ed. Amsterdam, 1996, pp. 432, 434, 496, no. 1883, ill. p. 433.Van Gogh's Progress . Berkeley, 1997, p. 17.The Pursuit of Spiritual Wisdom: The Thought and Art of Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin . Madison, N.J., 1998, p. 99, fig. 175 (color).in Millet/Van Gogh . Exh. cat., Musée d'Orsay. Paris, 1998, pp. 121–22, 152–53, 156–58 n. 43, pp. 170, 175, no. 81, ill. (color).Van Gogh in Provence and Auvers . [New York], 1999, ill. p. 214 (color).Van Gogh . Exh. cat., Fondation Pierre Gianadda. Martigny, 2000, pp. 48, 103.Van Gogh . Paris, 2002, pp. 174–75, ill. (color).in Van Gogh: "Fields". The "Field with Poppies" and the Artists' Dispute . Exh. cat., Kunsthalle Bremen. Ostfildern-Ruit, Germany, 2002, pp. 106–7, 195, no. 31, ill. (color).in "An 'Invasion of French Art'?: Acquisitions at German Museums from 1900 to 1914, The Museum Folkwang in Hagen." Van Gogh: "Fields". The "Field with Poppies" and the Artists' Dispute . Exh. cat., Kunsthalle Bremen. Ostfildern-Ruit, Germany, 2002, p. 217.Art 10 (October 2002), p. 45, ill. p. 43 (color).The Account Book of Theo van Gogh and Jo van Gogh-Bonger . Amsterdam, 2002, pp. 50, 146, 184, ill.in Dorothee Hansen et al. Van Gogh: Fields . Exh. cat., Toledo Museum of Art. Toledo, 2003, pp. 15, 70–71, ill. (color).By Appointment Only: Cézanne, Van Gogh and Some Secrets of Art Dealing . English ed. London, 2006, p. 58.in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: Chefs-d'œuvre de la peinture européenne . Exh. cat., Fondation Pierre Gianadda. Martigny, 2006, pp. 250–52, no. 49, ill. (color) [Catalan ed., Barcelona, 2006, pp. 136–37, no. 41, ill. (color)].in Van Gogh and Expressionism . Exh. cat., Neue Galerie New York. Ostfildern, 2007, p. 171.in Van Gogh: Heartfelt Lines . Exh. cat., Albertina, Vienna. Cologne, 2008, pp. 110, 402, no. 126, ill. pp. 109, 403 (color).
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