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Artwork Details
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Title:Irises
Artist:Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, Zundert 1853–1890 Auvers-sur-Oise)
Date:1890
Medium:Oil on canvas
Dimensions:36 1/2 × 29 1/8 in. (92.7 × 73.9 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
the artist's brother, Theo van Gogh, Paris (d. 1891); his widow, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, Amsterdam, in trust for their son, Vincent Willem van Gogh (1891–her d. 1925); Vincent Willem van Gogh, Amsterdam (1925–62; transferred to the Vincent van Gogh Foundation); Vincent van Gogh Foundation (from 1962; placed on permanent loan to the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, upon its opening in 1973)
Paris. Apartment of Theo van Gogh (6, Cité Pigalle) or Shop of Julien-François Tanguy (14, rue Clauzel). September 1890, no catalogue [see Beaubourg 1890].
Brussels. Les XX. "Huitième exposition annuelle des XX," February 1891, no. 4 (as "Bouquet d'Iris," probably this work) [see Notes].
Berlin. Paul Cassirer. "VII. Jahrgang. VII Ausstellung," April 29–June 1905, no. 26 (as "Schwertlilien").
Amsterdam. Stedelijk Museum. "Tentoonstelling van Schilderijen en Teekeningen door Vincent van Gogh," July–August 1905, no. 159 (as "Irissen") [the first version of the cat. designates no. 159 as "Hutten," but annotated copies now in the Van Gogh Museum and the second version of the cat. indicate that "Irises" was shown].
Utrecht. Vereeniging "Voor de Kunst". "Schilderijen door Vincent van Gogh," September 1905, no. 55 (as "Irissen") [one copy of the cat. is annotated "159," referring to the cat. no. from Amsterdam 1905].
Berlin. Secession. "Dreizehnten Ausstellung der Berliner Secession," 1907, no. 66 (as "Iris").
Rotterdamsche Kunstkring. "Tentoonstelling van een aantaal werken van Vincent van Gogh," June 11–July 10, 1910, no. 8 (as "Irissen," lent by Mevrouw J. Cohen Gosschalk-Bonger).
Amsterdam. Larensche Kunsthandel. "Tentoonstelling van schilderijen, aquarellen en teekeningen van Vincent van Gogh," June 1911, no. 38 (as "Irissen").
Cologne. Städtische Ausstellungshalle. "Internationale Kunstausstellung des Sonderbundes Westdeutscher Kunstfreunde und Künstler," May 25–September 30, 1912, no. 30 (as "Iris im Topf, auf gelbem Grunde," dated 1888, lent by Frau J. Cohen Gosschalk-Bonger, pl. 2).
The Hague. Gebouw Lange Voorhout I. "Werken van Vincent van Gogh," July–September 1, 1913, no. 116 (as "Irissen in gele pot," lent by Mevrouw Cohen Gosschalk, Amsterdam).
Antwerp. Kunst van Heden / L'Art contemporain. "Tentoonstelling 1914," March 7–April 5, 1914, no. 51 (as "Irissen / Iris," dated 1889, lent by Mme J. van Gogh-Bonger and M. V. W. van Gogh, Amsterdam).
Berlin. Paul Cassirer. "Vincent van Gogh: Zehnte Ausstellung," May–June 1914, no. 107 (as "Iris," dated 1889, lent by Frau J. van Gogh-Bonger and Herr V. W. van Gogh, Amsterdam).
Kunsthalle Basel. "Vincent van Gogh," March 27–April 21, 1924, no. 41 (as "Iris").
Kunsthaus Zürich. "Vincent van Gogh," July 3–August 10, 1924, no. 65 (as "Iris," dated to Auvers, 1890; not for sale).
Paris. Galerie Marcel Bernheim. "Exposition rétrospective d'oeuvres de Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)," January 5–24, 1925, no. 34 (as "Les iris," dated to Van Gogh's Arles period).
London. Leicester Galleries. "Vincent van Gogh Exhibition," November–December 1926, no. 7 (as "A vase of Irises," dated 1889).
London. Royal Academy of Arts. "Exhibition of Dutch Art 1450–1900," January 4–March 9, 1929, no. 452 (as "Irises," lent by V. W. van Gogh).
Amsterdam. Stedelijk Museum. "Vincent van Gogh en zijn tijdgenooten," September 6–November 2, 1930, no. 95 (as "Stilleven met irissen," lent by V. W. van Gogh, Laren).
Amsterdam. Kunsthandel J. Goudstikker. "Tentoonstelling "Het Stilleven": ten bate van de Vereeniging "Rembrandt"," February 18–March 19, 1933, no. 116 (as "Irissen," lent by a private collection, the Netherlands).
Rotterdam. Museum Boymans. "Tentoonstelling van 115 stillevens 1480–1933," April 1–23, 1933, no. 36 (lent by a private collection, the Netherlands).
The Hague. Gemeentemuseum. "Vincent van Gogh: Herdenkingstentoonstelling," March 30–May 17, 1953, no. 175.
Toronto. Art Gallery of Ontario. "Vincent van Gogh and the Birth of Cloisonism," January 24–March 22, 1981, no. 139.
Amsterdam. Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh. "Vincent van Gogh and the Birth of Cloisonism," April 9–June 14, 1981, no. 139.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Van Gogh in Saint-Rémy and Auvers," November 25, 1986–March 22, 1987, no. 51.
Amsterdam. Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh. "Vincent van Gogh: Paintings," March 30–July 29, 1990, no. 115.
Glasgow. Glasgow City Council, Burrell Collection. "The Age of Van Gogh: Dutch Painting, 1880–1895," November 10, 1990–February 10, 1991, no. 36.
Amsterdam. Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh. "The Age of Van Gogh: Dutch Painting, 1880–1895," March 1–May 26, 1991, no. 36 (as "Still Life with Irises," 1890).
PLEASE NOTE: These are selected exhibition references.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Van Gogh: Irises and Roses," May 12–August 16, 2015.
Vincent van Gogh. Letter to his brother Theo. [May 11, 1890] [Van Gogh Letters 2009, no. 870], see Notes for details.
Vincent van Gogh. Draft of a letter to his sister Willemien. [on or about May 21, 1890] [Van Gogh Letters 2009, no. RM19], writes "in the last few days at St-Rémy I worked in a frenzy. Big bouquets of flowers, violet irises, big bouquets of roses".
Vincent van Gogh. Draft of a letter to his brother Theo and sister-in-law Jo van Gogh-Bonger. [May 24, 1890] [Van Gogh Letters 2009, no. RM20], mentions at least eight canvases still in Saint-Rémy (of which this was one) which show that he is "trying not to lose my touch".
Vincent van Gogh. Draft of a letter to Joseph Jacob Isaäcson. [May 25, 1890] [Van Gogh Letters 2009, letter no. RM21], see Notes for details.
Vincent van Gogh. Letter to his sister Willemien. [June 5, 1890] [Van Gogh Letters 2009, no. 879], writes "in the last few days at St-Rémy I worked like a man in a frenzy, especially on bouquets of flowers. Roses and violet Irises".
Vincent van Gogh. Letter to his brother Theo. [June 24, 1890] [Van Gogh Letters 2009, no. 891], mentions that the canvases have arrived from Saint-Rémy, stating "the Irises have dried well and I dare believe that you'll find something in them".
Theo van Gogh. Letter to his sister Willemien. August 24, 1890 [excerpted in Jan Hulsker, "what Theo really thought of Vincent," vincent: bulletin of the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, vol. 3, no. 2 (1974), pp. 25–26], mentions that Vincent's works from Auvers are at Tanguy's.
Maurice Beaubourg. "La Mort de Dubois-Pillet et de Vincent van-Gogh." La revue indépendante 16 (September 1890), p. 401; see Notes for details.
Andries Bonger. Catalogue of Vincent van Gogh's estate (known as the Bonger list). late 1890, no. 263, as "Iris /30/".
Andries Bonger. Letter to Octave Maus. December 22, 1890, "nous aimerions beaucoup que le portrait et le bouquet d’iris soient placés l’un à côté de l’autre [at Brussels 1891]" (we would love it if the portrait and bouquet of irises were placed next to each other), probably referring to this work; see Notes.
J. de Meester. "Vincent van Gogh." Nederland 43 (March 1891), p. 315, in an essay dated "Paris, January 1891," remarks "goudgele renonkels en zonnebloemen en vurigdonkere iris plaatse hij voor een goudgeel fond en maakte er een doek naar van meer dan een meter"; see Notes for trans.
Pierre-M. Olin. "Les XX." Mercure de France 2 (April 1891), p. 236, "le 'Bouquet d'Iris' [probably this work] est d'une merveilleuse splendeur, et le cloisonnisme de Van Gogh semble particulièrement apte à figurer ces étranges fleurs heraldiques"; see Notes for trans.
August Endell. "Vincent van Gogh." Freistatt 7 (June 17, 1905) [reprinted in Bernhard Echte and Walter Feilchenfeldt, eds., "Kunstsalon Paul Cassirer, die Ausstellungen 1901–1905," Wädenswil, 2011, p. 705]; see Notes for details.
Beeldende Kunst 5 (1918), pl. 83.
J.-B. de La Faille. L'Epoque française de Van Gogh. Paris, 1927, p. 60 n. 1, ill. p. 61, calls it "Les iris" and locates it in the collection of V.-W. van Gogh, Amsterdam.
J.-B. de La Faille. L'Oeuvre de Vincent van Gogh: Catalogue Raisonné. Paris, 1928, vol. 1, p. 193, no. 678; vol. 2, pl. 189; see Notes for details.
W. Scherjon and Jos. De Gruyter. Vincent van Gogh's Great Period: Arles, St. Rémy and Auvers sur Oise (complete catalogue). Amsterdam, 1937, p. 303, St. Rémy no. 112, ill.
J.-B. de La Faille. Vincent van Gogh. London, [1939], pp. 483, 563, no. 700, ill.
J.-B. de La Faille. The Works of Vincent van Gogh: His Paintings and Drawings. Amsterdam, 1970, pp. 266–67, 638, no. 678, ill., as "Still Life: Vase with Irises against a Yellow Background," Saint-Rémy, May 1890.
Jan Hulsker. The Complete Van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings, Sketches. [1st ed., Amsterdam, 1977]. New York, 1980, pp. 450, 452, no. 1977, ill., as "Vase with Violet Irises against a Yellow Background".
Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov. Vincent van Gogh and the Birth of Cloisonism. Exh. cat., Art Gallery of Ontario. Toronto, 1981, pp. 158–59, no. 39, ill.
Ronald Pickvance The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Van Gogh in Saint-Rémy and Auvers. New York, 1986, pp. 72, 186–87, no. 51, ill. p. 184 (color).
Walter Feilchenfeldt. Vincent van Gogh & Paul Cassirer, Berlin: The Reception of Van Gogh in Germany from 1901 to 1914. Zwolle, The Netherlands, 1988, p. 112.
Judith Bumpus. Van Gogh's Flowers. Oxford, 1989, colorpl. 17.
Evert van Uitert et al. Vincent van Gogh: Paintings. Exh. cat., Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam. Milan, 1990, pp. 254–55, no. 115, ill. (color), as "Still-Life with Irises," dated May 1890.
Jan Hulsker. The New Complete Van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings, Sketches. rev. ed. Amsterdam, 1996, pp. 448, 450, 452, no. 1977, ill., as "Vase with Violet Irises against a Yellow Background," dated May 5–11, 1890.
Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov. Van Gogh in Provence and Auvers. [New York], 1999, ill. p. 161 (color).
Vincent van Gogh. Vincent van Gogh—The Letters. Ed. Leo Jansen, Hans Luijten, and Nienke Bakker. London, 2009, letter nos. 870, RM19–RM21, 879, 891, ill. (color).
Walter Feilchenfeldt. Vincent van Gogh: The Years in France. Complete Paintings 1886–1890. London, 2013, pp. 185, 294, 300, 312, 343, 347, ill. (color) [1st German ed., 2009], calls it "Vase with Irises against a Yellow Background".
PLEASE NOTE: These are selected bibliographic references.
