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Gardener by an Apple Tree

mid-July, 1883
Not on view
In July 1883, Van Gogh decided to try his hand at lithography for a second time. This is one of two prints he produced that summer along with "Burning Weeds" (2021.242). For these works, he used a fine pen on smooth transfer paper and encountered some difficulty with the fidelity of the transfer to the lithographic stone and subsequent printing. Consequently, he touched up the print extensively with pen and ink, most evident here in the dark knots of the tree. His inspiration for the subject was a scene he observed and sketched while visiting a retirement home, which he later restaged with the help of his favorite model from the period, Adrianus Jacobus Zuyderland. The artist treated the motif of the peasant laborer digging repeatedly at this time. It highlights his appreciation for the French painter Jean-François Millet, whose composition "The Diggers" (57.531.18) he copied as early as November 1880.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Gardener by an Apple Tree
  • Artist: Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, Zundert 1853–1890 Auvers-sur-Oise)
  • Date: mid-July, 1883
  • Medium: Transfer lithograph with pen and ink
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 9 1/4 × 12 11/16 in. (23.5 × 32.3 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Fletcher Fund, William R. Drexler Sr. and Violet Drexler Bequest, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, and The Derald H. Ruttenberg Foundation, in honor of Nadine M. Orenstein and Charles and Jessie Price Gifts, 2021
  • Object Number: 2021.241
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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Peasant Woman Cooking by a Fireplace, Vincent van Gogh Dutch, Oil on canvas
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Lettres de Vincent van Gogh a Son Frère Théo
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The Potato Peeler (reverse: Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat), Vincent van Gogh Dutch, Oil on canvas
The Potato Peeler (reverse: Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat)
Vincent van Gogh
1885
Road in Etten, Vincent van Gogh Dutch, Chalk, pencil, pastel, watercolor. Underdrawing in pen and brown ink.
Road in Etten
Vincent van Gogh
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Wheat Field, Vincent van Gogh Dutch, Reed pen and logwood ink over graphite on wove paper
Wheat Field
Vincent van Gogh
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