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Entrance Gate to a Farm with Haystacks

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 Details
Pencil, reed pen, brown ink
39.0 x 53.3 cm.
Arles: c. 15 June 1888
F 1478, JH 1444
Amsterdam, Rijksprentenkabinet, Rijksmuseum


History
Provenance
Exhibitions
Analysis
See below


Only about a dozen of the drawings Van Gogh made during his first months in Arles are inscribed with descriptive titles; among them are Verger de Provence (F 1414) Vue d'Arles (F 1416r) and Bords du Rhône (F 1472a). Each of these pen-and-ink landscapes presents some aspect typical of the region, as might photographs taken on holiday.

This one, inscribed mas de Provence, is a souvenir of the artist's introduction to Mediterranean farm life, which he encountered in a flat, open terrain somewhat reminiscent of the Dutch lowlands: a remarkably complete rendering of a Provençal homestead with stuccoed house, outbuilding, and wall surrounding fruit trees and piles of hay; beyond the pillared gateway stretch cultivated fields and native grasses.

Quite a large and finished drawing, this detailed view, complete in itself, nonetheless was re-created as a painting (F 565). The artist evidently traced the composition to transfer it to a canvas very nearly the same size.

Vincent revealed an enduring interested in this "mas de Provence" in his letter to Theo of June 12 or 13, 1888. After speaking enthusiastically of his monumental canvas of Harvest in Provence (F 412), he added, "And I have another subject, a farm and some haystacks, which will probably be a pendant" [497]. He seems to have been envisioning his large painting of the three tall haystacks just inside the farmyard walls (F 425).1

References

1. Colta Ives, Susan Alyson Stein, Sjraar van Heugten and Marije Vellekoop (eds.), Vincent van Gogh: The Drawings (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005), p. 200.


Provenance

Owner City Country Date acquired Comments
Theo van Gogh Paris France c. 15-16 June 1888 Sent by the artist.
Johanna van Gogh-Bonger Amsterdam Netherlands 1891  
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Netherlands 1906 Gift from Mrs. J. van Gogh-Bonger; on loan to Stedelijk Museum.


Exhibitions

Year City Country Venue Exhibition Name Start Date End Date No.
1905 Amsterdam Netherlands Stedelijk Museum Tentoonstelling Vincent van Gogh 15 July 1905 1 August 1905 385
1937 Paris France Les Nouveaux Musées, Quai de Tokyo La vie et l'oeuvre de Van Gogh  
  
 71
1946 Brussels Belgium Palais des Beaux-Arts Vincent van Gogh 9 November 1946 19 December 1946 79
1946 Liège Belgium Musée des Beaux-Arts Vincent van Gogh 12 October 1946 3 November 1946 79
1946-47 Mons Belgium Musée des Beaux-Arts Vincent van Gogh 27 December 1946  
 79
1947 Geneva Switzerland Musée Rath 172 oeuvres de Vincent van Gogh 22 March 1947 20 April 1947 80
1947 Paris (1) France Musée de l'Orangerie Vincent van Gogh 24 January 1947 15 March 1947 80
1948 Bergen Norway Kunstforening Vincent van Gogh, Malerier Tegninger 23 March 1948 18 April 1948 101
1948 Oslo Norway Kunstnernes Hus Vincent van Gogh, Malerier Tegninger 24 April 1948 15 May 1948 101
1952 Milan Italy Palazzo Reale Van Gogh. Dipinti e disegni 23 February 1952 13 May 1952 101
1953 The Hague Netherlands Haags Gemeentemuseum Vincent van Gogh 1853-1953 30 March 1953 17 May 1953 110
1953 Otterlo Netherlands Kröller-Müller Museum Eeuwfeest Vincent van Gogh 1853-1953 24 May 1953 19 July 1953 126
1953 Amsterdam Netherlands Stedelijk Museum Eeuwfeest Vincent van Gogh 23 July 1953 20 September 1953 126
1955 Liverpool United Kingdom Walker Art Gallery Vincent van Gogh. Paintings and Drawings, Mainly from the Collection of Ir. V.W. van Gogh 29 October 1955 10 December 1955 119
1955-56 Manchester United Kingdom Manchester City Art Gallery Vincent van Gogh. Paintings and Drawings, Mainly from the Collection of Ir. V.W. van Gogh 17 December 1955 4 February 1956 119
1956 Munich Germany Haus der Kunst Vincent van Gogh 19 October 1956 16 December 1956 117
1956 Newcastle-upon-Tyne United Kingdom Laing Art Gallery Vincent van Gogh. Paintings and Drawings, Mainly from the Collection of Ir. V.W. van Gogh 11 February 1956 24 March 1956 119
1957 Essen Germany Villa Hügel Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). Leben und Schaffen. Dokumentation Gemälde, Zeichnungen 16 October 1957 15 December 1957 293
1959 Recklinghausen Germany Städtische Kunsthalle Die Handschrift des Künstlers 23 May 1959 5 July 1959 115
1960 Paris (1) France Musée Jacquemart-André Vincent van Gogh 1853-1890  
  
 103
1961 Munich Germany Städtische Galerie Vincent van Gogh. Zeichnungen und Aquarelle 23 May 1961 25 June 1961 62
1962 Warsaw Poland Muzeum Narodowe Vincent van Gogh. Obrazy i rysunki. Wystawa dziel ze zbiorow muzeow holenderskich 8 October 1962 18 October 1962 98
1962-63 Tel Aviv Israel Tel Aviv Museum Vincent van Gogh 30 December 1962 14 February 1963 81
1963 Haifa Israel Museum of Modern Art Vincent van Gogh 20 February 1963 20 March 1963 81
1964 Kassel Germany Alte Galerie Internationale Ausstellung Documenta III 27 June 1964 5 October 1964 5
1970 Frankfurt Germany Frankfurter Kunstverein Vincent van Gogh. Zeichnungen und Aquarelle 30 April 1970 21 June 1970
1984 New York United States Metropolitan Museum of Art Van Gogh in Arles 18 October 1984 30 December 1984 43
1990 Otterlo Netherlands Kröller-Müller Museum Vincent van Gogh. Tekeningen 30 March 1990 29 July 1990 204
2005 New York United States Metropolitan Museum of Art Vincent van Gogh: The Drawings 18 October 2005 31 December 2005 66
2005 Amsterdam Netherlands Van Gogh Museum Van Gogh draughtsman: The masterpieces 1 July 2005 18 September 2005  

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