Head of a Man
Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), Nuenen, March-May 1885
oil on canvas,
42.5 cm x 32.1 cm
Credits (obliged to state): Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
To practise portraying peasant types, Van Gogh aimed to paint at least 50 different heads. He began the project in October 1884, on the advice of an artist friend. This Head of a Man is one of the last in the series.
The name and identity of the man are unknown. Van Gogh’s letters tell us little about his models. We only know that he found them in Nuenen, where he had returned to live temporarily with his parents.