Baskets of Potatoes
Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), Nuenen, September 1885
oil on canvas, 65.0 cm x 78.5 cm
Credits (obliged to state): Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
In the autumn of 1885, Van Gogh painted many still lifes, including this one showing baskets of potatoes. He explained to his brother Theo why he was doing it. He was trying to find a good way to express their physical reality: ‘Such that they become lumps that have weight and are solid, which you’d feel if they were thrown at you, for instance.’
He enjoyed making still lifes. But he felt obliged to justify the activity to Theo, who was supporting him financially: ‘I know that they’re difficult to sell — but it’s devilish useful’.
- F-number
- F0107
- JH-number
- JH0933
- Object number
- s0154V1962
- Dimensions
- 65.0 cm x 78.5 cm, 88.4 cm x 101.5 cm
- Provenance
- Sent by the artist from Nuenen to his brother Theo van Gogh, Paris, c. 13 October 1885; after his death on 25 January 1891, inherited by his widow, Jo van Gogh-Bonger, and their son, Vincent Willem van Gogh, Paris; administered until her death on 2 September 1925 by Jo van Gogh-Bonger, Bussum/Amsterdam/Laren; given on loan by Vincent Willem van Gogh, Laren to the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, since 16 December 1930; transferred by Vincent Willem van Gogh, Laren, to the Vincent van Gogh Foundation, Amsterdam, 10 July 1962; agreement concluded between the Vincent van Gogh Foundation and the State of the Netherlands, in which the preservation and management of the collection, and its placing in the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, to be realized in Amsterdam, is entrusted to the State, 21 July 1962; given on loan until the opening of the museum on 2 June 1973 to the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; on permanent loan to the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh from 2 June 1973 and at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, since 1 July 1994.
- artist
- Vincent van Gogh
- Credits (obliged to state)
- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
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