Women Kissing
Jan Sluijters (1881 - 1957), 1906
oil on canvas, 92.8 cm x 62.5 cm
Credits: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (purchased with support from the Ministry of Welfare, Health and Culture), c/o Pictoright Amsterdam 2025
In 1904, Sluijters received the Prix de Rome, an important incentive prize for young artists. He was granted a scholarship to travel and seek inspiration. Instead of studying the Old Masters, he became fascinated by the vibrant nightlife of Paris. He experimented freely with bold colours and, for that time, modern subjects, as seen in Women Kissing.
His new work caused an uproar in the Netherlands. The colour combinations were considered too outspoken, and his portrayal of women criticised as a ‘blatant disregard for the beauty of the female form.’ He lost his scholarship, but even so became one of the key innovators of Dutch Modernism.
- Object number
- s0382M1987
- Dimensions
- 92.8 cm x 62.5 cm, 114.7 cm x 84.5 cm, 6.5 cm
- Provenance
- Studio of the artist, Amsterdam, until 8 May 1957; after his death on 8 May 1957, inherited by his son, Jan Sluijters Jr., Hilversum; Kunsthandel Ivo Bouwman, c. 1980; sold by Kunsthandel Ivo Bouwman to the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, 10 November 1987, and at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, since 1 July 1994.
- artist
- Jan Sluijters
- Credits
- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (purchased with support from the Ministry of Welfare, Health and Culture)
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Lichte zeden. Prostitutie in de Franse kunst, 1850-1910, 19 February-19 June 2016
Paris, Musée d'Orsay, Splendeurs et misères. Images de la prostitution, 1850-1910, 22 September 2015-17 January 2016
Enschede, Rijksmuseum Twenthe, De groote expressie. Schilderijen van Van Gogh, Bernard, Israels, Puvis de Chavannes, Van Rappard, Sluijters en Von Stuck uit het Van Gogh Museum, 19 September 1998-11 April 1999
Utrecht (city), Centraal Museum, Van Gogh tot Cobra. Nederlandse schilderkunst 1880-1950, 14 February-20 April 1981, no. 191
Mechelen, Cultureel Centrum Burgemeester Antoon Spinoy, Fauvisme in de Europese kunst, 14 September-16 November 1969, no. 100
Mirror of reality : 19th-century painting in the Netherlands, [Amsterdam], 2019, p. 376-377
Spiegel van de werkelijkheid : 19de-eeuwse schilderkunst in Nederland, [Amsterdam], 2019, p. 376-377
Easy virtue : prostitution in French art 1850-1910, Amsterdam, 2016, p. 149
Lichte zeden : prostitutie in de Franse kunst 1850-1910, Amsterdam, 2016, p. 149, 152, 157, 179
Splendeurs & misères : images of prostitution in France, 1850-1910, Paris, 2015, p. 38-39, 132, 286
Van Gogh Museum, Zwolle, 1997, pp. 298-299
Van Gogh Museum Journal 1995, Amsterdam, 1995, p. 202-203
The Van Gogh Museum : paintings and pastels, Zwolle, 1994, pp. 262-263
Van Gogh Museum : schilderijen en pastels, Zwolle, 1993, p. 262-263
Aanwinsten/Acquisitions, Zwolle, 1991, p. 9, 60-61, 74, 77
Mirror of reality : 19th-century painting in the Netherlands, [Amsterdam], 2019, p. 376-377
Spiegel van de werkelijkheid : 19de-eeuwse schilderkunst in Nederland, [Amsterdam], 2019, p. 376-377
Easy virtue : prostitution in French art 1850-1910, Amsterdam, 2016, p. 149
Lichte zeden : prostitutie in de Franse kunst 1850-1910, Amsterdam, 2016, p. 149, 152, 157, 179
Splendeurs & misères : images of prostitution in France, 1850-1910, Paris, 2015, p. 38-39, 132, 286
Van Gogh Museum, Zwolle, 1997, pp. 298-299
Van Gogh Museum Journal 1995, Amsterdam, 1995, p. 202-203
The Van Gogh Museum : paintings and pastels, Zwolle, 1994, pp. 262-263
Van Gogh Museum : schilderijen en pastels, Zwolle, 1993, p. 262-263
Aanwinsten/Acquisitions, Zwolle, 1991, p. 9, 60-61, 74, 77