Het hooien
Currently on view
Léon-Augustin Lhermitte (1844 - 1925), 1887
oil on canvas, 215.9 cm x 265.8 cm
Credits: 凡高美术馆，阿姆斯特丹（在文森特·凡高基金会支持下购得）
In this painting, Lhermitte depicted a farmer family taking a break during haymaking. The scene is romanticised; there is no trace of the hard labour the resting workmen have just performed. Additionally, subtle symbolism is incorporated into the painting. It portrays various stages of life: youth, adulthood, and old age. The older man in the front holds a scythe, a traditional reference to the transience of life.
Like Lhermitte, Van Gogh hoped to establish himself as a painter of rural life. According to Van Gogh, the secret to the French artist’s success was that he knew ‘the sturdy, severe workman’s figure – through and through.’
- Object number
- s0424M1991
- Dimensions
- 215.9 cm x 265.8 cm, 252.3 cm x 303.2 cm, 13.5 cm
- artist
- Léon-Augustin Lhermitte
- Credits
- 凡高美术馆，阿姆斯特丹（在文森特·凡高基金会支持下购得）
De aardappeleters : Van Goghs eerste meesterwerk, Amsterdam, 2021, p. 36-37
The potato eaters : Van Gogh's first masterpiece, Amsterdam, 2021, p. 36-37
Meesterwerken in het Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 2019, p. 50
Masterpieces in the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 2019, p. 50
The French collection : nineteenth-century French paintings in Dutch public collections, Amsterdam, 2000, p. 212-213
Van Gogh Museum, Zwolle, 1997, p. 67
Van Gogh Museum Journal 1995, Amsterdam, 1995, p. 191
The Van Gogh Museum : paintings and pastels, Zwolle, 1994, pp. 22-23
Van Gogh Museum : schilderijen en pastels, Zwolle, 1993, p. 22-23
Van Gogh Museum : jaarverslag 1991, Amsterdam, 1992, p. 16, 19-20