Head of a Peasant Woman
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About this artwork
The woman's headdress frames her face, and stands out from the dark background of this small picture. It is one of a series of studies Van Gogh made in connection with a larger painting The Potato Eaters (Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam), completed in May 1885. Largely self-taught Van Gogh was inspired, in these early paintings of Dutch peasants, by the realism of Millet and Courbet. They are dark and sombre in mood, reflecting his models' harsh lives. He painted them while living with his parents in Nuenen, North Brabant.
A hidden Van Gogh self-portrait, also pictured above, has recently been discovered on the back of this painting, covered by layers of glue and cardboard. The artist often re-used canvases and in this case, he worked on the reverse. It shows a bearded sitter in a brimmed hat with a neckerchief loosely tied at the throat.
Updated July 2022
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artist:Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890) Dutch
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title:Head of a Peasant Woman
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date created:1885
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materials:Oil on canvas laid on millboard
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measurements:46.40 x 35.30 cm; Framed: 72.10 x 60.50 x 8.20 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Presented by Sir Alexander Maitland in memory of his wife Rosalind 1960
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accession number:NG 2216
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glossary:
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Van Gogh's brilliant, emotionally charged paintings are the most well known of all Post-Impressionist works. Born in Holland, the son of a pastor, he tried picture dealing, teaching and book selling, before training for the ministry. After dismissal from a mission in Belgium he concentrated on...