Van Gogh Museum Journal 2002

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fig. 1
Glashaven, where the Oldenzeel gallery was situated, Rotterdam, Gemeentearchief

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In search of Van Gogh's Nuenen studio: the Oldenzeel exhibitions of 1903
Martha Op de Coul⁺

In 1903 three exhibitions of work by Vincent van Gogh from his Dutch years were organised by the Oldenzeel gallery in Rotterdam. In January, May and November of that year the public were able to view a collection of paintings and drawings that had never before been on public display. These exhibitions caused quite a stir when it emerged that even the Van Gogh family had not been aware of the existence of this group of works. Where had the collection come from? Why had no one in the family circle known anything about it? The exhibitions prompted the Van Gogh family to launch an inquiry to establish the rightful owner of the pieces. The investigation concluded that the works must have come from the studio that Van Gogh had left behind in Nuenen.

More than 20 years later Benno Stokvis published his Nasporingen omtrent Vincent van Gogh in Brabant,¹ in which he endeavoured to clarify the history of Van Gogh's Nuenen studio. His sources included interviews with persons who had been directly involved. Two questions, however, remain yet unanswered: first, which works had been displayed at the Oldenzeel exhibitions; and, second, could these works actually be traced back to the Nuenen studio?

J.-B. de la Faille (1886-1959) was the first Van Gogh specialist to consider these exhibitions in detail. Illustrations in the journal Moderne Kunstwerken from 1903 allowed him to identify several works that had been in the January show in his oeuvre catalogues of 1928 and 1939.² New information gathered from further study was subsequently incorporated into his posthumously published catalogue, The works of Vincent van Gogh: his paintings and drawings (1970). Still, to date no systematic research has been conducted regarding the works displayed at the exhibitions.

Using the sources currently available, the present article will endeavour to reconstruct the Oldenzeel exhibitions and to establish the connection, if any, with Van Gogh's Nuenen studio. Although this reconstruction is plainly incomplete in some respects, the interim results of the study seem sufficiently important to warrant publication.

+ I received assistance from many individuals during the preparation of this article. I would particularly like to mention Annet Tellegen-Hoogendoorn, who for many years has allowed me to share her considerable knowledge of Van Gogh's work.

1 Benno J. Stokvis, Nasporingen omtrent Vincent van Gogh in Brabant, Amsterdam 1926.

2 J.-B. de la Faille, L'oeuvre de Vincent van Gogh: catalogue raisonné, Paris & Brussels 1928 and idem, Vincent van Gogh, Paris 1939.

Oldenzeel: art dealers in Rotterdam³

In 1855 Christiaan Sander Johan Vlaanderen Oldenzeel (1833-1896)⁴ entered into partnership with the Rotterdam bookseller Hendrik van Gogh (1814-1877), one of Vincent's uncles and owner of a shop on Steiger. Three years later Hendrik transferred full ownership of the business to Oldenzeel. In 1874 the latter decided to switch from the book to the art trade. His business was based on Zuidblaak, first at number 16, later at number 84. In late 1888 Oldenzeel moved to handsome premises at 74 Leuvehaven.⁵ Here, in the spring and autumn of 1892, he held two shows of Van Gogh's work, chosen from the collection administered by Jo van Gogh-Bonger (1862-1925) on behalf of her minor son Vincent Willem (1890-1978). These exhibitions made Oldenzeel the first dealer in Rotterdam to introduce art lovers to works from Van Gogh's Dutch and French periods.

The firm remained at this address for more than ten years, until 1899, when Margareta Wilhelmina Oldenzeel-Schot (1837-1912), who had assumed control of the busi-

3 See Bram Oosterwijk, ‘Vincent van Gogh en Rotterdam,’ Rotterdams Jaarboekje (1994), pp. 329-89.

4 The first part of his surname was never used.

5 The Hague, Gemeentearchief, OV 2 Personalia/Schildersbrieven, letter from C.S.J. Oldenzeel to A.C. Loffelt, 13 November 1888

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ness on the death of her husband in December 1896, was forced to move out. She found new premises on the Glashaven, which were refitted by the Rotterdam architect J.C. Meijers (fig. 1).⁶ In late February 1899 the gallery opened with an exhibition of paintings, drawings and graphic work by contemporary, mainly Dutch, artists. The press was enthusiastic about the new space. The Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad wrote on 27 February: ‘Today Mrs Oldenzeel opened a new art gallery at the establishment redesigned for her at no. 20 Glashaven [...]. In her new establishment Mrs Oldenzeel disposes of two, not excessively large galleries with good, even light. The rear gallery is lit from above.’ According to the reviewer in the Arnhemsche Courant of 4 March, the work was displayed to good effect against sober green wallpaper. Albert Plasschaert (1874-1941), who also visited the exhibition, noticed the floor of the galleries, which was of pine painted a bluish, light green.⁷ Although Mrs Oldenzeel regularly introduced visitors to the work of young artists (Charles Gruppe, Willy Sluyter, Ferdinand Hart Nibbrig), she also routinely displayed pictures by painters of the Hague School. In 1903 the gallery had a conspicuously full programme, comprising no less than nine separate shows, including the three of Van Gogh's works.

In 1904 Oldenzeel held another Van Gogh show, from 10 November to 15 December. Once again, previously unknown pieces from the artist's Dutch period were on display, alongside unsold work from the 1903 shows. Among the pictures not for sale were some ten paintings from Van Gogh's French period, loaned by private collectors. De la Faille was the first to identify the works at this exhibition. The results of his research were published in his 1970 catalogue of Van Gogh's oeuvre. For this reason the present article does not include a discussion of the 1904 show.⁸

Between 1892 and 1906 the gallery held eight exhibitions entirely dedicated to the work of Van Gogh. In May 1907 Mrs Oldenzeel sold the business and moved to Apeldoorn. Her successor, J.B. Harmeyer, did not organise any further Van Gogh shows.

No archives of the Oldenzeel firm appear to have survived. In order to reconstruct the 1903 exhibitions, therefore, I was compelled to rely on reviews published in national and regional newspapers and journals of the period, which regularly supplied relevant information. The works themselves could also provide evidence of an ‘Oldenzeel’ connection, as pieces handled by the firm often have the following characteristics: the canvas or paper has been attached to panel or card (Oldenzeel took this measure in order to conserve works that had suffered the effects of long-term storage);⁹ a thin red strip of paper is affixed to the edges of the works;¹⁰ and there is an Oldenzeel label on the back (fig. 2).¹¹

6 Although no picture of the Oldenzeel premises around 1900 was found in the photograph collection of the Gemeentearchief in Rotterdam, it did contain several views of the Glashaven in this period.

7 Pencil note by Plasschaert in the exhibition catalogue (The Hague, Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie [RKD]).

8 See J.-B. de la Faille, The works of Vincent van Gogh: his paintings and drawings, Amsterdam 1970 The Dutch works at the exhibition (nos. 1-61) are included in the concordance to this article.

9 Many years later the damage caused during storage was still sometimes apparent. One example of this is the painting Potato planting (F 41 JH 513); the illustration in exhib. cat Van Gogh in Brabant, 's-Hertogenbosch (Noordbrabants Museum) 1987-88, no. 24, clearly shows the consequences of the canvas having been folded for many years.

10 Louis van Tilborgh and Marije Vellekoop, Vincent van Gogh: paintings. Vol. 1: Dutch period, 1881-1885, Amsterdam, Blaricum & London 1999, p. 108.

11 In several instances I also encountered small, serrated-edged labels marked with a number. These proved to be catalogue numbers for the November exhibition.

The studio in Nuenen

The history of Van Gogh's ‘abandoned studio’ is no longer entirely unknown. In 1904/05 Jo Cohen Gosschalk-Bonger¹² instructed lawyers to conduct an investigation into the affair. 1926 saw the publication of the Stokvis book, containing recollections by the relevant individuals. However, information concerning ownership and biographical data still remained incomplete or lacking. I have endeavoured to fill these hiatuses in order to obtain a clearer picture of what actually happened to the studio and its contents.

In late November 1885 Van Gogh decided to move to Antwerp. Here he hoped he would be able to work in peace, free of the sorts of pressures he had experienced in Nuenen, where pastor Andreas Pauwels¹³ had made it virtually impossible for him to find models. Although his intention

12 Jo van Gogh-Bonger had remarried in 1901. Her second husband was Johan Cohen Gosschalk (1873-1912).

13 See Ton de Brouwer, Van Gogh en Nuenen, Venlo 1984, p. 96.

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fig. 2
Oldenzeel label (8.5 × 6.2 cm) on the back of F 14 JH 1193

was to spend several months in Antwerp and then to return to Nuenen, things turned out differently: in February 1886 the artist moved to Paris instead of returning to Brabant.

Before leaving for Antwerp Van Gogh had lived and worked in the house of sexton Johannes Leonardus Schafrat (1847-1924) and his wife Adriana Schafrat-van Eerd (1853-1930).¹⁴ As Adriana Schafrat informed Stokvis, Van Gogh had intended to stay away for just a few weeks, which explained why he left everything behind, including his stock of work and household effects.¹⁵

In March 1886 Vincent's mother, Anna Cornelia Carbentus (1819-1907), and his sister Willemina (Wil) Jacoba (1862-1941) moved to Breda. The work from Van Gogh's studio was packed into crates and deposited with a Breda carpenter called Schrauwen. This must have been Adrianus Schrauwen (1834-1920), who lived at 87 Ginnekenstraat.¹⁶ When Anna Cornelia and Wil then moved to Leiden in November 1889, the crates were left behind and soon forgotten.¹⁷ In late June 1888 Van Gogh had actually written to his sister from Arles, asking her if she could salvage something of his ‘rommel’ (‘junk’), which, ‘according to Theo, was still somewhere in an attic in Breda’ [633/W4]. It is not known if Wil responded to this request, for Van Gogh does not mention the matter again in his subsequent letters.

When, after years in obscurity, Oldenzeel began to exhibit the unknown collection of work in 1903, Jo took immediate action. She asserted that the pieces belonged to her son Vincent, as he was the sole heir of her deceased first husband, Theo van Gogh. She questioned Vincent's mother about the matter, but the old lady could no longer remember the events precisely.¹⁸ The first person who could shed any light on the matter was Cornelia (‘Kee’) Adriana Vos-Stricker (1846-1918), one of Vincent and Theo's cousins. In early June 1903 she wrote to Jo that her mother, Willemina Catharina Gerardina Stricker-Carbentus (1816-1904), Van Gogh's mother's sister, remembered the crates having been deposited with a carpenter.¹⁹

Although Schrauwen was then eventually traced, Jo regarded the information he provided as suspect. It was at this point that she instructed J.M. Jolles, a lawyer with practices in Amsterdam and Bussum, to investigate the matter further. Jolles in turn requested the assistance of a Breda-based colleague, F.E. Pels Rycken.²⁰

Correspondence between the lawyers reveals that Schrauwen had made questionable statements regarding the number and nature of the items that had been deposit-

14 Ton de Brouwer informed me of these dates of birth and death

15 Stokvis, op. cit (note 1), pp. 28-29.

16 Biographical data on Schrauwen, whom Stokvis incorrectly called Schrauer, was gleaned from the registers of births, marriages and deaths, and the directories of the Breda and Zevenbergen local authorities. Use of these sources will not be cited any further in what follows

17 J. van Gogh-Bonger, ‘Inleiding (December 1913)’ in De brieven van Vincent van Gogh, ed. Han van Crimpen and Monique Berends-Albert, 4 vols., The Hague 1990, vol. 1, p. 23. According to Stokvis, however, op cit. (note 1), pp 3-4, woodworm had been found, which was why the work was left in Breda.

18 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vincent van Gogh Foundation, A. van Gogh-Carbentus to Jo Cohen Gosschalk-Bonger, c. 1903, b 1113 V/1962.

19 Ibid., Cornelia Vos to Jo Cohen Gosschalk-Bonger, 8 June 1903, b 2580 V/1982.

20 Ibid., J.M Jolles to F E. Pels Rycken, 1 September 1904, b 1560 V/1962

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ed with him. He spoke of a ‘mess of ironwork, paper, etc., including possibly several drawings,’ which he had sold in 1902 to a man he called Goeverneur (= Couvreur).²¹ However, it proved impossible to obtain a clear picture of these transactions, as Schrauwen's memory often failed him. Pels Rycken and Schrauwen eventually agreed that the latter would pay the Van Gogh family what he had received for the sale of the works. Schrauwen claimed this entailed only eight paintings, sold for a total of 128 guilders, as he had allowed Johannis Cornelis Couvreur to remove the items in the attic for nothing. However, when the moment arrived to pay up, Schrauwen's son, Adrianus Wilhelmus (1871-1943),²² declared that at least for the time being he was in no position to honour his commitment.²³ In early June 1905 Jolles informed Johan Cohen Gosschalk that Schrauwen Jr would receive regular reminders to pay the agreed sum. Reading between the lines, however, it is evident that he was far from confident that the latter would meet his obligations.²⁴

When the lawyer made inquiries of the following owner, J.C. Couvreur, he was informed that - according to Couvreur's own records - the furniture dealer had purchased more than 40 works, including watercolours, for one guilder apiece, on 14 August 1902.²⁵ Years later, however, Couvreur told Stokvis a very different story: he claimed that, together with his brother, Johannes Marinus, he had acquired 60 stretched paintings, 150 loose canvases, 80 pen drawings and 100 to 200 crayon drawings.²⁶ These works then came into the possession of a certain Kees Mouwen (1853-1913/14),²⁷ who ran a gala clothing and military uniform shop at 22 Lange Brugstraat in Breda (fig. 3).

Mouwen wished to dispose of his collection of Van Goghs. Since there were no sales opportunities in Breda, he turned to Oldenzeel in Rotterdam. The art critic Hendrikus

fig. 3
Advertisement for C. Mouwen & Zoon in the directory of 1900 (p. 214), Breda, Stadsarchief

Petrus Bremmer (1871-1956) was probably responsible for making the contact, as can be inferred from a note by Bremmer's wife: ‘In 1903 a resident of Breda came to B. to ask his advice as to how he could sell off a large collection of paintings by Van Gogh, which he had bought for a trifle when, many years ago, these had been peddled around that city, and which he had then put in his attic. B. advised him to exhibit them for sale at the Oldenzeel gallery in Rotterdam. That exhibition gave B. a further opportunity to point out Van Gogh's art to his pupils.’²⁸ It thus came about that Oldenzeel was the first art dealer to display these previously unknown works.

In 1904 Mouwen put a portion of the unsold work up for auction at Frederik Muller in Amsterdam. The sale, which took place on 3 May, proved a great disappointment for him: of the 41 works included only 11 were sold; the total net profit was a mere 450 guilders.²⁹ The lawyer Jolles

21 Although Schrauwen had never been the lawful owner of the works, he had acted as such when he began to sell them. ‘Goeverneur’ must be a distortion of Couvreur. The brothers Johannis Cornelis (1876-1961) and Johannes Marinus (1882-1961) Couvreur were dealers in old furniture in Breda; see Stokvis, op. cit. (note 1), pp. 4-8.

22 As well as a carpenter, Schrauwen Jr was also a purveyor of spirits, with premises at 24 St Janstraat, Breda. He had taken over the company from his father in 1905.

23 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vincent van Gogh Foundation, F. E Pels Rycken to J.M. Jolles, 14 April 1905, b 1560 V/1962

24 Ibid., J.M. Jolles to Johan Cohen Gosschalk, 6 June 1905, b 1559 V/1962.

25 Ibid., J.M. Jolles to F.E. Pels Rycken, 1 September 1904, b 1560 V/1962.

26 Stokvis, op. cit. (note 1), p. 7.

27 According to the death certificate, Cornelis Hendrikus Wilhelmus Mouwen was found dead in Ophoven on 10 January 1914 (Kinrooi, Belgium, Gemeentearchief). However, an obituary notice drawn up by his daughter gives the date of death as 28 November 1913 (The Hague, Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie [CBG]).

28 The Hague, Gemeentearchief, Aleida Bremmer-Beekhuis, ‘Dienaar der kunst’ (written between 1937-41), Bremmer archive, inv. no. 6-9. There is also a copy of this manuscript in The Hague, RKD, Bremmer archive.

29 There is an annotated catalogue in the collection of the RKD, The Hague (Lugt no 62240). The works at the auction are included in the concordance to this article.

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commented on the sale: ‘He had to withdraw everything, apart from 11 pieces. Net proceeds 450 guilders. Everything belonged to Kees Mouwen, Willem gets percentages!’³⁰

This text reveals that Mouwen was not acting on his own; in fact, he was working hand in glove with the career soldier Willem van Bakel (1866-?),³¹ who had settled in Breda in 1902 after serving in the Dutch East Indies from 1896-1901. Van Bakel had been given a post at the Koninklijke Militaire Academie (Royal Military Academy) for the training of cadets; on 2 March 1904 he received an honourable discharge at his own request. A month later he left again for the Dutch East Indies, after which point he disappeared from sight. He may have returned to the Netherlands on leave in 1919.³²

In all probability, Van Bakel and Mouwen knew each other through their families. From the age of two, Willem van Bakel had resided in the house of his uncle Petrus Wilhelmus Egers (1822-1896), a Utrecht broker, and his aunt Engelina van der Putten (1822-1879), a sister of his mother, Johanna van der Putten (1834-1909). Following Engelina's death in 1879, Egers remarried a year later. His new wife was Louise de Penasse (1840-1911), an aunt of Kees Mouwen's wife, Johanna Ots (1877-1905).

It is difficult to determine precisely in what way Van Bakel and Mouwen collaborated. Jolles's letter of 6 June 1905, quoted above, mentions ‘percentages’ of the auction proceeds going to Van Bakel, which appears to suggest a role as an intermediary. However, other sources explicitly describe Van Bakel as owner, at least of some works.³³ Van Bakel himself acted as such in a letter to a certain H.D. Pierson of Scheveningen, dated 13 January 1904, in which he talked of ‘my Van Gogh collection.’³⁴ If we assume that Van Bakel was indeed an owner - in my opinion the most likely supposition - the question remains of whether there was a single collection owned by two individuals or two collections with different provenances.

The latter possibility is also suggested in a letter written by Louisa Daeter-Egers (1884-1971), daughter of Van Bakel's uncle Petrus Wilhelmus Egers and his second wife Louise de Penasse. In 1953, i.e. 50 years after the event, she set down the following story concerning the provenance of the Van Bakel works.³⁵ She claimed that her father had owned a crate containing at least 80 Van Gogh works; in the days following his death (Oirschot, 1 May 1896), she alleged, his foster son took possession of the crate, which he then had taken to Breda. Here Daeter's story ends. In 1905 Jolles had heard a similar tale from Louise Egers-De Penasse, although he never managed to clarify the true facts of the case. Remarkably, he makes no mention of an unlawful appropriation of works by Van Bakel.³⁶ Assuming there is a foundation of truth to the story, some of the works exhibited for sale at the Oldenzeel gallery may not have come from Schrauwen and Couvreur, and thus not have originated in Van Gogh's abandoned studio.

Daeter's story implies that some 80 works by Van Gogh had come into Eger's hands before 1 May 1896, the date of his death. The existence of such a substantial collection of unknown Dutch works, alongside the contents of the Nuenen studio and the pieces owned by the Van Gogh family, is extremely problematic. Doubts are reinforced by the total lack of evidence as to how these pictures came into the possession of the Utrecht broker in the first place. Given the current state of research, the existence of a separate collection of works deriving from the Egers family does not seem very likely.³⁷

30 See note 24.

31 His date of death could not be discovered.

32 An advertisement of 23 April 1919 (The Hague, CBG) announces that the administrator of the Tandjong Garboes company, a certain Willem van Bakel, had gone to Europe on leave. Could this be ‘our’ Willem van Bakel?

33 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vincent van Gogh Foundation, T van Iterson to Jo Cohen Gosschalk-Bonger, 13 February 1903, b 1556 V/1962. This statement concerning ownership was corroborated by Hermanus Gijsbertus Tersteeg (1845-1927), director of The Hague branch of the Goupil galleries in a letter to Jo of 28 February 1903 (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vincent van Gogh Foundation, b 4148 V/1984)

34 The letter is incorrectly dated 13 January 1903; photograph of the letter in The Hague, RKD (added to the photo of SP 1667 JH 629).

35 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vincent van Gogh Foundation, L. Daeter-Egers to V.W van Gogh, 3 March 1953 (unnumbered) Louis van Tilborgh (Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam) was kind enough to draw my attention to the existence of this letter

36 See note 24.

37 Inquiries made of the Daeter family about letters regarding these questions have produced no results P. Daeter of Maassluis was kind enough to establish contact with the family.

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The Oldenzeel exhibition of January-February 1903

On Saturday, 3 January 1903 (fig. 4) an exhibition of hitherto unknown work by Vincent van Gogh was opened in the rear gallery of Oldenzeel's premises (Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant, 3 January). Many of the pieces were apparently the property of Willem van Bakel.³⁸ According to the reviewer D.B. (= Julius de Boer), writing in the Kroniek of 17 January, around 40 works were on display. On 20 January the Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad reported that the exhibition comprised 45 pieces. Although lack of an exhibition list or catalogue makes it impossible to determine the precise number of works in the show, there must have been around 50 in total.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day for more than a month, visitors could view paintings and drawings from Van Gogh's Dutch period, ranging from still lifes and interiors with weavers to portrait heads and landscapes. In the Kroniek of 7 February the critic Albert Plasschaert noted that there were many ‘surprises,’ meaning that no one should think they already knew Van Gogh's work. Plasschaert saw a correspondence between Van Gogh and Millet, for both artists were greatly interested in depicting the working man or woman, and the toiling labourer. But there were also differences: Millet's work emanated a ‘classic calm’ while Van Gogh's manifested ‘drama’ and ‘turbulence.’

R. Jacobsen's review in the journal Onze Kunst discussed various works at length. Jacobsen also considered Van Gogh's technique, which, he wrote, varied ‘from admirable skill to childlike ineptitude.’ He illustrated his opinions by comparing ‘Stilleven van kool en klompen’ (Still life with cabbage and clogs, F 1 JH 81) and ‘Visscherskarikaturen’ (Caricatures of fishermen, F 5 JH 188 and F 6 JH 189). At the end of his review, however, Jacobsen tempered his criticism somewhat, declaring that although a work might seem clumsy, this was a deliberate choice on Van Gogh's part, with the artist endeavouring to render the characteristic aspect of an action, which sometimes produced a caricature-style effect.³⁹

Around 20 January, when the exhibition had been open for more than two weeks, the collection was re-hung, resulting in an adjustment to the numbering in some instances (Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant, 25 January).⁴⁰

fig. 4
Announcement of the Van Gogh exhibition at the Oldenzeel gallery, Het Vaderland, 11/12 January 1903, The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek

In several discussions of the exhibition reviewers mentioned the prices Oldenzeel was asking for the works. ‘The grapes are sour for gentlemen art buffs! Now they have gradually started to realise that purchasing a work by Vincent van Gogh would not be such a poor investment, the owners are asking prices, prices!’ (Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant, 11 January). Although no sums were actually given, an indication of the prices can be found in a recent publication on the Gerlach Ribbius Peletier collection.⁴¹ In 1903 and 1904 Ribbius Peletier bought seven paintings at the Oldenzeel gallery from Van Gogh's Hague and Nuenen periods. The prices the collector noted in his account book range from 500 guilders for the head of a peasant woman to 700 for landscapes. A decided anomaly was ‘Zeetje’ (Seascape at Scheveningen, F 4 JH 187), for which he paid 2,500 guilders.⁴²

When the exhibition closed on 5 February, 17 works had been sold.⁴³

38 Tersteeg (see note 33). Tersteeg had seen several drawings at the exhibition that his company had framed for Van Bakel.

39 R. Jacobsen, ‘Kunstzaal Oldenzeel. Vincent van Gogh, maand januari,’ Onze Kunst (1903), I, pp. 114-16.

40 The numbers given in the lists below have been derived from these reviews.

41 Louis van Tilborgh and Marije Vellekoop, ‘Van Gogh in Utrecht: the collection of Gerlach Ribbius Peletier (1856-1930),’ Van Gogh Museum Journal (1997-98), pp. 26-41

42 Oldenzeel had originally set the price at 5,000 guilders, but Ribbius Peletier thought this was out of line with those asked for the other works, see Van Tilborgh and Vellekoop, op cit (note 41), p. 31

43 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vincent van Gogh Foundation, H.P Bremmer to Jo Cohen Gosschalk-Bonger, before 1 April 1903, b 1557 V/1962 Bremmer also mentions that two paintings at the exhibition came from ‘Versteeg’ (i.e. Tersteeg). According to De la Faille, Tersteeg owned F 910a (since 1882) and F 397 (French period), but this begs the question of whether Bremmer's assertion was correct. For the exhibition's closing date see Van Tilborgh and Vellekoop, op. cit. (note 41), p 30, note 22.

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Reconstruction of the exhibition held from 3 January to 5 February 1903 See pp 113-14.

The exhibition held in May 1903

In May 1903 Oldenzeel organised another, smaller, presentation of Van Gogh works in the front gallery of her premises.⁴⁴ Alongside the nine paintings and a single drawing she also exhibited works by other artists, such as Paul Gabriel, Willem Roelofs, Theo van Hoytema and Willem Tholen.

R.J. Jacobsen devoted several columns in Onze Kunst to the exhibition, whose works were drawn, for the second time that year, from Oldenzeel's ‘secret storeroom.’⁴⁵ Jacobsen was particularly struck by the landscapes, which he described as ‘specimens of sensitive lyrical landscape art.’ The reviewer in the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant of 31 May was also full of praise for the works on display.

Although no list of the works presented has been preserved, these reviews have made it possible to identify most of the works.

Reconstruction of the exhibition held in May 1903 See p. 114

44 The exhibition's opening and closing dates could not be ascertained. However, it is likely that the show was held during the second half of May (see Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant, 31 May 1903).

45 See Onze Kunst (1903), II, p 60

The exhibition held in November- December 1903

In late 1903 Oldenzeel held the third, and largest, exhibition of work from Van Gogh's Dutch period. From 1 November visitors could view around a 100 pieces; the drawings were displayed in the front gallery, while the rear was reserved for the paintings. Having been prolonged, the exhibition finally closed on 13 December.⁴⁶

The exhibition received a great deal of attention in the national press. Articles in the Wereldkroniek by N.H. Wolf on 7, 14 and 21 November played a major role in promoting the show.⁴⁷ Wolf even claimed that the exhibition might be the event of the year, declaring that the time had come for Van Gogh's art to sell, and also for interest to be shown from abroad. The critic's predictions proved correct, as pictures were sold from the very outset. He described the new owner of a still life with ‘blue porcelain pot’ (probably F 52 JH 535) as a ‘happy’ man. In his final review, Wolf was able to report that the exhibition was continuing successfully; many art lovers having seized the opportunity to view Van Gogh's work in Rotterdam. The Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant reviewer also offered his opinion of the show in three articles (8, 15 and 22 November), declaring that the visitor could now see the rest of the ‘mysterious’ Breda collection, for which the two galleries were actually too small.

It would be interesting to know how Oldenzeel arranged the works in the two rooms. Were they hung according to theme, period or size? Unfortunately, we do not know. The only person to touch upon this subject was the critic for the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant (22 November), who mentions three paintings of considerable size: ‘Watermill’ (no. 48, F 125 JH 525), ‘Potato planters’ (no. 52, F 41 JH 513) and ‘Shepherd’ (no. 45, F 42 JH 517), all hung together. He felt the ‘Shepherd’ was painted very woodenly in comparison with the other two works.

The paintings were displayed in black frames (Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad, 16 November). One painting still fitted with its exhibition frame is Avenue of poplars in Nuenen (F 45 JH 959), which was purchased in 1903 for the permanent collection of the Museum Boymans in Rotterdam. It is remarkable, but in fact this simple frame shows the work to its best advantage, allowing viewers to focus all their attention on the painting itself.

Wolf's enthusiasm for Van Gogh's work was shared by Albert Plasschaert, although the latter was also irritated that interest in the artist only now seemed to be developing

46 Announced in Algemeen Handelsblad, 28 November.

47 The same series of articles was published in the Zondagsblad v/h. Dagblad v. Zuid-Holland en 's Gravenhage on 8, 15 and 22 November.

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figs. 5a, b and c
List of works exhibited at the Oldenzeel gallery in November 1903, Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum

(Kroniek, 7 November). He felt this was merely an ‘affected’ enthusiasm, stirred up by ‘a teacher’ who was leading the ‘herds,’ as people did not truly appreciate Van Gogh's art.⁴⁸ Plasschaert employed terms such as ‘grand’ and ‘extraordinarily real’ to characterise the collection, claiming that few artists could evoke such feelings through their art.⁴⁹

Alongside discussions in newspapers and periodicals, an extremely important document, published here for the first time, provided a source for reconstructing the exhibition: Oldenzeel's own record of the works on display, which gives their title and supplies them with a number. The Van Gogh Museum acquired this ‘catalogue’ from the estate of Albert Plasschaert (figs. 5a, b and c).⁵⁰ The list records 64 paintings and 36 drawings and watercolours. It also bears annotations by Plasschaert, who made notes to several catalogue numbers and a sketch near one entry during a visit to the exhibition. These aides memoire have proved extremely valuable, making it possible in more than one instance to identify works with a reasonable degree of certainty.

Reconstruction of the exhibition held from 1 November to 13 December 1903 See pp. 114-18.

48 The reference is to the influential H.P. Bremmer, who gave courses in art history. See Hildelies Balk, ‘De freule, de professor, de koopman en zijn vrouw: het publiek van H P Bremmer,’ Jong Holland 9 (1993), no. 2, pp. 4-24

49 See Onze Kunst (1903), II, pp. 173-75

50 Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vincent van Gogh Foundation, b 3035 V/1983.

[p. 113]

Reconstruction of the exhibition held from 3 January to 5 February 1903^*

No. 1 Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul - Sources - Comments -

No. 2, 37 Faille 1928/1970 - / 48a Op de Coul 48a Sources^51 AH 5 January; NRC 11 January; OK, I, p. 115 Comments In AH as no. 37

No. 3, 38 Faille 1928/1970 39 / 39 Op de Coul 39 Sources AH 5 January; NRC 11 January; Kr 17 January, p. 20 and 7 February, p. 46; RN 20 January, OK, I, p. 115; MK, no. 4, item 26 (with reproduction) Comments In AH as no. 38

No. 4 Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 144 Sources NRC 25 January Comments See Van Tilborgh and Vellekoop, op. cit. (note 41), p. 36

No. 5 Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Sources NRC 25 January Comments Painting entitled Head: ‘weight of dark colours’

No. 6 Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Sources NRC 25 January Comments Painting entitled Head: ‘weight of dark colours’

No. 7 Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul - Sources - Comments -

No. 8 Faille 1928/1970 - / 58 Op de Coul 58 Sources OK, I, p. 116 Comments -

No. 9 Faille 1928/1970 197 / 197 Op de Coul 197 Sources NRC 11 January and 25 January; Va 16 January; RN 20 January, Kr 7 February, p 46; MK, no. 4, item 29 (with reproduction) Comments -

No. 10 Faille 1928/1970 - Op de Coul - Sources - Comments -

No. 11, 28 Faille 1928/1970 1 / 1 Op de Coul 1 Sources AH 5 January; NRC 11 January; OK, I, p. 115; MK, no. 4, item 27 (with reproduction) Comments In AH as no. 28

No. 12[a] Faille 1928/1970 - / 62 Op de Coul 62 Sources NRC 25 January Comments In NRC as no 12 No. 12[b] Faille 1928/1970 - / 943 Op de Coul 943 Sources AH 5 January, Kr 7 February, p 46; OK, I, pp. 115-16 Comments In AH as no 12

No. 13 Faille 1928/1970 - / 19 Op de Coul 96 Sources OK, I, p. 115 Comments Identification according to Van Tilborgh and Vellekoop, op. cit. (note 10), p 52, note 11. Incorrect identification in De la Faille 1970

No. 14 Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul - Sources - Comments -

No. 15 Faille 1928/1970 - Op de Coul - Sources - Comments -

No. 16 Faille 1928/1970 - Op de Coul - Sources - Comments -

No. 17, 18, 34 Faille 1928/1970 4 / 2 Op de Coul 4 Sources AH 5 January; NRC 11 January and 25 January; Kr 17 January, p. 19 and 7 February, p. 46; RN 20 January; OK, I, p. 116; MK, no. 4, item 31 (with reproduction) Comments In AH as no. 34; in OK as no. 18

No. 18, 17 Faille 1928/1970 - / 4 Op de Coul 2 Sources NRC 11 January; RN 20 January; OK, I, p. 116; MK, no. 4, item 30 (with reproduction) Comments In OK as no 17

No. 19 Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Sources NRC 25 January Comments Painting entitled Head ‘eyes protruding from the face like nails’

No. 20 Faille 1928/1970 - Op de Coul - Sources - Comments -

No. 21 Faille 1928/1970 - Op de Coul - Sources - Comments -

No. 22 Faille 1928/1970 - Op de Coul - Sources - Comments -

No. 23 Faille 1928/1970 - Op de Coul - Sources - Comments -

No. 24, 35 Faille 1928/1970 37 / 37 Op de Coul 37 Sources AH 5 January, Kr 17 January, p. 20 and 7 February, p. 46, RN 20 January; NRC 25 January; MK, no. 4, item 32 (with reproduction) Comments In AH as no. 35

No. 25 Faille 1928/1970 - Op de Coul - Sources - Comments -

No. 26 Faille 1928/1970 184 / 184 Op de Coul 184 Sources NRC 11 January, RN 20 January; OK, I, p 115; MK, no 4, item 28 (with reproduction) Comments -

No. 27 Faille 1928/1970 - Op de Coul - Sources - Comments -

No. 28, 11 Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 1 Sources AH 5 January Comments See no. 11

No. 29 Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Sources AH 5 January Comments Painting: ‘head of a woman’

No. 30 Faille 1928/1970 98 / 98 Op de Coul 98 Sources OK, I, p. 115; MK, no. 4, item 25 (with reproduction) Comments -

No. 31 Faille 1928/1970 - / 1087 Op de Coul 1087 Sources RN 20 January Comments -

No. 32 Faille 1928/1970 - Op de Coul - Sources - Comments -

No. 33 Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Sources AH 5 January Comments Painting entitled Head of a woman: ‘delicious green of the cap’

No. 34, 17, 18 Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 4 Sources AH 5 January Comments See nos. 17 and 18

No. 35, 24 Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 37 Sources AH 5 January Comments See no 24

No. 36 Faille 1928/1970 - Op de Coul - Sources - Comments -

No. 37, 2 Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 48a Sources AH 5 January Comments See no. 2

No. 38, 3 Faille 1928/1970 - / -

* Journals and newspapers consulted: Algemeen Handelsblad (AH); Boon's geïllustreerd magazijn; De Controleur; Dagblad van Zuid-Holland en 's Gravenhage (DZ-H); Dietsche Warande; Eigen Haard; Elsevier's geïllustreerd Maandschrift; De Gids; Haagsche Courant; De Kroniek (Kr); De Maasbode; Moderne Kunstwerken (MK); De Nederlandsche Spectator; De nieuwe Gids; Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant (NRC); Nieuws van den Dag; Onze Kunst (OK); Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad (RN); Rotterdamsche Courant; De Telegraaf, Tijdschrift voor Kunst & Letteren; Het Vaderland (Va); Weekblad de Amsterdammer; Wereldkroniek (Wk)

51 All sources date from 1903.

[p. 114]

Op de Coul 39 Sources AH 5 January Comments See no. 3

No. 39 Faille 1928/1970 - Op de Coul - Sources - Comments -

No. 40 Faille 1928/1970 - / 1002 Op de Coul 1002 Sources RN 20 January; OK, I, p. 115; MK, no. 8, item 59 (with reproduction) Comments -

No. 41 Faille 1928/1970 - / 5 Op de Coul 5 Sources AH 5 January; OK, I, p. 115 Comments -

No. 42 Faille 1928/1970 - / 6 Op de Coul 6 Sources AH 5 January; OK, I, p. 115 Comments -

No. 43 Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Sources RN 20 January Comments Painting entitled Weaver; ‘unfortunate little man bent crooked by work’

No. 44 Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Sources NRC 11 January Comments Painting entitled Head of a woman: ‘those staring eyes, the entire tragic-coarse composition of that head’

No. - Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 64 Sources NRC 11 January Comments Painting: ‘ink bottle, a darning shell, and more of the like’

No. - Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 93 Sources Kr 17 January, p. 20 Comments Painting: ‘Evening, a farmyard at sunset’

No. - Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 110 (?) Sources NRC 11 and 25 January Comments Painting: ‘Bird's nests against a dark background’ (NRC 11 January)

No. - Faille 1928/1970 146 / 146 Op de Coul? Sources - Comments In De la Faille 1928 an incorrect reference to MK, no. 4, item 30

No. - Faille 1928/1970 - / 188 Op de Coul? Sources - Comments The attribution in De la Faille 1970, based on OK, I, p. 115, is incorrect

No. - Faille 1928/1970 - / 190 Op de Coul 190 Sources OK, I, p. 115 Comments -

No. - Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 200 Sources Kr 17 January, p. 20 Comments Painting: ‘flowers and leaves in a jug’

No. - Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 852 Sources MK, no. 12, item 94 (with reproduction) Comments De la Faille 1928 and 1970 mention no month of exhibition. The month (January) is found in the table of contents in MK 1903, not in no. 12

No. - Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 1299 (?) Sources NRC 11 January Comments Drawing: ‘two people digging’

As yet unidentified works

Sources Kr 17 January, p. 20 Comments Painting: ‘Brabant woman’

Sources RN 20 January Comments Drawing/watercolour (probably): ‘Views of the Schenkweg’ and ‘Houses near the Schenkweg’

Sources Kr 7 February Comments Painting: ‘Shoes’

Sources OK, I, pp. 114-16 Comments Painting: ‘Westland peasant cottage’ Painting: ‘Brabant women’ Painting: ‘Weavers at their loom’ Painting: ‘Peasant woman’

Reconstruction of the exhibition held in May 1903⁵²

Faille 1970 - Op de Coul 8a Sources^53 NRC 31 May Comments Painting: ‘a woodland view’

Faille 1970 40 Op de Coul 40 Sources NRC 31 May; OK, II, p. 60 Comments -

Faille 1970 55 Op de Coul 55 Sources OK, II, p. 60 Comments -

Faille 1970 - Op de Coul 72 or 73 Sources NRC 31 May; OK, II, p. 60 Comments Painting: ‘a woman, in her house, sitting as if congealed against the light from outside’ (NRC); an ‘admirable interior in terms of technique’ (OK)

Faille 1970 - Op de Coul pb 187 Sources NRC 31 May Comments Painting: ‘an agricultural labourer's house in green’

Faille 1970 - Op de Coul pb 196 Sources NRC 31 May Comments Painting: ‘an avenue with [a] gale in the trees’

Faille 1970 204 Op de Coul 204 Sources NRC 31 May; OK, II, p. 60 Comments -

As yet unidentified works

Sources NRC 31 May Comments A couple of painted sketches: ‘Salpétrière head of a woman’

Sources OK, II, p. 60 Comments Paintings: ‘a couple of masterly done peasant women, heads grandiose in [their] ugliness’

52 This exhibition is not mentioned in De la Faille 1928. Nor are any work numbers known.

53 All sources date from 1903.

Reconstruction of the exhibition held from 1 November to 13 December 1903

Paintings

No. 1 Title Peasant woman (interior at eventide) Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert blue-green interior Sources^54 - Comments -

No. 2 Title Peasant woman from Nuenen Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert - Sources NRC 22 November Comments ‘The vivacity in 2’

No. 3 Title Peasant woman (half-length) Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul pb 127 or 144a Plasschaert - Sources - Comments Based on provenance F 127 (JH 651) and F 144a (JH 704) are the most likely candidates. See also no. 11

No. 4 Title Willow tree Faille 1928/1970 195/10 and 195 Op de Coul 195 Plasschaert French, sky sultry, heavy in painting Sources NRC 22 November Comments Own observation: on the back is an

54 All sources date from 1903.

[p. 115]

Oldenzeel label and a reference to the November exhibition De la Faille 1970 incorrectly lists this work as F 10 and does not mention a catalogue number for F 195

No. 5 Title Peasant digging Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 166 Plasschaert - Sources - Comments Identification based on subject and provenance

No. 6 Title Peasant dwelling (interior) Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 78 (?) Plasschaert - Sources - Comments -

No. 7 Title Still life Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 54 Plasschaert - Sources Wk 14 November, p. 514 (ill.); DZ-H 15 November (ill.) Comments no. 34 is also possible

No. 8 Title Young peasant Faille 1928/1970 -/- Op de Coul? Plasschaert - Sources - Comments -

No. 9 Title Still life Faille 1928/1970 - / 63 Op de Coul 63 Plasschaert clogs, small bottle, small brown pot, canvas on canvas Sources Kr 14 November, p. 363; RN 16 November; NRC 22 November; OK, II, p. 174 Comments -

No. 10 Title Rocky landscape Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul pb 2a Plasschaert? Sources - Comments Perhaps misleading description in the Oldenzeel list

No. 11 Title Peasant woman (half-length) Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul pb 127 or 144a Plasschaert - Sources - Comments See comments on no. 3

No. 12 Title Weaver Faille 1928/1970 - / 29 or 162 Op de Coul 29 Plasschaert canvas, white walls, red carpet Sources Kr 7 November, p. 356; OK, II, p 174 Comments Based on the colour description F 29 (JH 471) is the only possible candidate

No. 13 Title Head of a woman (white neckerchief) Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert - Sources - Comments -

No. 14 Title Small head of a woman Faille 1928/1970 - / 133 and 153a Op de Coul 133 Plasschaert light green-blue ground Sources NRC 22 November Comments Based on the NRC description F 133 (JH 584) is the most likely candidate. F 153a (JH 586) is probably no. 24

No. 15 Title Women on the land Faille 1928/1970 - / 97 Op de Coul 97 Plasschaert potatoes Sources Wk 14 November, p 514 and 21 November, p. 533 (ill.); DZ-H 15 November and 22 November (ill.); NRC 22 November Comments Own observation in the photo archives of the Kröller-Müller Museum; on the back is an Oldenzeel label and a small label marked no. 15 (fig. 6)

No. 16 Title Peasant woman from Nuenen Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert - Sources NRC 22 November Comments ‘There is something fanatical in the eyes of the woman in no. 16’

No. 17 Title Peasant dwelling Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert - Sources - Comments Together with nos. 39 and 58 this is one of the works that definitely belonged to W. van Bakel^55

No. 18 Title Landscape with peasant dwelling Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 187 Plasschaert - Sources AH 7 November; RN 16 November; NRC 22 November; Kr 19 December, p. 404 Plasschaert - Sources - Comments ‘Landscape with peasant dwelling in twilight of gold and brown. Evening-darkened cloud above roof ridge and chimney’ (Kr)

No. 19 Title Small head of a woman Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert - Sources - Comments -

No. 20 Title Peasant at work Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert - Sources - Comments -

No. 21 Title Head of a woman, white cap Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert light-green dress, what a woman Sources - Comments -

fig. 6
Labels on the back of F 97 JH 876, Otterlo, Kröller-Müller Museum

No. 22 Title Head of a woman Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 134 Plasschaert red cap, green ground Sources - Comments Identification based on colour reproduction in Paolo Lecaldano, L'opera pittorica completa di Van Gogh, 2 vols., 2d ed., Milan 1977, vol. 1, plate IX

No. 23 Title Still life (jars and melons) Faille 1928/1970 - / 59 Op de Coul 59 Plasschaert ornamental pears Sources Kr 7 November, p. 356; Wk 14 November, p. 514 and 21 November, p. 533 (ill.); DZ-H 15 November and 22 November (ill.); RN 16 November; NRC 22 November; OK, II, p. 174 Comments -

No. 24 Title Peasant woman Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul pb 153a Plasschaert en profil [in profile] to the left Sources - Comments On back note relating to Oldenzeel December exhibition, Rotterdam (according to auction cat. Stuttgart [Kunstkabinett], 3 May 1962, lot 128)

No. 25 Title Girl in the woods Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 8a Plasschaert document: study Sources - Comments Identification based on description by Plasschaert

55 See note 34. The painting ‘Peasant dwelling’ represents a tumbledown sheepfold, as shown by a letter from Mrs J. Huët-Pierson to A. Tellegen-Hoogendoorn, 5 March 1965 (The Hague, RKD). The present location of the painting, which does not figure in De la Faille 1928 or 1970, is unknown

[p. 116]

No. 26 Title Landscape (light effect) Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 190 (?) Plasschaert - Sources - Comments -

No. 27 Title Still life (tobacco pouches and bottle) Faille 1928/1970 - / 55 Op de Coul 55 Plasschaert - Sources Wk 14 November, p. 514; DZ-H 15 November; RN 16 November Comments -

No. 28 Title Head of a woman Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert en face [front view], bluish-green dress, wearing cap Sources - Comments

No. 29 Title Brabant landscape Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert - Sources - Comments -

No. 30 Title Winter Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul SP 1666 Plasschaert 3 men on ice, left mill; sky yellow and then grey recalls that little church with those people on the road Sources Wk 21 November, p. 533 (ill.); DZ-H 22 November (ill.) Comments -

No. 31 Title Peasant woman, peeling potatoes Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 73 or 145 Plasschaert - Sources - Comments Identification based on subject and provenance. See also no. 51

No. 32 Title Peasant woman digging Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert planteuse de betteraves (woman planting beets) Sources - Comments -

No. 33 Title Landscape, gale in the trees Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 196 Plasschaert - Sources - Comments F 121 (JH 956) is mentioned as a candidate in Van Tilborgh and Vellekoop, op. cit. (note 41), p. 37. In my opinion this is incorrect (see No. 61)

No. 34 Title Still life Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 54 Plasschaert - Sources Wk 14 November, p. 514 (ill.); DZ-H 15 November (ill.) Comments Another possibility is no. 7

No. 35 Title Peasant dwelling Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert - Sources - Comments -

No. 36 Title Woman at toil Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 147 Plasschaert - Sources - Comments Own observation in Van Gogh Museum; Oldenzeel label on the back marked no. 36

No. 37 Title Woodland view Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 192 (?) Plasschaert - Sources - Comments -

No. 38 Title Bird's nests Faille 1928/1970 - / 110 Op de Coul 110 Plasschaert 3 nests, lowest with blue eggs emerging from the darkness Sources Kr 14 November, p. 363; RN 16 November; NRC 22 November; OK, II, p. 174 Comments -

No. 39 Title Peasant woman from Nuenen Faille 1928/1970 - / SP 1667 Op de Coul SP 1667 Plasschaert - Sources - Comments See comments on no. 17

No. 40 Title Peasant woman with broom Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 152 Plasschaert - Sources - Comments Identification based on subject

No. 41 Title Farm in Brabant Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert - Sources - Comments -

No. 42 Title Still life Faille 1928/1970 - / 52 Op de Coul 52 Plasschaert Jar, little vase with cochlear, coffee mill, pipe Sources Kr 7 November, p. 356; Wk 14 November, p. 514; DZ-H 15 November, NRC 22 November; OK, II, p. 174 Comments The white pot is an apothecary jar. Cochlear is cochlearia officinalis or scurvy grass, used to treat scurvy

No. 43 Title Watermill Faille 1928/1970 - / 46 Op de Coul 46 Plasschaert just the wheel Sources Kr 7 November, p. 356; NRC 22 November Comments -

No. 44 Title Landscape (small watermill) Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 48 Plasschaert wheel between two houses Sources - Comments F 48 (JH 527) and F 48a (JH 488) are possible but the former is small in size

No. 45 Title The shepherd Faille 1928/1970 - / 42 Op de Coul 42 Plasschaert the desolate earth Sources Wk 14 November, p. 514 (ill.); DZ-H 15 November (ill.); NRC 22 November Comments -

No. 46 Title Weaver (small) Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 35 Plasschaert - Sources Wk 7 November, p. 498 (ill.) and 14 November, p. 514; DZ-H 8 November (ill.) and 15 November Comments -

No. 47 Title Landscape with trees Faille 1928/1970 - / 31 Op de Coul 31 Plasschaert - Sources Wk 7 November, p. 498 (ill.); DZ-H 8 November (ill.); RN 16 November Comments -

No. 48 Title Watermill (large) Faille 1928/1970 - / 125 Op de Coul 125 Plasschaert watermill, long house, water in front, right greyish sky, woman left two men in boats Sources Kr 7 November, p. 356; Wk 7 November, p. 498 (ill.); DZ-H 8 November (ill.); RN 16 November; NRC 22 November; OK, II, pp. 174-5 Comments -

No. 49 Title Head of a woman Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert - Sources - Comments -

No. 50 Title Woman by the fire Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 158 Plasschaert - Sources - Comments Own observation in Musée d'Orsay, Paris: Oldenzeel label on back marked no. 50

No. 51 Title Peasant woman, peeling potatoes Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 73 or 145 Plasschaert - Sources - Comments See comments on no. 31

No. 52 Title Peasants on the land Faille 1928/1970 - / 41 or 9 Op de Coul 41 Plasschaert the peasants as heavy earth phantoms for an immense grandeur. Sky blue & cloud Sources AH 7 November; Kr 14 November, p. 363; NRC 22 November; OK, II, p. 174 Comments De la Faille 1970 refers to F 41 (JH 513) or F 9 (JH 385) in connection with this number; reviews, however, discuss F 41 (JH 513)

No. 53 Title Landscape

[p. 117]

Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 120 (?) Plasschaert - Sources AH 7 November Comments ‘That country road with the tragically high trees against the sky in motion’

No. 54 Title Head of a woman, widow Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 155 Plasschaert - Sources - Comments Shawl indicates mourning

No. 55 Title Ditch with bridge, at evening Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 189 Plasschaert - Sources - Comments Identification based on subject

No. 56 Title Weaver Faille 1928/1970 - / 30 Op de Coul 30 Plasschaert the frame of a handloom, gold/mat (?) ground, how the little lamp hangs Sources Kr 14 November, p 363; NRC 15 November, OK, II, p. 174 Comments -

No. 57 Title Weaver Faille 1928/1970 - / 35 Op de Coul 37 Plasschaert with house and tree through windowpanes Sources Kr 14 November, p 363; NRC 15 November Comments Plasschaert's note was the deciding factor: F 37 (JH 501), not F 35 (JH 478), was the work exhibited

No. 58 Title Young peasant woman Faille 1928/1970 - / SP 1668 Op de Coul SP 1668 Plasschaert - Sources NRC 22 November Comments Own observation Oldenzeel label on back marked no. 58. See comments on no. 17

No. 59 Title Weaver (half-length) Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 26 Plasschaert - Sources - Comments Identification based on addition to title of ‘half-length’

No. 60 Title Brabant cottage Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert - Sources - Comments -

No. 61 Title Landscape Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 121 Plasschaert - Sources RN 16 November Comments ‘Landscape with sunken road towards the gold-streaked sky’

No. 62 Title Peasant dwelling Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul pb 91 Plasschaert - Sources NRC 22 November Comments ‘The clarity and whiteness in that beautiful Brabant day-labourer's house’

No. 63 Title Peasant woman Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert - Sources RN 16 November; NRC 22 November Comments ‘The happily working peasant woman at the piece of linen that she stretches tightly over her knees’ (RN); ‘The colour in 63’ (NRC)

No. 64 Title Head of a woman Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert - Sources - Comments -

Drawings and watercolours

No. 65 Title Woman by the fire Faille 1928/1970 - / 1211 Op de Coul 1211 Plasschaert - Sources NRC 8 November Comments -

No. 66 Title Market Faille 1928/1970 - / 1091 Op de Coul 1091 Plasschaert - Sources NRC 8 November Comments -

No. 67 Title Landscape Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert - Sources - Comments -

No. 68 Title Three men Faille 1928/1970 - / 948 Op de Coul 948 Plasschaert - Sources NRC 8 November Comments -

No. 69 Title Woman praying Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 1179 Plasschaert - Sources - Comments F 1053 (JH 357) and F 1179 (JH 324) are possible candidates. Provenance makes the latter more likely

No. 70 Title Residents of Scheveningen on a bench Faille 1928/1970 - / 951 Op de Coul 951 Plasschaert reminiscent of 't Bezuidenhout Sources Kr 7 November, p. 356 Comments -

No. 71 Title View from Vincent's home Faille 1928/1970 - / 943 Op de Coul 943 Plasschaert long roof Sources Wk 21 November, p. 533; DZ-H 22 November Comments -

No. 72 Title In the church Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 967 Plasschaert - Sources NRC 8 November Comments Watercolour:

fig. 7
Cover of the Dagblad van Zuid-Holland en 's Gravenhage, 15/16 November 1903, The Hague, RKD

‘Woman with white cap in 72. One thinks with something like this of many a tame Dutch church scene!’

No. 73 Title Landscape, fields Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul pb 904 Plasschaert - Sources NRC 8 November Comments ‘Watercolour no 73, Fields under rainy sky’

No. 74 Title Landscape, sawn off trees Faille 1928/1970 - / 1095 Op de Coul 1095 Plasschaert - Sources NRC 8 November Comments -

No. 75 Title Peasant woman Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert - Sources NRC 8 November Comments Drawing. ‘Peasant woman seated’

No. 76 Title Landscape, meadow Faille 1928/1970 - / 916 Op de Coul 916 Plasschaert - Sources NRC 8 November Comments -

No. 77 Title Horse Faille 1928/1970 - / 1032 Op de Coul 1032 Plasschaert - Sources NRC 8 November Comments -

No. 78 Title Landscape Faille 1928/1970 - / 1104 Op de Coul 1104 Plasschaert - Sources NRC 8 November Comments -

[p. 118]

No. 79 Title Bible reader (fig. 7) Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul SD 1683 Plasschaert - Sources DZ-H 15 November (ill.); Wk 21 November, p. 533 Comments -

No. 80 Title Landscape with trees Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 1088 or Landscape, without Faille no.^56 Plasschaert - Sources NRC 8 November Comments Watercolour according to NRC

No. 81 Title Marshy landscape Faille 1928/1970 - / 846 Op de Coul 846 Plasschaert the violence of the sky made motionless Sources Kr 7 November, p. 356; NRC 8 November; RN 16 November Comments -

No. 82 Title Woman spinning Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert - Sources - Comments -

No. 83 Title Winter beach Faille 1928/1970 - / 982 Op de Coul 982 Plasschaert Mauve-like Sources Kr 14 November, p. 363 Comments -

No. 84 Title Orchard Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 902a Plasschaert - Sources - Comments Identification based on subject

No. 85 Title Portrait of Vincent's uncle or father Faille 1928/1970 - / 876 Op de Coul 876 Plasschaert portrait of family member en profil [in profile] Sources NRC 8 November; Wk 21 November, p. 533; DZ-H 22 November Comments Identified as portrait of Vincent's grandfather (1789-1874). See Sjraar van Heugten, Van Gogh Bulletin (1994), no. 2, pp. 12-13

No. 86 Title Portrait of an old woman Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert like the one owned by Bremmer Sources - Comments -

No. 87 Title Peasant boy and hands Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 1330 verso or drawing without Faille no. Plasschaert - Sources - Comments The drawing (without Faille no.) is reproduced in Sotheby's (London), 27 June 1984, lot 303

No. 88 Title Landscape at eventide Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul pb 1099 Plasschaert - Sources - Comments Identification after Sjraar van Heugten, Vincent van Gogh: drawings. Vol. I: the early years, 1880-1883, Amsterdam & Bussum 1996, p. 240

No. 89 Title Country road Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul? Plasschaert - Sources - Comments -

No. 90 Title Weaver with child Faille 1928/1970 - / 1119 Op de Coul 1119 Plasschaert - Sources Wk 14 November, p. 514 and 21 November, p. 533; DZ-H 15 November and 22 November Comments nos. 90 and 92 are watercolours. Candidates are F 1119 (JH 449) and SD 1688 (JH 482)

No. 91 Title Peat moor with bog Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 1101 (?) Plasschaert - Sources - Comments -

No. 92 Title Weaver, standing Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul SD 1688 Plasschaert - Sources - Comments See no. 90

No. 93 Title Little courtyard (sketch) Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul pb 944 Plasschaert - Sources NRC 8 November Comments Drawing: ‘Through the white patches and dripping gold, through the figure contours, The little Courtyard (93) recalls Rochussen’

No. 94 Title At the doctor Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul pb 909 Plasschaert - Sources NRC 8 November Comments Watercolour: ‘This gold veil also lies over At the Doctor (94)’

No. 95 Title Girl in the woods Faille 1928/1970 - / 949 Op de Coul 949 Plasschaert - Sources NRC 8 November Comments -

No. 96 Title Church with sheep Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 877 Plasschaert - Sources - Comments Own observation: on the back label marked no. 96

No. 97 Title Marsh with wheelbarrow Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 1100 Plasschaert - Sources - Comments Identification based on subject

No. 98 Title Cottage with wheelbarrow Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 1106 (?) Plasschaert - Sources - Comments -

No. 99 Title Autumn Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 1234 (?) Plasschaert - Sources NRC 22 November Comments Watercolour: ‘The Avenue no. 99 recalls piece that Boymans has’

No. 100 Title Donkey cart Faille 1928/1970 - / - Op de Coul 1079 recto Plasschaert - Sources - Comments -

As yet unidentified works

Sources OK, II, pp. 173-75 Comments Paintings: portraits

Sources NRC 8 November Comments Drawing or watercolour: loom (probably no. 90 or no. 92)

Sources Kr 14 November Comments Paintings: portraits of women; face of an old woman (perhaps no. 86)

Sources NRC 15 November Comments Painting: still life

Sources RN 16 November Comments Paintings: portraits

Sources Kr 19 December Comments Painting: weaver at loom

Sources Wk 14 and 21 November; DZ-H 15 and 22 November Comments Drawings: heads of women; Japanese pen drawing; painting: loom

56 The work (not in De la Faille 1928 or 1970) is reproduced in Johannes van de Wolk et al., exhib. cat. Vincent van Gogh: drawings, Otterlo (Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller) 1990, p. 124, no. 72.

[p. 119]

Concordance
	Jan/ Feb	May	Nov/ Dec	Auction Mouwen May	Nov/ Dec
F	1903	1903	1903	1904*	1904*
	Paintings
1	•
2	•
2a			•		•
4	•				•
5	•
6	•
8a		•	•	•
14					•
15					•
15a					•
16					•
18				•
20				•
21					•
24					•
26			•
27					•
29			•
30			•		•
31			•
33					•
35			•		•
37	•		•		•
39	•				•
40		•
41			•
42			•	•
43				•
46			•		•
48			•		•
48a	•			•
52			•
54			•	•
55		•	•
58	•
59			•
60					•
62	•
63			•		•
64	•				•
67					•
72		• (or 73)
73		• (or 72)	•	•	•
78			• (?)		•
90				•
91			• (pb)
93	•				•
96	•
97			•
98	•
104					•
110	•		•	•	•
114					•
119					•
120			• (?)	• (or 123)
121			•	•
122					•
123				• (or 120)
125			•	•	•
127			•
128					•
133			•		•
134			•		•
136a					•
142				•
144	•				•
144a			•	•	•
145			•
147			•		•
152			•		•
153a			•
155			•
158			•
166			•
177					•
177a					•
184	•
186					•
187		•	•
189			• (pb)	•	•
190	•		•		•
192				•
194				•	•
195			•
196		•	•	•	•
197	•
198					•
199					•
200	•				•
204		•			•
210					•
SP 1666			•
SP 1667			•
SP 1668			•
	Drawings/Watercolours
842				• (?)
846			•		•
852	•			•
876			•
877			•
886					•
902a			•	•
904			• (pb)
909			• (pb)
913				• (?)	•
916			•	•
926					•
943	•		•	•	•
944			• (pb)
948			•
949			•
951			•	•	•
967			•
982			•	•
990					•
1001					•
1002	•			•
1031					•
1032			•
1038					•
1079 recto			•
1087	•			•
1088			• (?)	•
1091			•
1095			•
1099			• (pb)
1100			•	•
1101			• (?)	• (?)
1103				•
1104			•	•
1106			• (?)
1119			•	•	•
1179			•
1211			•
1234			• (?)
1296				•	•
1299	• (?)
1330 verso			• (?)
SD 1683			•	•
SD 1688			•
Drawing without F no.			•
Watercolour without F no.			•
* = Information derived from Faille 1970
pb = probably
? = perhaps