Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh (with 1 letter sketch)

Showpiece

Sketch of The potato eaters

The potato eaters was Van Gogh’s first masterpiece and it was very important to him. He had only been a painter for two years and wanted to prove that he could handle a complex composition with multiple figures. In this letter he writes about his ideas to his brother Theo, illustrated with a sketch of the composition.

Creator

• afzender: Gogh, Vincent van
• kunstenaar: Gogh, Vincent van
• geadresseerde: Gogh, Theo van

Date of creation

donderdag 9 april 1885

Place of creation

• Nuenen

Annotation

• Top and bottom edges consolidated during conservation. Hole in the lower right corner. Small holes and tears on the folds. Tear in the sketch on the fold.
• The potato eaters

Dimensions

• 20.7 x 26.4 cm

Collection

Vincent van Gogh: letters, art, and context

Institution

• Van Gogh Museum

Source

• b 0437 V/1962 (brief met briefschets, pen in inkt), Brieven en Documenten, Van Gogh Museum

Copyright

for information contact Van Gogh Museum