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Oil on canvas
35.5 × 26 cm (14 × 10.25 in)
Stavros S. Niarchos Collection
Athens
Greece
Europe
Painted January 1885, Nuenen
F 169a, JH 583
Vincent entered the winter of 1884-1885 with a definite plan to work hard on his art. Since the weather was too difficult and cold to paint outside he determined to do a series of as many as 50 studies of peasant's heads, and this is one of a long series of these works. The palette is still dark but Vincent really has developed his own style that is evident in these portraits. They can be difficult to distinguish one from the other so note the F and JH catalog numbers when required.
Another painting that is in a private collection, this time of the Greek billionaire Stavros S. Niarchos. It is unclear exactly which works he even owns so images will probably not be forthcoming. The work is said also to be at the Tate Gallery, London, but is not on their website and again, no images seem to have been released.
ALSO KNOWN AS
Head of a Peasant
PROVENANCE
A. Kerssemakers, Eindhoven (Friend of Vincent);
G. van Steenwegen, Antwerp;
Sale Paris (Charpentier) 6 April 1954;
Stavros S. Niarchos, Athens (Private collection).