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Van Gogh in

Antwerp

  1. 24 Nov. 1885
     - 28 Feb. 1886 1886

Vincent arrived in Antwerp from Nuenen on 24 November 1885 in the hope of taking lessons at the city’s art academy and selling his work.

In a letter to Theo from 1884, Vincent had let slip that he wanted to go to Antwerp, and the idea had been on his mind ever since. He rented a second-storey room in the Belgian city from a Dutch married couple, Willem Henricus Brandel and Anna Wilhelmina Huberta.

Vincent enjoyed his first weeks in Antwerp, and he often wrote to Theo about how happy he was he had decided to move there. Vincent loved discovering the city, walking along its quays, visiting its churches and museums. He approached various art dealers, hoping to sell his work. But Antwerp failed to yield the income Vincent had anticipated and he repeatedly had to beg Theo for money to get by on.

In January 1886, Vincent enrolled in a course in drawing from classical sculpture at the art academy. There he also briefly attended a painting course taught by Charles Verlat and joined two evening life-drawing clubs.

During this time, Vincent developed various dental problems, probably due to his unhealthy lifestyle- he ate poorly, often living on bread and water and was a heavy pipe smoker. He dealt with the problem by having many “bad teeth snipped off”.

His lessons at the academy were supposed to continue until March 1886 but Vincent did not see them through. He left Antwerp on 28 February to continue his artistic development in Paris, hoping to gain a place in the artist Fernand Cormon’s studio.

Seven paintings and a number of drawings from Vincent’s Antwerp period have been preserved.

Made here

Portrait of a Woman with a Red Bow, 1885

Portrait of a Woman with a Red Bow, 1885

Oil on canvas, 60 x 50 cm

Private collection

Portrait of an Old Man, 1885

Portrait of an Old Man, 1885

Oil on canvas, 44,4 cm x 33,7 cm

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Stichting)

Portrait of an Old Woman, 1885

Portrait of an Old Woman, 1885

Oil on canvas, 50,5 cm x 39,8 cm

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Stichting)

Head of a prostitute

Head of a prostitute

Oil on canvas, 35,2 x 24,2 cm

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Stichting)

Houses seen from the back, 1885-1866

Houses seen from the back, 1885-1866

Oil on canvas, 43,7 x 33,7 cm

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Stichting)

Head of a skeleton with a burning cigarette, 1886

Head of a skeleton with a burning cigarette, 1886

Oil on canvas, 32,3 x 24,8 cm

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Stichting)

The discus thrower, 1886

The discus thrower, 1886

Crayon on paper, 56,2 x 44,3 cm

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Stichting)

The tower of the Cathedral of Our Lady, 1885

The tower of the Cathedral of Our Lady, 1885

Crayon on paper, 29,9 x 22,6 cm

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Stichting)

The Grote Markt, 1885

The Grote Markt, 1885

Crayon and watercolour on paper, 22,6 x 30,1 cm

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Van Gogh Stichting)

View on Het Steen, 1885

View on Het Steen, 1885

Crayon on paper, 9,2 x 16,6 cm

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Stichting)

View on Het Steen, 1885

View on Het Steen, 1885

Mixed media on paper, 13,1 x 21,1 cm

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Stichting)

    Seen here

    Frans Hals, Fisher boy, ca. 1630-1632

    Frans Hals, Fisher boy, ca. 1630-1632

    Oil on canvas, 74 x 61 cm

    Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp

    Jacob Jordaens, As the elders sing, so pipe the young, 1638

    Jacob Jordaens, As the elders sing, so pipe the young, 1638

    Oil on canvas, 120 x 192 cm

    Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp

    Jan van Eyck, St. Barbara, 1437

    Jan van Eyck, St. Barbara, 1437

    Oil on panel, 34 x 18,5 cm

    Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp

    Peter Paul Rubens, St Theresa of Avila through Christ's intervention rescuing Bernardinus of Mendoza from Purgatory, ca. 1630

    Peter Paul Rubens, St Theresa of Avila through Christ's intervention rescuing Bernardinus of Mendoza from Purgatory, ca. 1630

    Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp

    Robert Mols, The roads of Antwerp in 1870, 1878

    Robert Mols, The roads of Antwerp in 1870, 1878

    294 x 947 cm

    Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp

    Henri de Braekleer, The old inn 'The Pilots' House' in Antwerp, 1877

    Henri de Braekleer, The old inn 'The Pilots' House' in Antwerp, 1877

    Oil on canvas, 83,5 x 112,5 cm

    Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp

    César de Cock, Woodland view: the banks of the Epte at Gasny (Eure), 1882

    César de Cock, Woodland view: the banks of the Epte at Gasny (Eure), 1882

    Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp

    Henri Leys, P.P. Rubens feted by the gunsmiths of Antwerp, 1851

    Henri Leys, P.P. Rubens feted by the gunsmiths of Antwerp, 1851

    Oil on panel, 104 x 144 cm

    Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp

    Henri Leys, Flemish nuptials in the 17th century, 1839

    Henri Leys, Flemish nuptials in the 17th century, 1839

    Oil on panel, 120 x 155 cm

    Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp

    Frank Francken II, The crucifixion (Golgotha), ca. 1603

    Frank Francken II, The crucifixion (Golgotha), ca. 1603

    Sint-Andrieskerk, Antwerpen

    Anonymous, Replica of the Stella Maris leaded-glass-window

    Anonymous, Replica of the Stella Maris leaded-glass-window

    Sint-Andrewchurch, Antwerpen

    Peter Paul Rubens, The descent of the cross, 1611

    Peter Paul Rubens, The descent of the cross, 1611

    Oil on panel, 420 x 320 cm

    Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp

      Relevant letters from Vincent

      1. No relevant letters found so far.

      Continue reading

      1. Guido Persoons

        Vincent van Gogh te Antwerpen in 1885-1886 : zijn opleiding in de Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten te Antwerpen als bijdrage tot de vorming van zijn kunstenaarschap
        In: Periscoop, Vriendenkring van de Koninklijke Academie, 14-1 (1990)
      2. Mark Tralbaut

        Van Gogh te Antwerpen
        Antwerpen, 1958
      3. Louis van Tilborg en Ella Hendriks

        Vincent van Gogh schilderijen, deel 2: Antwerpen en Parijs
        Amsterdam, 2011
      4. Ella Hendriks en Louis van Tilborgh

        New views on Van Gogh’s development in Antwerp and Paris: an integrated art historical and technical study of his paintings in the Van Gogh Museum
        Universiteit van Amsterdam, proefschrift, 2006
      5. Marije Vellekoop, Sjraar van Heugten

        Vincent van Gogh tekeningen, deel 3: Antwerpen en Parijs 1885 – 1888
        Amsterdam, 2001