Daubigny's Garden
Encyclopedia
Daubigny's Garden, painted three times by Vincent van Gogh
, depicts the garden of the late Charles-François Daubigny
, a painter whom Van Gogh admired throughout his life.
Van Gogh started with a small study of a section of the garden. Then he worked on two double-square paintings of the full enclosed garden. The paintings were made in Auvers between May 1890 and July 1890
, during the last few months of his life. All three paintings are titled Daubigny's Garden and are distinguished by the museums they reside in: Kunstmuseum Basel
, Hiroshima Museum of Art
and Van Gogh Museum
.
was a French artist who had been trained by his father. Van Gogh greatly admired Daubigny, a landscape artist
associated with the Barbizon school
who painted river and coastal scenes. Daubigny was born in Paris in 1817 and moved to Auvers-sur-Oise
in 1860. In 1878 Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo that he was very sad to hear the news that Daubigny had died because his work touched him very deeply, "A work that is good may not last forever, but the thought expressed by it will, and the work itself will surely survive for a very long time, and those who come later can do no more than follow in the footsteps of such predecessors and copy their example."
When Van Gogh came to Auvers in 1890 Daubigny's widow still occupied their house. He painted Daubigny's garden three times: twice with the entire enclosed garden on double-square canvas and an earlier study of a portion of the garden.
region of hills, fields, gardens and cottages attracted artists to it and the surrounding area. Starting in 1850 a railroad line facilitated travel from Auvers from Paris. Artists who came to the area to paint included the Impressionists
Armand Guillaumin
, Camille Pissarro
and Paul Cézanne
.
In May 1890 Van Gogh left Saint-Rémy for Auvers where it provided a quieter life than that of Paris, but was still near his brother Theo
for visits. In Auvers he was under the care of Paul Gachet, a homeopathic physician, who advised Van Gogh to not worry about his illness and focus on his painting. Gachet, an amateur painter, became a good friend. To Theo he described Gachet as "something like another brother."
In Van Gogh's first letter to his brother from Auvers he wrote, "It is profoundly beautiful, it is the real country, characteristic and picturesque."
, "Perhaps you'll take a look at this sketch of Daubigny's garden – it is one of my most carefully thought-out canvases." In both double-squares, the garden is furnished as a welcoming outdoor living space with a bench, table and chairs. In this painting a woman, cat and blooming flowers bring life to the setting; in the second version of the painting the cat is painted over. The landscaped garden, the focal point, contains a rose bed in the foreground and is surrounded by trees. In the background is a large house and a church with a Romanesque steeple. The beautifully manicured and landscaped Daubigny's Garden elevated the posthumous reputation of Charles-François Daubigny as a successful, cultured man of Auvers.
The painting was made on "double-square
" canvas. The initial study, on extended loan to the Kunstmuseum Basel
from the Rudolf Staechelin Family Foundation, has a the black cat in the foreground towards the left.
.
study was made first of a portion of the enclosed garden. He made a little sketch of it for Theo, with a description: "In the foreground green and pink grass… In the center a rose bush, to the right a little gate… [and] a row of yellow lindens. The house itself is in the background, pink with a roof of bluish tiles."
In 1929 Ludwig Justi, Nationalgalleries
' museum director was particularly interested in Daubigny's Garden (F776) owned by Paris art dealer Paul Rosenberg. French painter and collector Emile Schuffenecker
, who was known to have made copies of Van Gogh’s work, had at one point possessed this version of Daubigny's Garden. Knowing that that there was rumor surrounding the authenticity of the painting, Justi discretely inquired about its provenance
to which he received "a detailed and reassuring answer." Verein der Freunde der Nationalgalerie was established of about seventy individuals in 1929 by which investors purchased art to lend to the Nationalgalerie
on a long-term basis. Daubigny's Garden was one of their first purchases for 240,000 reichsmarks.
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
, depicts the garden of the late Charles-François Daubigny
Charles-François Daubigny
Charles-François Daubigny was one of the painters of the Barbizon school, and is considered an important precursor of Impressionism....
, a painter whom Van Gogh admired throughout his life.
Van Gogh started with a small study of a section of the garden. Then he worked on two double-square paintings of the full enclosed garden. The paintings were made in Auvers between May 1890 and July 1890
1890 in art
-Works:*William-Adolphe Bouguereau - A Little Coaxing*Thomas Dewing - Summer*John Haberle - The Palette*William Harnett - The Faithful Colt *Ferdinand Hodler - Night...
, during the last few months of his life. All three paintings are titled Daubigny's Garden and are distinguished by the museums they reside in: Kunstmuseum Basel
Kunstmuseum Basel
The Kunstmuseum Basel houses the largest and most significant public art collection in Switzerland, and is listed as a heritage site of national significance. Its lineage extends back to the Amerbach Cabinet purchased by the city of Basel in 1661, which made it the first municipally owned museum...
, Hiroshima Museum of Art
Hiroshima Museum of Art
The Hiroshima Museum of Art is an art museum founded in 1978. It is located in the Hiroshima Central Park in Hiroshima City, Japan.-Gallery 1:*From Romanticism to Impressionism-Gallery 2:*Neo-Impressionists and Post-Impressionists...
and Van Gogh Museum
Van Gogh Museum
The Van Gogh Museum is an art museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, featuring the works of the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries. It has the largest collection of Van Gogh's paintings and drawings in the world.-Background:...
.
Charles-François Daubigny
Charles-François DaubignyCharles-François Daubigny
Charles-François Daubigny was one of the painters of the Barbizon school, and is considered an important precursor of Impressionism....
was a French artist who had been trained by his father. Van Gogh greatly admired Daubigny, a landscape artist
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
associated with the Barbizon school
Barbizon school
The Barbizon school of painters were part of a movement towards realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870...
who painted river and coastal scenes. Daubigny was born in Paris in 1817 and moved to Auvers-sur-Oise
Auvers-sur-Oise
Auvers-sur-Oise is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is associated with several famous artists, the most prominent being Vincent van Gogh.-History:...
in 1860. In 1878 Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo that he was very sad to hear the news that Daubigny had died because his work touched him very deeply, "A work that is good may not last forever, but the thought expressed by it will, and the work itself will surely survive for a very long time, and those who come later can do no more than follow in the footsteps of such predecessors and copy their example."
When Van Gogh came to Auvers in 1890 Daubigny's widow still occupied their house. He painted Daubigny's garden three times: twice with the entire enclosed garden on double-square canvas and an earlier study of a portion of the garden.
Auvers-sur-Oise
The pastoral Auvers-sur-OiseAuvers-sur-Oise
Auvers-sur-Oise is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is associated with several famous artists, the most prominent being Vincent van Gogh.-History:...
region of hills, fields, gardens and cottages attracted artists to it and the surrounding area. Starting in 1850 a railroad line facilitated travel from Auvers from Paris. Artists who came to the area to paint included the Impressionists
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
Armand Guillaumin
Armand Guillaumin
Armand Guillaumin , was a French impressionist painter and lithographer.Born Jean-Baptiste Armand Guillaumin in Paris, he worked at his uncle's lingerie shop while attending evening drawing lessons. He also worked for a French government railway before studying at the Académie Suisse in 1861...
, Camille Pissarro
Camille Pissarro
Camille Pissarro was a French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas . His importance resides in his contributions to both Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, as he was the only artist to exhibit in both forms...
and Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th...
.
In May 1890 Van Gogh left Saint-Rémy for Auvers where it provided a quieter life than that of Paris, but was still near his brother Theo
Theo van Gogh (art dealer)
Theodorus "Theo" van Gogh was a Dutch art dealer. He was the younger brother of Vincent van Gogh, and Theo's unfailing financial and emotional support allowed his brother to devote himself entirely to painting...
for visits. In Auvers he was under the care of Paul Gachet, a homeopathic physician, who advised Van Gogh to not worry about his illness and focus on his painting. Gachet, an amateur painter, became a good friend. To Theo he described Gachet as "something like another brother."
In Van Gogh's first letter to his brother from Auvers he wrote, "It is profoundly beautiful, it is the real country, characteristic and picturesque."
The entire garden, Kunstmuseum Basel
Van Gogh wrote in a letter dated 23 July 1890 to his brother TheoTheo van Gogh (art dealer)
Theodorus "Theo" van Gogh was a Dutch art dealer. He was the younger brother of Vincent van Gogh, and Theo's unfailing financial and emotional support allowed his brother to devote himself entirely to painting...
, "Perhaps you'll take a look at this sketch of Daubigny's garden – it is one of my most carefully thought-out canvases." In both double-squares, the garden is furnished as a welcoming outdoor living space with a bench, table and chairs. In this painting a woman, cat and blooming flowers bring life to the setting; in the second version of the painting the cat is painted over. The landscaped garden, the focal point, contains a rose bed in the foreground and is surrounded by trees. In the background is a large house and a church with a Romanesque steeple. The beautifully manicured and landscaped Daubigny's Garden elevated the posthumous reputation of Charles-François Daubigny as a successful, cultured man of Auvers.
The painting was made on "double-square
Double-squares and Squares
Double-square paintings have uncommonly large canvases, for example such as those Vincent van Gogh used exclusively during the final weeks of his life in Auvers, in June and July 1890. To arrive at this size, Van Gogh simply had to combine the legs of two standard sizes: the 50 cm leg from a size...
" canvas. The initial study, on extended loan to the Kunstmuseum Basel
Kunstmuseum Basel
The Kunstmuseum Basel houses the largest and most significant public art collection in Switzerland, and is listed as a heritage site of national significance. Its lineage extends back to the Amerbach Cabinet purchased by the city of Basel in 1661, which made it the first municipally owned museum...
from the Rudolf Staechelin Family Foundation, has a the black cat in the foreground towards the left.
The entire garden, Hiroshima Museum of Art
The painting in which Van Gogh described the sky as "pale green" is very similar to the first [Kunstmuseum Basel] double-square but lacks the black cat but was later painted over. This slightly later version, also on double-square canvas, is on extended loan to the Hiroshima Museum of ArtHiroshima Museum of Art
The Hiroshima Museum of Art is an art museum founded in 1978. It is located in the Hiroshima Central Park in Hiroshima City, Japan.-Gallery 1:*From Romanticism to Impressionism-Gallery 2:*Neo-Impressionists and Post-Impressionists...
.
Portion of the Garden, Van Gogh Museum
The Van Gogh MuseumVan Gogh Museum
The Van Gogh Museum is an art museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, featuring the works of the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries. It has the largest collection of Van Gogh's paintings and drawings in the world.-Background:...
study was made first of a portion of the enclosed garden. He made a little sketch of it for Theo, with a description: "In the foreground green and pink grass… In the center a rose bush, to the right a little gate… [and] a row of yellow lindens. The house itself is in the background, pink with a roof of bluish tiles."
Controversy surrounding the Daubigny's Garden (F776)
Prior to World War I questions arose regarding whether one of the double-square canvases was a forgery. After the war legitimate Van Gogh paintings were mixed up with forgeries in the inventory of German art dealer Otto Wacker. Wacker was put on trial after successfully selling a forgery of Van Gogh's self-portrait. Upon testimony of the best Van Gogh experts Wacker was sentenced for his crime, but mystery surrounding the forgery remained.In 1929 Ludwig Justi, Nationalgalleries
Alte Nationalgalerie
The Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin is a gallery showing a collection of Classical, Romantic, Biedermeier, Impressionist and early Modernist artwork, all of which belong to the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. The museum is situated on Museum Island, a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site.- Founding...
' museum director was particularly interested in Daubigny's Garden (F776) owned by Paris art dealer Paul Rosenberg. French painter and collector Emile Schuffenecker
Émile Schuffenecker
Émile Schuffenecker was a French Post-Impressionist artist, painter, art teacher and art collector. A friend of Paul Gauguin and Odilon Redon, and one of the first collectors of works by Vincent van Gogh, Schuffenecker was instrumental in establishing the Volpini exhibition, in 1889...
, who was known to have made copies of Van Gogh’s work, had at one point possessed this version of Daubigny's Garden. Knowing that that there was rumor surrounding the authenticity of the painting, Justi discretely inquired about its provenance
Provenance
Provenance, from the French provenir, "to come from", refers to the chronology of the ownership or location of an historical object. The term was originally mostly used for works of art, but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including science and computing...
to which he received "a detailed and reassuring answer." Verein der Freunde der Nationalgalerie was established of about seventy individuals in 1929 by which investors purchased art to lend to the Nationalgalerie
Alte Nationalgalerie
The Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin is a gallery showing a collection of Classical, Romantic, Biedermeier, Impressionist and early Modernist artwork, all of which belong to the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. The museum is situated on Museum Island, a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site.- Founding...
on a long-term basis. Daubigny's Garden was one of their first purchases for 240,000 reichsmarks.