Van Gogh considered the modern portrait to be the most important genre for painters.
"What I’m most passionate about, much more than all the rest in my profession - is the portrait, the modern portrait.
I seek it by way of colour, and am certainly not alone in seeking it in this way’, wrote Vincent to this sister Willemien in 1890.
Vincent van Gogh | Head of a woman | Van Gogh Museum
Vincent van Gogh | Self-portrait with grey felt hat, 1887 | Van Gogh Museum
"I work hard and - suppose that only 1 in 10 or 20 of the studies that I make have something that makes them worth the trouble of looking at them - those few, be it more, be it fewer in number - although they're worth nothing now, may well be later.
Not so much in themselves as in conjunction with other studies", wrote Vincent to his brother Theo in 1885.
Vincent wanted to practise portraying peasant figures, and aimed to paint at least 50 different studies of heads.
After years, it turns out Vincent was right.
His work is much more popular than he could ever have imagined!
A total of 47 studies of heads are known.
Vincent Van Gogh | Head of a man, 1885 | Van Gogh Museum
Vincent Van Gogh | Portrait of a one eyed man, 1888 | Van Gogh Museum
"Portrait of a one eyed man, 1888": - This man's one eye has a remarkably intense blue-green colour. Van Gogh used that same colour in the background of the painting.
The other eyelid is shut. The man may have been blind in one eye or had an eye disease.
He was one of the patients in the psychiatric hospital in Saint-Rémy (FR) where Van Gogh stayed for a year.
Although Van Gogh was sometimes frightened of the other patients, he did make portraits of two of them.
The end of the cigarette is burning brightly, as if the man has just taken a puff. | Credits: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Vincent van Gogh | Head of a woman | Van Gogh Museum
Vincent van Gogh | Head of a woman (Gordina de Groot), 1885 | Van Gogh Museum
Vincent van Gogh | Head of a woman, 1885 | Van Gogh Museum
Vincent van Gogh | Head of a peasant woman | Saint Louis Art Museum
Vincent van Gogh | Head of a peasant | Art Gallery of New South Wales
Vincent van Gogh | Head of a man, 1885 | Van Gogh Museum
Vincent van Gogh | Head of a man, 1885 | Van Gogh Museum
Vincent van Gogh | Peasant woman
Van Gogh considerava il ritratto moderno il genere più importante per i pittori.
"Ciò che mi appassiona di più, molto più di tutto il resto della mia professione, è il ritratto, il ritratto moderno.
Lo cerco attraverso il colore, e certamente non sono il solo a cercarlo in questo modo", scriveva Vincent a sua sorella Willemien, nel 1890.
Vincent van Gogh | Head of a peasant woman right profile, 1884
"Lavoro duro e - supponiamo che solo 1 su 10 o 20 degli studi che faccio abbiano qualcosa per cui valga la pena di guardarli - quei pochi, sia di più, sia di meno in numero - sebbene siano non vale nulla adesso, potrebbe anche esserlo più tardi.
Non tanto in sé quanto in concomitanza con altri studi", scriveva Vincent al fratello Theo nel 1885.
Vincent voleva esercitarsi a ritrarre figure contadine e mirava a dipingere almeno 50 diversi studi di teste.
Vincent van Gogh | Head of a peasant with a white cap, 1884
Dopo anni, si scopre che van Gogh aveva ragione.
Il suo lavoro è molto più popolare di quanto avrebbe mai potuto immaginare!
Si conoscono in totale 47 studi di teste.
Vincent van Gogh | An old woman of Arles, 1888
Vincent van Gogh | Portrait of an old man, 1885
Vincent van Gogh | The smoker, 1888
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