Dutch museum tries to buy Van Gogh painting

A Dutch museum dreams of bringing into its collections an important Vincent van Gogh painting from the Nuenen period, a portrait of Gordina de Groot, a Brabant peasant woman who posed for several of the artist’s works made between March and April 1885. That’s the goal of the Noordbrabants Museum in ’s-Hertogenbosch, which needs a sum of about 2.6 million euros to finalize the purchase (exactly the number of Bramante’s inhabitants, the museum points out).

The work had gone to auction in February 2023 at Christie’s, with an estimate of £1-2 million. The Noordbrabants Museum also competed to bring home the Female Head, which depicts the woman who appears most in paintings from the Nuenen period, but it failed in the bidding because there were those who bid more: a private individual succeeded in winning it for the sum of 4.842,000 pounds (about 5.5 million euros), a figure that later rose to 5.5 million (6.5 million euros) taking into account incidental expenses such as taxes and fees. The identity of the painting’s owner is not known: it could be a dealer, since he decided to put the work on the market just a year after it was purchased. In any case, the figure at which the current owner of the work is willing to let it go is 8.6 million euros. The museum in ’s-Hertogenbosch has already managed to raise 6 million, with resources provided by the Dutch state and donors such as the Vereniging Rembrandt, the Mondriaan Fonds, the VriendenLoterij and several donors. Thus, about one-third of the sum is missing.

For the museum this would be a very important achievement, first because it is very rare for a museum these days to have the resources to purchase a Van Gogh work, given the artist’s market prices: however, it would not be new since back in 2020 the museum purchased a Van Gogh drawing, spending €1.6 million (the Noordbrabants Museum already has a significant collection of works from the Nuenen period: 13 works including five owned by the museum and eight on long-term loan from other institutions). Besides, it is a relevant work for the area. Gordina de Groot, better known as Sien, was the daughter of a Nuenen farmer. She is one of the five people at the table in the masterpiece The Potato Eaters. Gordina was often a model for Van Gogh; the two had a close bond, so much so that when it was discovered that the girl had become pregnant Van Gogh was even suspected of being the father. The strong connection with the masterpiece from the Brabant period makes it an important painting for the museum. Van Gogh has captured Gordina’s expression well and intimately: her worried gaze betrays the harsh working-class life, and Gordina’s face is the face of peasant life in Brabant and Van Gogh’s Nuenen period.

“Van Gogh’s Gordina is a bit of all of us,” the museum says in a note. “Her view offers a wonderful glimpse into the history of Brabant, full of hard work and perseverance. We have a unique opportunity to acquire the painting. And to keep our Sien in Brabant, we really need your help! It is now up to Brabant to seize the last chance. Will you contribute?”

“This is the last chance to acquire this important heritage for Brabant before it disappears forever behind closed doors,” says Jacqueline Grandjean, director of the museum, instead. Helewise Berger, curator of 19th- and 20th-century art at the Noordbrabants Museum, also stresses the importance: “Although Van Gogh painted in earth tones, there are many colors to be discovered. This makes the painting exceptional and attractive-a key piece in his oeuvre and thus in the collection of the Noordbrabants Museum.”

The museum is therefore calling on the public: via a page on its website, donors can contribute any amount, and those who give at least 100 euros will be considered among the “Golden Potato Eaters,” and will receive a certificate, plus their name will also be mentioned on the museum’s website for a day and they will receive an invitation to an exclusive after-hours event at the museum on the weekend of July 13 and 14. “We would like to celebrate with all donors on July 13 and 14 and eat potatoes with Gordina,” the museum closes.

Dutch museum tries to buy Van Gogh painting

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