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Old Church Tower at Nuenen

January 31, 2023

Old Church Tower at Nuenen (or The Peasants' Churchyard) are names given to several oil paintings and drawings created in 1884 and 1885 by Vincent van Gogh. Most reflect the way the 12th-century church looked in its better days when its spire was intact and its foundation formidable. The spire was demolished in 1792 and the church tower was in the process of being torn down and sold for scrap as Van Gogh made the paintings.

Old Church Tower at Nuenen
Old Church Tower at Nuenen, 1884, (F88)
ArtistVincent van Gogh
Year1884-1885
LocationFoundation E.G. Bührle Collection, Zürich

Background

In 1882, Van Gogh's father became pastor in Nuenen and the family lived at the vicarage at Nuenen, a small village in the North Brabant district of the Netherlands. After a stay in Drenthe for several months, Van Gogh moved to live with his parents in December 1883 and stayed there until May 1885.[1] While in Nuenen Van Gogh worked on character studies of the local peasants. It was winter and there was little to be done in the fields, so Van Gogh was able to make connections to people through his father, a town minister.[2] Van Gogh's character studies culminated in his best known painting The Potato Eaters. Potatoes were a staple of the poor peasant’s diet, who could barely afford bread and meat was a luxury. Potato was a food not fit for those who could afford better in the 19th century. Thomas Carlyle, a Scottish philosopher, deemed the poor "root-eaters".[3]

While in Nuenen, Van Gogh made a number of paintings of The Old Church Tower at Nuenen, born of his enjoyment of visiting churches and cemeteries. Vincent was the second child to his parents, born exactly one year after their first baby, still born, also named Vincent. Like other "substitute" children, he regularly visited the site of his sibling's grave.[4] Vincent's brother was buried in Zundert Groot,[5] but his death may have been an influencing factor in his interest in churches and graveyards.

He also may have been inspired by Jean-François Millet's The Church at Greville.[6]

History

The Old Church Tower is the final remains of a 12th-century Romanesque church built during Christianity's spread across the countryside. It is surrounded by an old burial ground whose graves were marked with simple wooden crosses. The spire was demolished before Van Gogh's early watercolors of the tower could be developed into oil paintings. At the time, the building itself was crumbling. The final version of the oil paintings were finished just before the building was demolished and the remains sold for scrap.[6]

The paintings

Van Gogh made eleven drawings and paintings of the Church tower; one of the drawings is of a funeral.[7]

Old Church Tower at Nuenen, ('The Peasants' Churchyard') (F84) was made as a tribute to the simple, humble lives of the peasants who "for centuries... have been laid to rest, among the fields in which they rooted when alive." The ruined tower he saw a symbol of the declining role of Christianity in people's lives. The tower was demolished shortly after Van Gogh concluded this painting.[8]

Van Gogh wrote of this painting:

"I wanted to express how perfectly simple death & burial is, as simple as the falling of autumn leaves -- just some earth dug up -- a little wooden cross. The fields around -- they make a final line against the horizon, where the grass of the churchyard ends -- like a horizon of sea. An now this ruin tells me how a creed and religion have moldered away, even though they were so well established -- how, nevertheless, the life & death of the peasants is and remains the same: always sprouting and withering like the grass and the flowers that are growing in this graveyard."[6]

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    The Old Tower of Nuenen with People Walking, 1884, Private collection (F184)

  •  

    The Old Tower at Nuenen with a Ploughman, 1884, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands (F34)

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    The Old Tower at Dusk, 1884, private collection, (F40)

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    The Old Cemetery Tower at Nuenen in the Snow, 1885, Tate, London (F87)

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    Old Church Tower at Nuenen, ('The Peasants' Churchyard'), 1885, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (F84)

Other paintings of churches

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    Cluster of Old Houses with the New Church in The Hague, 1882, Private collection (F204)

  •  

    View of The Hague with the New Church, Watercolor, 1882, Collection of Kunsthandel Ivo Bouwman, The Hague (F1680)

  •  

    Shepherd with Flock near a Little Church at Zweeloo, Drawing, Pen and pencil, 1883, Private collection (F877)

  •  

    Landscape with a Church at Twilight, 1883, Private collection (F188)

  •  

    Landscape with a Church, Drawing with pencil and pen, 1883, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (F1238)

  •  

    St. Martin's Church at Tongelre, Drawing in pencil and chalk, 1885, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (F: None, JH: 640)

  •  

    View of the church of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, 1889, Private collection (F803)

  •  

    The Church at Auvers, 1890, Musée d'Orsay, Paris (F789)

  •  

    View of Auvers with Church, 1890, Private collection (F800)

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Vicarage at Nuenen, 1885". Permanent Collection. Van Gogh Museum. 2005–2011. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  2. ^ "Head of a Man, 1885". Permanent Collection. Van Gogh Museum. 2005–2011. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  3. ^ Hansen; Nichols; Sund; Knudsen; Bremen (2003). Van Gogh: Fields. Hatje Cantz Publishers for Toledo Museum of Art Exhibition. p. 46. ISBN 3-7757-1131-7.
  4. ^ Lamothe, E; Sauvage, J, eds. (2008). Of Mothers and Death: from Procreation to Creation. Pessac: Presses Universitairies de Bordeaux. p. 151. ISBN 978-2-86781-493-8.
  5. ^ Johanna Gesina van Gogh - Bonger, Vincent's sister in law (2011). "Memoir of Vincent van Gogh, page 2". Van Gogh Paintings. Van Gogh Gallery. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  6. ^ a b c Hempton, D (2008). Evangelical Disenchantment: Nine Portraits of Faith and Doubt. Grand Rapids: With the assistance of the Louis Stern Memorial Fund. pp. 132–133. ISBN 978-0-300-14067-5.
  7. ^ Lubin, A (1996) [1972]. Stranger on the Earth: A Psychological Biography of Vincent van Gogh. New York: Da Capo Press. p. 91. ISBN 0-306-80726-2.
  8. ^ "The Old Church Tower at Nuenen ('The Peasants' Churchyard'), 1885". Permanent Collection. Van Gogh Museum. 2005–2011. Retrieved 2011-05-17.

External links

  •   Media related to Old Church Tower at Nuenen series at Wikimedia Commons

January 31, 2023
church, tower, nuenen, peasants, churchyard, names, given, several, paintings, drawings, created, 1884, 1885, vincent, gogh, most, reflect, 12th, century, church, looked, better, days, when, spire, intact, foundation, formidable, spire, demolished, 1792, churc. Old Church Tower at Nuenen or The Peasants Churchyard are names given to several oil paintings and drawings created in 1884 and 1885 by Vincent van Gogh Most reflect the way the 12th century church looked in its better days when its spire was intact and its foundation formidable The spire was demolished in 1792 and the church tower was in the process of being torn down and sold for scrap as Van Gogh made the paintings Old Church Tower at NuenenOld Church Tower at Nuenen 1884 F88 ArtistVincent van GoghYear1884 1885LocationFoundation E G Buhrle Collection Zurich Contents 1 Background 2 History 3 The paintings 4 Other paintings of churches 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksBackground EditIn 1882 Van Gogh s father became pastor in Nuenen and the family lived at the vicarage at Nuenen a small village in the North Brabant district of the Netherlands After a stay in Drenthe for several months Van Gogh moved to live with his parents in December 1883 and stayed there until May 1885 1 While in Nuenen Van Gogh worked on character studies of the local peasants It was winter and there was little to be done in the fields so Van Gogh was able to make connections to people through his father a town minister 2 Van Gogh s character studies culminated in his best known painting The Potato Eaters Potatoes were a staple of the poor peasant s diet who could barely afford bread and meat was a luxury Potato was a food not fit for those who could afford better in the 19th century Thomas Carlyle a Scottish philosopher deemed the poor root eaters 3 While in Nuenen Van Gogh made a number of paintings of The Old Church Tower at Nuenen born of his enjoyment of visiting churches and cemeteries Vincent was the second child to his parents born exactly one year after their first baby still born also named Vincent Like other substitute children he regularly visited the site of his sibling s grave 4 Vincent s brother was buried in Zundert Groot 5 but his death may have been an influencing factor in his interest in churches and graveyards He also may have been inspired by Jean Francois Millet s The Church at Greville 6 History EditThe Old Church Tower is the final remains of a 12th century Romanesque church built during Christianity s spread across the countryside It is surrounded by an old burial ground whose graves were marked with simple wooden crosses The spire was demolished before Van Gogh s early watercolors of the tower could be developed into oil paintings At the time the building itself was crumbling The final version of the oil paintings were finished just before the building was demolished and the remains sold for scrap 6 The paintings EditVan Gogh made eleven drawings and paintings of the Church tower one of the drawings is of a funeral 7 Old Church Tower at Nuenen The Peasants Churchyard F84 was made as a tribute to the simple humble lives of the peasants who for centuries have been laid to rest among the fields in which they rooted when alive The ruined tower he saw a symbol of the declining role of Christianity in people s lives The tower was demolished shortly after Van Gogh concluded this painting 8 Van Gogh wrote of this painting I wanted to express how perfectly simple death amp burial is as simple as the falling of autumn leaves just some earth dug up a little wooden cross The fields around they make a final line against the horizon where the grass of the churchyard ends like a horizon of sea An now this ruin tells me how a creed and religion have moldered away even though they were so well established how nevertheless the life amp death of the peasants is and remains the same always sprouting and withering like the grass and the flowers that are growing in this graveyard 6 The Old Tower of Nuenen with People Walking 1884 Private collection F184 The Old Tower at Nuenen with a Ploughman 1884 Kroller Muller Museum Otterlo Netherlands F34 The Old Tower at Dusk 1884 private collection F40 The Old Cemetery Tower at Nuenen in the Snow 1885 Tate London F87 Old Church Tower at Nuenen The Peasants Churchyard 1885 Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam F84 Other paintings of churches Edit Cluster of Old Houses with the New Church in The Hague 1882 Private collection F204 View of The Hague with the New Church Watercolor 1882 Collection of Kunsthandel Ivo Bouwman The Hague F1680 Shepherd with Flock near a Little Church at Zweeloo Drawing Pen and pencil 1883 Private collection F877 Landscape with a Church at Twilight 1883 Private collection F188 Landscape with a Church Drawing with pencil and pen 1883 Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam F1238 Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen 1884 Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam F25 St Martin s Church at Tongelre Drawing in pencil and chalk 1885 Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam F None JH 640 View of the church of Saint Paul de Mausole 1889 Private collection F803 The Church at Auvers 1890 Musee d Orsay Paris F789 View of Auvers with Church 1890 Private collection F800 See also EditVincent van Gogh article Early works of Vincent van Gogh List of works by Vincent van Gogh Van Gogh s family in his art which includes paintings of the Nuenen church and parsonage his father Reverend Theordus van Gogh served Peasant Character Studies Van Gogh series References Edit The Vicarage at Nuenen 1885 Permanent Collection Van Gogh Museum 2005 2011 Retrieved 2011 05 15 Head of a Man 1885 Permanent Collection Van Gogh Museum 2005 2011 Retrieved 2011 05 15 Hansen Nichols Sund Knudsen Bremen 2003 Van Gogh Fields Hatje Cantz Publishers for Toledo Museum of Art Exhibition p 46 ISBN 3 7757 1131 7 Lamothe E Sauvage J eds 2008 Of Mothers and Death from Procreation to Creation Pessac Presses Universitairies de Bordeaux p 151 ISBN 978 2 86781 493 8 Johanna Gesina van Gogh Bonger Vincent s sister in law 2011 Memoir of Vincent van Gogh page 2 Van Gogh Paintings Van Gogh Gallery Retrieved 2011 05 17 a b c Hempton D 2008 Evangelical Disenchantment Nine Portraits of Faith and Doubt Grand Rapids With the assistance of the Louis Stern Memorial Fund pp 132 133 ISBN 978 0 300 14067 5 Lubin A 1996 1972 Stranger on the Earth A Psychological Biography of Vincent van Gogh New York Da Capo Press p 91 ISBN 0 306 80726 2 The Old Church Tower at Nuenen The Peasants Churchyard 1885 Permanent Collection Van Gogh Museum 2005 2011 Retrieved 2011 05 17 External links Edit Media related to Old Church Tower at Nuenen series at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Old Church Tower at Nuenen amp oldid 1106419118, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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