Anthony van Rappard
(Zeist 1858 – Santpoort-North 1892)
A Young Workman at a Stretching Frame (1890-1891)
Oil on canvas, 33.1 x 26.3 cm
Provenance:
– Artist's studio Gerard Post Greve (1913-1990)
– Collection of the artist Arnold Koning (1860-1945), Voorthuizen
– Auction Sotheby's, Amsterdam, October 17, 2006, lot 130
- Private collection, the Netherlands
Literature:
JW Brouwer ao, Anthon van Rappard. Companion & Correspondent of Vincent van Gogh. His Life and All his Works, Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam, Amsterdam/Maarssen 1974, pp. 117, 126-127
Note:
Anthon van Rappard was a student of Lourens Alma Tadema and a mentor and friend of Vincent van Gogh. After four years their friendship was eventually ended by a misunderstanding in their correspondence. The letters Van Gogh wrote to Van Rappard during their correspondence in the years 1881-1885 are a main source for Van Gogh's biography and work.
This painting was executed during the period in which Van Rappard worked in the Préviniaire cotton-dyeing plant in Haarlem. The expressive, simple forms were the focus point of the artist when painting individual workman. Today, Van Rappard's works are rare due to his short life and can be found in the collections of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rottetrdam, Museum de Fundatie in Zwolle and Centraal Museum in Utrecht. Compare the present lot with a similar work in the collection of the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo (inv. no. KM 105.377).