Anthony van Rappard
(Zeist 1858 – Santpoort-North 1892)
A Young Workman at a Stretching Frame (1890-1891)
Oil on canvas, 45 x 25.3 cm
Provenance:
– Auction Sotheby's, Amsterdam, October 17, 2006, lot 129
- 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, p. 126
Note:
Compare the present lot with a painting of the same subject in the Centraal Museum, Utrecht (inv. no. 7634/010) as well as at the Museum Helmond (inv. no 90-280 br). Several studies for the present lot are preserved in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

For this painting Van Rappard became inspired by the Préviniaire cotton-dyeing plant in Haarlem. He met the owner of the plant at the art society Kunst Zij ons Doel in Haarlem. In his sketches of individual workmen, Van Rappard strove for pure, expressive forms – as he would do throughout his career. The series of workmen is generally regarded as his finest work as well as a unique documentation of nineteenth century Dutch industry. Most of the works in this series can be found in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The present lot is one of the rare examples that stayed in private hands.