Three works from Van Gogh’s Borinage period discovered in Japan   

Vincent van Gogh, at the time aspiring to join the clergy, spent the years 1878-80 in the Borinage coalmining region outside Mons proselytizing. It was here that he abandoned preaching and, after anguished thought, decided to live as an artist.

            Focusing on Van Gogh’s Borinage period, this show featured 70 works, including drawings and paintings depicting coalminers, peasants and the Borinage landscape, as well as letters written by the artist. Playing a key role in the success of the exhibition were three significant works of the period whose whereabouts were long reckoned uncertain but were purchased several years ago by a Japanese museum from a private collector.

            The opening of the exhibition, held as part of the main program of the Mons 2015 opening ceremony, was attended by the King and Queen of the Belgians. It enjoyed much exposure in the media and welcomed 180,000 visitors.

Date:

25 Jan. – 17 May 2015

Venue:

BAM (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Mons)

Collection from Japan:

“Cottage with Peasant Woman Digging“ 1885, oil on canvas, Tokyo Fuji Art Museum “The End of the Day (after Millet)” 1889, oil on canvas, Menard Art Museum , Komaki-city, Japan “Reaper with Sickle (after Millet)” 1880, drawing, Uehara Museum of Modern Art , Shimoda, Japan