’s-Hertogenbosch - Het Noordbrabants Museum is making a final effort to acquire Vincent van Gogh’s Head of a Woman (Gordina de Groot). He painted the portrait of Gordina de Groot from Nuenen in 1885. She’s one of the five people at the table in his world-famous masterpiece The Potato Eaters. The museum now has the exclusive opportunity to keep Gordina’s portrait in Brabant. It’s therefore calling on the people of Brabant to rise to the occasion and help keep Gordina close to her roots for all time. This masterpiece from Van Gogh’s Brabant period is currently on temporary loan to the museum.
Head of a Woman (Gordina de Groot) has been part of the Pierson collection for 120 years, kept in The Hague and later in Switzerland, and has only been exhibited to the public once, in 1943. An extraordinary masterpiece for the Netherlands as a whole, it is particularly significant for Brabant. Jacqueline Grandjean, director of the Noordbrabants Museum, says: ‘Gordina’s gaze speaks of the drudgery of peasant life and the worries that go with it. At the same time, the painting shows the pride and resilience that have made this [Brabant] the most prosperous province in the Netherlands. It is here that Gordina’s gaze has a deep meaning for the people. Everyone who looks into her eyes is touched. That’s why we playfully call her the Mona Lisa of Brabant.’
Photo Jan-Kees Steenman
About Gordina
Vincent van Gogh painted Head of a Woman (Gordina de Groot) in Nuenen in March-April 1885. He was practising figure painting so that he would eventually be able to create a complex composition like The Potato Eaters. Of this highlight of his Brabant period, Van Gogh later wrote from Paris that it was the best thing he had done. As Helewise Berger, curator of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century art, put it: ‘Van Gogh painted Gordina confidently, with precise yet loose brushstrokes. Although he used earth tones, you can see shades of green and pink as well. This early highlight is a wonderful addition to our collection.’
Gordina and Vincent met regularly; the artist painted her several times. And when it became clear that Gordina was pregnant, Van Gogh was quickly and unfairly implicated as the possible father. When her portrait was painted, she must have already been pregnant. By whom? That’s one of Nuenen’s best-kept secrets.
The Acquisition
The museum has the opportunity to buy the painting before it goes on the market, for 8.6 million euros. There are several interested parties, but the English collector will only sell it to Het Noordbrabants Museum. So far, 75 per cent of the purchase price has been pledged by the Dutch government, various funds and the museum itself.
Brabant has a population of 2.6 million. This is exactly the amount the museum still needs. It's now up to the people of Brabant to raise the rest of the money so that the painting can stay here forever. It's easy to donate via the museum's website or at the pay point next to the painting. In mid-July, the museum is organizing a free-admission weekend so that everyone can look into Gordina's eyes one last time - or will she stay?
Milestones
- July 13 and 14: Free admission to the museum for everyone; festive ‘Eating Potatoes with Gordina’ in the forecourt.
- 2025: Exhibition ‘De aardappel’ in the Noordbrabants Museum and Brabant Tour Gordina