Vincent van Gogh

Mrs. Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, Amsterdam

H. Stinnes, Cologne

J.H. de Bois Art Gallery, Haarlem

Kunstzaal d’Audretsch, The Hague

H.E. van Gelder, The Hague

Nystad Antiquairs, The Hague

H.J. de Koster, Wassenaar (September 1960)

By descent from the above

Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Vincent van Gogh, 1905, no. 302

Leiden, De Lakenhal, Uit het kunstbezit van de leden van de Vereniging van Belangstellenden in de Lakenhal, 1965, no. 32

Nuenen, Stichting Neunen-100 Jaar van Gogh, Een Brabantse Van Gogh Ervaring, 1984

S’Hertogenbosch, Noordbrabants Museum, Van Gogh in Brabant, 1987

Jacob Baart de la Faille, The Works of Vincent Van Gogh, Amsterdam, 1970, no. F1290a, illustrated p. 454 (titled The Spinner)

Jan Hulsker, The New Complete Van Gogh, Paintings, Drawings, Sketches, Amsterdam, 1996, no. 699, illustrated p. 154

Ton Brouwer, ed., Een Brabantse van Gogh Ervaring, Eindhoven,1984, illustrated p.23

Evert van Uitert, ed., Van Gogh in Brabant: schilderijen en tekeningen uit Etten en Nuenen, Zwolle, 1987, no. 38, p. 169 

Vincent Van Gogh, Drawings, Volume 2, Nuenen 1883-1885, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 1997, no. 177c, illustrasted p. 219

Excellent condition. The brown sheet, which is a uniform color throuhought, is an extremely good condition and is mounted around its edges to a paper inlay, which allows the sheet to be seen from the reverse without excessive handling. There are slight undulations in the upper right of the sheet, and a small area in the center that is slightly mottled due to the effects of humidity -- none of this affects the appearance of the composition. The artist used a dark medium which he referred to as "mountain chalk", that has a dramatic depth of tone and is lusterous in the more heavily applied areas. The composition itself is in excellent, stable condition and shows no evidence of alteration.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

“Drawing is the root of everything” van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo. This rendering of a woman winding yarn is among the rare figural compositions that he completed in Nuenen in 1885.  The present work belongs to a select group featuring women performing domestic chores in a simple laborer’s cottage. The light from the window illuminates the scene with the figure in profile. These interior scenes presented several formal challenges for Van Gogh as described in a letter to his brother that March:  "I have studies of heads for it, against the light as well as turned toward the light, and I have worked several times already on the complete figure; spooling yarn, sewing, or peeling potatoes.  Full face and in profile, but I don't know whether I'll get it right; it is a difficult effect.  However, I think I have learned a few things from it" (reprinted in Vincent Van Gogh, Drawings, Volume 2, Nuenen 1883-1885, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 1997, p. 169).  Van Gogh's exploration of the theme of domestic interior activity ultimately resulted in his memorable painting The Potato Eaters, completed the following month. 

The present composition is closely related to a painting  (F36) and drawing (F1290) of the same subject, both from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.  In his catalogue raisonné, de la Faille referred to all three of these compositions as The Spinner, but Hulsker correctly identified the action as 'reeling yarn,' referring to the upright reel at the left which winds the skein of wool looped over the back of the chair.  Van Gogh placed his model and the reel in front of the window with the curtained bedstead as a backdrop. These elements are found in several compositions from this period with the yarn reel a recurrent prop in his compositions, particularly in a watercolor of a man doing the same activity (F1140). With this black chalk drawing, the direct and forceful contour of the figure is skillfully combined with the sensitive modeling of the rounded forms, effectively creating volume in his own inimitable graphic style.