Vincent’s works exhibited during his lifetime

From letter 718 it emerges that Van Gogh exhibited work at the paint merchant Julien Tanguy’s shop and with the art dealers Pierre Firmin Martin and Georges Thomas. We do not know who the fourth dealer was; it may have been the courtier dealer Alphonse Portier, who lived in the same building as Theo and Vincent. See Welsh-Ovcharov 1976, p. 20 and exhib. cat. Paris 1988, pp. 338-343.

July 1887 – Pere Tanguy’s shop –

I saw Tanguy yesterday and he put a canvas I had just done in his window (To Theo van Gogh. Paris, between about Saturday, 23 and about Monday, 25 July 1887)   This was possibly the riverscape from Asnières which Van Gogh said that Tanguy had in his possession in a letter of July 1888; see letter 637, n. 2.

6. One of the four works was the painting in the window (n. 5above). It is not possible to say for certain which other works he is talking about; they were probably landscapes from Asnières.

The large canvas Van Gogh says he has in hand was probably Montmartre: behind the Moulin de la Galette (F 316 / JH 1246 ), 81 x 100 cm, the first of his two large canvases of Montmartre (the other one, Vegetable gardens in Montmartre (F 350 / JH 1245 ), 96 x 120 cm, was painted shortly afterwards). Couples in a Montmartre garden (F 314 / JH 1258 ), 75.5 x 113 cm) does not qualify because it dates from mid-May. See cat. Amsterdam 2011.

Cafe Tambourin

Grand Bullion, Restaurant du Chalet

Theatre Libre – couples in voyer d argenson park – Asnieres

Salon des Indépendants 1888

Salon des Indépendants 1889

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Les XX
January 18 – February 23, 1890
Brussels
Participation in Les XX was by invitation only unless you were a member. Van Gogh’s invitation was dated November 15, 1889 from Octave Maus. Van Gogh displayed Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers, Vase with Twelve Sunflowers, Ivy also known as A Corner in the Garden of Saint-Paul Hospital), Flowering Orchard (Arles), Wheat Field, Sunrise (Saint-Remy), and Red Vineyard (Mont-Majour). Van Gogh’s participation in the exhibition caused a bit of a stir when Henry de Groux announced that he did not want to display his works with Van Gogh’s. De Groux was expelled from the Les XX association, though he later apologized and was allowed to resign. The Les XX exhibition is where Van Gogh sold his only painting during his lifetime, The Red Vineyard was purchased by Anna Boch for 400 francs.

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Salon des Indépendants
March 20 – April 27, 1890
Paris, France
The Society of Independent Artists was founded to sponsor regular exhibitions of contemporary art with no juries and no prizes. Van Gogh participated in their 6th annual event and displayed The Cypress, Mountain landscape in Provence, Street in Saint-Rémy, The Alpilles, Promenade in Arles, Mulberry Tree in Autumn, Underwoods, Sunrise in Provence, The Sunflowers, and Olive Orchard in Provence.