Vincent van Gogh - Orphan Man
photo: sotheby’s
There is no model in Van Gogh’s œuvre who is depicted in so many ways as Zuyderland. He can be recognized in drawings of a single figure, groups and in studies of heads. He appears in different outfits and poses and with various attributes’ (Sjraar van Heugten, Vincent van Gogh Drawings. The Early Years 1880-1883, Amsterdam, 1996, p. 129). Van Heugten refers to Adrianus Jacobus Zuyderland, who lived at the Dutch Reformed Almshouse for Men and Women and who, alongside other residents from the home, would pose for the artist in return for ‘a few quarters for an afternoon or morning’ (Van Gogh quoted in ibid., p. 129). His easily identifiable features, including his bright white whiskers and the prominent slope of his nose, captivated Van Gogh’s imagination.
In addition to featuring in numerous compositions during the Hague period, including the present work and the drawing Worn Out in the Van Gogh Museum, Zuyderland's likeness would later inspire the artist to create his iconic painting At Eternity’s Gate, now in the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo (fig.1). In a letter to the Dutch painter and friend Anthon Van Rappard in September 1881 Van Gogh expressed his enthusiasm towards studying the residents of the almshouse, in addition to shedding some light on the enigmatic title: ‘I am very busy working on drawings of a weesman [“orphan man”], as these almsmen are called here. Don’t you think the expressions weesman and weesvrouw [“orphan woman”] superb?’ (Van Gogh quoted in ibid., p. 128). Van Gogh’s expressive blending of mediums in the present work allowed the artist to realistically portray the unique contours of his sitter’s face and to poignantly capture his psychological state.
