''Marsh with Water Lilies'' is a drawing by

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...

. It was executed at Etten (now

Etten-Leur Etten-Leur () is a municipality in the Dutch province North Brabant. Its name is a combination of the two villages from which the municipality originally acrose: Etten and Leur. History The villages were always part of one municipality, originally ...

) in June 1881. Vincent's father Theodorus van Gogh, a pastor, was called to Etten in 1875. Vincent spent periods of time there, notably from Easter to Christmas 1881 when he returned to join his brother

Theo Theo is a given name and a hypocorism. Greek origin Many names beginning with the root "Theo-" derive from the Ancient Greek word ''theos'' (''θεός''), which means god, for example: *Feminine names: Thea, Theodora, Theodosia, Theophania, ...

, an art dealer, determined to become an artist. This period at Etten represents the beginning proper of Vincent's ten-year career as an artist. He had drawn since boyhood, and the previous year had enrolled in a beginners' class in Brussels where he met the painter Anthon van Rappard, but he now began to draw in earnest. He rapidly developed an accomplished technique in landscape drawing but remained rather more uncertain in his figure drawing, which he practiced assiduously with the aid of

Charles Bargue Charles Bargue (c. 1826/1827 – April 6, 1883) was a French painter and lithographer noted for devising an influential drawing course. Life and career He is mostly remembered for his ''Cours de dessin'', one of the most influential classical d ...

's drawing course. Rappard made a twelve-day visit during this time, and they sketched together in the marshes and heaths round Etten. Vincent also visited his cousin-in-law Anton Mauve in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, a celebrated artist of the time, who had expressed an interest in his drawings and who encouraged him further. At this time Vincent had not progressed as far as painting, though he did wash some of his drawings with watercolor. At the end of the year he made an extended visit to Mauve, who introduced him to painting. He returned to Etten with the intention of setting up a studio there. However he quarreled with his father on Christmas Day and left the family home to set up his studio in

instead.

History

The drawing was in the holdings of Vincent's sister

Wil Wil () is the capital of the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Wil in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Wil is the third largest city in the Canton of St. Gallen, after the city of St. Gallen and Rapperswil-Jona, a twin city that merged in ...

who left Etten in June 1881 to take up a position as a governess in Amsterdam. At the same time there is a mention in a letter to Theo of Vincent making a pen drawing in the Passievaart marshes of lilies during an excursion with Anthon van Rappard, who was visiting. It is reasonable to suppose he gave this drawing as a leaving gift to Wil, thus dating the drawing as around 13 June 1881 from van Rappard's own date for his Passievaart drawing.Hulsker, p. 13.

Provenance

* Miss W. van Gogh, Dieren, Netherlands * J.P, Scholte, Barchem, Netherlands * Lochem, Netherlands, Mrs. A.T. Scholte-van Houten * Scholte-van Houten collection 1970

Exhibition History

* 1947, Basle, 112 * 1956, Munich, 6 * 1957, Essen, 128 * 1960, Paris, 73 * 1962, Warsaw, 89 * 1963, Tel Aviv, Haifa, 7

Notes

Letters

Bibliography

* de la Faille, Jacob-Baart. ''The Works of Vincent van Gogh: His Paintings and Drawings''. Amsterdam: Meulenhoff, 1970. * Hulsker, Jan. ''The Complete Van Gogh''. Oxford: Phaidon, 1980. * Naifeh, Steven; Smith, Gregory White. ''Van Gogh: The Life''. Profile Books, 2011. * Pomerans, Arnold. ''The Letters of Vincent van Gogh''. Penguin Classics, 2003. * Tralbaut, Marc Edo. ''Vincent van Gogh'', Macmillan, London 1969,

External links

{{Vincent van Gogh Paintings by Vincent van Gogh 1881 paintings Water in art