Jo van Gogh-Bonger (1862–1925), one of art history’s most quietly influential figures, will be the subject of an exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum, the institution named after her brother-in-law, the Dutch Post-Impressionist she helped make famous.
It is well known that Vincent van Gogh struggled to find an audience for his work during his lifetime, only achieving the renown he enjoys today posthumously. But it is Van Gogh-Bonger who deserves much of the credit for his blossoming into a beloved figure known the world over for his captivating paintings as well as his mental illness and premature death.
When Van Gogh-Bonger married Theo van Gogh (1857–1891), it was with the knowledge that the art dealer was supporting his artist brother, a preternatural talent who also suffered from fits of melancholy and had even cut off his own ear just after their engagement. When Van Gogh died in July 1890, the couple inherited his life’s work, a cache of 400 paintings and many more drawings.
Finding a home for this art, and fostering a love and appreciation for it, was always going to be a monumental task. But then, adding to the family’s tragedy, Theo died just 21 months after his wedding, leaving his young wife to care not only for their baby Vincent, but for the life’s work of his namesake uncle. (The brothers are buried side-by-side in the cemetery in Auvers-sur-Oise, the village north of Paris where Van Gogh died.)
Isaac Israëls, (1920). Collection of the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
The exhibition, which marks the centenary of the death of Van Gogh-Bonger, will feature the work of Isaac Israëls (1865–1934). She at one point hoped to marry the Dutch painter after the death of her husband, but Israëls and Van Gogh-Bonger instead became close friends.
She even loaned him several works by her brother-in-law, which served as a major source of inspiration for Israëls. Incorporating copies of Van Gogh’s paintings into the background in at least 17 of his paintings between 1915 and 1920, Israëls even began using Vincent’s name as a verb.
Isaac Israëls, (ca. 1916–20). Photo: courtesy of Christie’s Amsterdam.
“I’m still very busy Vincenting,” he wrote to Van Gogh-Bonger at one point. The museum’s collection includes over 100 letters from Israëls to Van Gogh-Bonger, which are being published in a digital edition on the occasion of the show.
“Israëls writes with great candor and verve about art, literature, music, love and friendship. He had a keen interest in Jo and her tribulations, and enjoyed their time together. But he was also fascinated by Vincent’s work, as he frequently expresses in his letters,” Hans Luijten, Van Gogh-Bonger’s biographer, who is publishing the letters, said in a statement.
Excerpts from Van Gogh-Bonger’s diary that provide insight into the relationship between the two will also be on view.
Isaac Israëls, (1895–97). Collection of the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
The exhibition unites 10 of Israëls’s Van Gogh-inspired works, as well as his 1894 painting of the young Vincent Willem van Gogh, and (1895–97), which the museum had restored ahead of the show to remove layers of overpainting and thick yellow varnish.
After decades in the shadows, Luijten’s 2022 biography, , finally brought Van Gogh-Bonger’s important role in popularizing Van Gogh’s work to light—tirelessly wooing critics and arranging shows, even in the U.S. Hopefully, this exhibition will make her name known to even more of those who love and appreciate her famous brother-in-law.
Source: Exhibition - news.artnet.com
