Documentation

The Van Gogh Museum's documentation centre collects and manages documents connected with works in the collections of the Van Gogh Museum and Mesdag Museum (The Hague), the life and work of Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries, and general topics associated with areas of interest to the two museums. The centre also collects a modest amount of archival material.

The Van Gogh Museum's documentation comprises the following elements:

- documents relating to items in the collections of the Van Gogh Museum and Mesdag Museum (The Hague)

- documents relating to the life and work of Vincent van Gogh

- general documents

- archives

Directions for consulting documents can be found at information for visitors under Library.

For more information: documentatie@vangoghmuseum.nl.

Items in the Van Gogh Museum and Mesdag Museum collections

The Van Gogh Museum collection contains paintings, drawings and prints, objects (including sculpture, medals and ceramics), documents (Van Gogh family correspondence, photos and similar items) and (temporary) loans. Almost every item in the collection has its own documentation dossier. The largest dossiers are those relating to paintings, drawings, prints and objects.

Item documentation comprises the following elements:

- documents and secondary literature associated with the item

- reproductions

The Van Gogh Museum print collection comprises:

- nineteenth-century graphic art

- Japanese prints

- magazine illustrations collected by Vincent van Gogh and his brother Theo

Reproductions have been made of most of the documents. The majority of letters in the collection have been transcribed and can be viewed on computer in the reading room.

Vincent van Gogh's letters are stored separately, ordered numerically according to the system established in Han van Crimpen and Monique Berends-Albert (eds.), De brieven van Vincent van Gogh, 4 vols., The Hague 1990.

There is a documentation dossier for every item in the Mesdag Museum collection

Life and work of Vincent van Gogh

When the Van Gogh Museum acquired the archive of M.E. Tralbaut (1902-1976) in 1969, the foundations had been laid for documenting the life and work of Van Gogh. The museum which now manages a comprehensive and specialised range of documents associated with the artist.

Works of art

There is extensive documentation for every work by Vincent van Gogh, classified by F number (after J.-B. de la Faille, The Works of Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam 1970), or, if a work does not have a F number, by JH number (after Jan Hulsker, The New Complete Van Gogh, Amsterdam/Philadelphia 1996). Works in the museum's collection without a F or a JH number are classified by inventory number.

There is also documentation for paintings and drawings identified as an original work by Vincent van Gogh, but not included in the 1970 De la Faille catalogue.

Exhibitions

Documentation on exhibitions that have included work by Van Gogh comprises reviews, photocopies of documents connected with these exhibitions, lists of works exhibited (with information on sales if applicable) and sometimes (a photocopy of) the catalogue.

Biography

Documentation on Van Gogh's life comprises newspaper cuttings, documents and photographs. Documentation connected with the Van Gogh Museum is also accommodated in this section.

General documentation

General documentation includes documents, photographs (reproductions) and newspaper cuttings relating to various people and subjects, mainly associated with Van Gogh.

Additional documentation:   - posters of exhibitions held at the Van Gogh Museum and Van Gogh exhibitions . - documentation dossiers for exhibitions organised by the Van Gogh Museum, containing reviews, photographs and related items. - auction dossiers (from 1900), providing a record of when and where work by Van Gogh was sold. A picture of the auctioned work is accompanied by the sale price (if known).

Archives

Over the years the Van Gogh Museum has acquired various archives. These mainly comprise correspondence.

Edward Buckman Archive

Edward Buckman (1904-1973) was a great admirer of Van Gogh's work. He corresponded with Paul Gachet fils, Ir. V.W. van Gogh and M.E. Tralbaut, and compiled an unpublished Van Gogh bibliography. The Buckman archive was acquired by the Vincent van Gogh Foundation in 1974. It comprises correspondence, publications (incorporated in the library collection) and a sheet of sketches by Vincent van Gogh (F 1654).

Artemis Karagheusian Archive

Artemis Karagheusian (d. 1989), a Van Gogh enthusiast, commissioned a plaque for Van Gogh's house in Paris, at 54 rue Lepic. She also financed the facsimile edition of Van Gogh's letters in French, Letters of Vincent van Gogh 1886-1890: a facsimile edition, V.W. van Gogh (ed.), 2 vols., London/Amsterdam 1977, and published Vincent van Gogh's letters written in French. Differences between the printed versions and the manuscripts in 1984. Her archive, which largely consists of correspondence and the products of her research, was presented to the Van Gogh Museum after her death in 1990.

Huinck & Scherjon Art Dealers' Archive

This archive, presented by Huink's widow to the Vincent van Gogh Foundation in 1971, comprises correspondence relating to the years 1930-1939.

Written permission from the Van Gogh Museum's head of research is required to consult the following archives:

A.M. Hammacher Archive

In 1978 Professor A.M.Hammacher (1897-2002) presented part of his archive to the Van Gogh Museum. In 2002 and 2003 his widow, Mrs R. Hammacher-Van den Brande, bequeathed further archival material to the museum, comprising correspondence, photographs, press cuttings and articles.

Jan Hulsker Archive

The archive of Van Gogh expert Jan Hulsker (1907-2002) was presented to the Van Gogh Museum in 2003. This comprises unpublished 'essays' on the subject of Van Gogh.

M. de Sablonière (pseudonym of M.C. Bicker Caarten-Sigter) Archive

Margrit de Sablonière (d. 1979) published articles on Van Gogh. In 1980 her husband, Mr Bicker Caarten, presented her archive of documents and correspondence to the Van Gogh Museum.

M.E. Tralbaut Archive

This archive was donated to the museum in 1986 and 2002 by Mrs M. Tralbaut (1902-1976). It mainly comprises correspondence.