Thatched Cottages in Jorgus

Vincent van Gogh

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Keywords: ThatchedCottagesJorgus

Work Overview

Thatched Cottages in Jorgus
Vincent van Gogh
Date: 1890; Auvers-sur-oise, France *
Style: Post-Impressionism
Genre: landscape
Media: oil, canvas
Dimensions: 40.5 x 33 cm
Location: Private Collection


The picturesque thatched cottages of Auvers appear of necessity in many of van Gogh's views of the town. Only in four paintings are thatched cottages the dominant theme: F758, F780, F792, and F806.[25] In drawings such as F1640r (right), the exaggerated rounded roof lines are not to be found in either French or Dutch cottages. They are part of van Gogh's return to the North he describes in a letter to Theo dated 29 April 1890. The drawing is a study for F750 (below). Close examination shows that there are nevertheless significant differences between the two works; for example the hills in the painting are trees in the drawing. Van Der Veen & Knapp comment that these liberties van Gogh took with his subject matter demonstrate that his paintings and drawings are not literal depictions of nature but rather interpretations of it.