Rijksmuseum gains three Van Goghs, including first Amsterdam painting

The Rijksmuseum has bolstered its collection with the acquisition of three Vincent van Gogh paintings on long-term loan, including a rare view of Amsterdam painted by the artist himself during his first visit to the museum in 1885. The paintings, including "View of Amsterdam from Central Station,” cover an important three-year period in the artist’s life.

"The view of Amsterdam's Singel canal and its domed church is in all probability the first painting by Van Gogh ever to cross the threshold of the Rijksmuseum; the fact that it could happen again now is something truly special," said Niels de Boer, from the P. and N. de Boer Foundation. The Amsterdam-based organization also loaned "Riverbank with Trees" (1887) and "Wheat Field" (1888) to the Rijksmuseum.

Van Gogh made the October 1885 trip from his family’s home in Nuenen after saving up whatever money he could. “He was very impressed by the paintings of Frans Hals – especially “Militia Company of District XI” – but was completely blown away by Rembrandt’s “The Jewish Bride,” the museum said.

“[I would] gladly give up ten years of my life to sit in front of the painting for two weeks, eating only a stale crust of bread,” Van Gogh said in writing cited by the museum. The same morning of his visit, he quickly painted a scene along the Singel canal, including the Koepelkerk and its readily identifiable copper dome.

He soon moved on to Antwerp, then Paris, where he painted “Riverbank with Trees” during a time when he began framing his compositions in a more bold manner, accentuated by his choice of colors. “The difference is extraordinary between his views of Amsterdam and the bank of the river Seine, which he painted two years later. In the second work he used short brushstrokes to apply crisp, bright colours in a modern compositional style,” the Rijksmuseum wrote.

The following year brought the 35-year-old Van Gogh to Arles as he sought calm after spending a few years in the large cities. He soon began a series of paintings inspired by the yellow wheat fields there, including the 1888 piece, “Wheat Field,” now hanging in the Rijksmuseum.

The painting was acquired by Pieter de Boer and his wife, Nellie Pressburger. While the two maintained a private collection, De Boer and his brother, Rudolf, started a 1921 art dealership in Amsterdam. The foundation that loaned the paintings to the Rijksmuseum was established from the private collection after Pressburger’s death.

“We are delighted that the P. and N. de Boer Foundation has placed these paintings on long-term loan to the museum,” said Taco Dibbits, the Rijksmuseum’s general director. "The Rijksmuseum collection had an important part to play in Van Gogh's artistic development.”