Burning Weeds
mid-July, 1883
Medium
Transfer lithograph with pen and ink
Dimensions
Sheet: 7 1/4 × 11 9/16 in. (18.4 × 29.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Fletcher Fund, William R. Drexler Sr. and Violet Drexler Bequest, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, and The Derald H. Ruttenberg Foundation, in honor of Nadine M. Orenstein and Charles and Jessie Price Gifts, 2021
Accession Number
2021.242
About this artwork
This rare transfer lithograph represents Van Gogh's brief but intense engagement with printmaking during his time in The Hague. Created in mid-July 1883, "Burning Weeds" is one of only two lithographs Van Gogh produced, alongside "Gardener by an Apple Tree." The artist worked on smooth transfer paper using fine pen, then encountered difficulties when transferring the image to lithographic stone and printing, leading him to extensively retouch the printed proof with pen and ink. This hybrid techn...
About the Artist
Vincent van Gogh · 1853–1890
Vincent Willem van Gogh (1853-1890) stands as one of the most influential figures in Western art history, despite a career spanning merely a decade. Born in Groot-Zundert, Netherlands, to a Protestant pastor's family, van Gogh's path to artistic greatness was anything but conventional. His early adulthood saw him working as an art dealer for Goupil & Cie, a language teacher, and a fervent missiona...