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Primary sourceDocument1889

Tableaux modernes

H. G. Tersteeg · 1889

A 1889 sale catalogue by art dealer H. G. Tersteeg listing paintings from the collection of Van Gogh's late father, during Vincent's lifetime.

A dealer's auction catalogue from the art world Van Gogh's family worked in during his lifetime.

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Tableaux modernesPDF · 142 pages
H. G. Tersteeg (ed.), Tableaux modernes, The Hague, 1889.

About this source

What it is

This is a catalogue, printed in The Hague in 1889, for an auction of paintings titled Tableaux modernes. It was produced under the direction of H. G. Tersteeg, an art dealer who knew Vincent van Gogh, together with C. M. van Gogh. The sale took place at the Pulchri Studio art society in The Hague.

Why it matters

Catalogues like this document the art market Van Gogh and his family were part of—his uncle and brother worked in the art trade, and Tersteeg managed a gallery branch where Vincent himself once worked. It shows how paintings moved between collectors and dealers in the period while Van Gogh was still alive and painting.

Look closer

  • What does a sale catalogue tell us that a painting itself cannot?
  • Why might someone who worked in the art trade be a useful witness to an artist's life?
  • What is missing from a catalogue like this—whose voice do we not hear?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Vincent van Gogh on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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