Translating into Colors: Van Gogh’s Copies after Millet

During his stay in the asylum of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (1889–90), Vincent van Gogh completed a total of 20 paintings after black-and-white prints of Jean-François Millet, an artist he greatly admired. One of these paintings— Snow-Covered Field with a Harrow (after Millet) —is currently on loan to the Harvard Art Museums from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Nienke Bakker, curator of Van Gogh paintings at the Van Gogh Museum, will describe the artist’s lifelong admiration for Millet and his reasons for painting copies after his work. She will also present findings from recent research into Van Gogh’s working methods and pigments.

The lecture will take place in Menschel Hall, Lower Level. Please enter the museums via the entrance on Broadway. Doors will open at 5:30pm.

Free admission, but seating is limited. Tickets will be distributed beginning at 5:30pm at the Broadway entrance. One ticket per person.

Following the lecture, the gallery where Snow-Covered Field with a Harrow is on display, alongside a pastel of this same subject by Millet, will remain open until 8pm.

Complimentary parking available in the Broadway Garage, 7 Felton Street, Cambridge.

Support for the lecture is provided by the M. Victor Leventritt Fund, which was established through the generosity of the wife, children, and friends of the late M. Victor Leventritt, Harvard Class of 1935. The purpose of the fund is to present outstanding scholars of the history and theory of art to the Harvard and Greater Boston communities.