Anton Hirschig

Last updated

Antonius (Anton) Matthias Hirschig (18 February 1867, Naarden - 6 November 1939, Alkmaar), also known as Tony or Tom, was a Dutch artist who, as a young man, lodged with Vincent van Gogh at the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise at the time of Van Gogh's death in 1890.

Contents

Biography

Antonius Matthias Hirschig was born on 18 February 1867 in Naarden, a town in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. He was the son of Christianus Jacobus Johannes Hirsching and Anna Swart. [1] His father was an Amsterdam trained physician in the Dutch Royal Navy and his grandfather Antonius Hirschig [2] was a rector of the Latin academy in Alkmaar. Hirschig's paternal aunts Adriana Wilhelmina Hirschig and Jacoba Gysberta Hirschig married into the wealthy de Lange banking family of Alkmaar [3] as did Hirschig's sister Anna in a consanguineous marriage to a son of Jacoba Gysberta. In addition Hirschig's brother Adrianus Jacobus Hirschig was a successful civil engineer (he built sea dykes) who became extremely wealthy in his own right (wealthy enough to own a considerable country house 'Postwyck' [4] [5] in Baambrugge).

Hirschig's own financial circumstances are not documented nor is a profession or occupation documented for him other than 'kunstschilder' (artist) in the Hirschig genealogy deposited in the de Lange archive in Alkmaar in 1958. However Hirschig may well have come into money from his mother Anna Swart. Her father Jacob Swart was a director of the noted Amsterdam chartmaking firm Van Keulen and carried on the business after the death of its last founding family member. The firm was liquidated in 1885. After Anna Swart's death, Anton Hirschig's father married her sister Catharina Swart.

Anton's other brother Jacob Hirschig was an artillery officer and he is listed as an 'amateurschilder' (amateur painter) in Pieter Scheen's monumental Lexicon Nederlandse Beeldende Kunstenaars 1750 - 1950. [6] There was another sister Matthia Hirschig with whom Anton Hirschig is confused in the first (1969) edition of Scheen's lexicon.

There was a family connection with the Dutch painter Anton Mauve. His mother Elisabeth Margaretha Hirschig was a first cousin twice removed of Anton Hirschig. In addition, Mauve himself was married to Ariëtte (Jet) Sophia Jeannette Carbentus, a first cousin of Vincent van Gogh, [7] and Mauve offered early encouragement and instruction to Van Gogh. It does seem likely therefore that Anton Hirschig's introduction to Van Gogh was facilitated by these family connections (however Theo van Gogh in his letter of 15 June 1890 [8] to Vincent says that De Bock had introduced him).

Jacoba Gysberta Hirschig is a great-grandmother of Pieter van Vollenhoven, the husband of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands. The Hirschig family itself originated with a Swiss mercenary soldier Samuel Hirsig from Amsoldingen, who settled in Breda, Netherlands, with his wife Catharina Luginbuhl (Logebuli) from Grosshöchstetten, before 1757 with the Stürler regiment. His son Jacobus Christiaan in Hirschig's line became a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church and other members of the Hirschig family gained prominence as classics scholars, for example Willem Adrianus Hirschig provided a translation (in decent Latin) of the popular but raunchy Ancient Greek romance Leucippe and Clitophon in his Erotici Scriptores (Paris, 1856). [9] The family name Hirschig is now defunct. [10]

Hirschig died in Alkmaar on 6 November 1939.

Literature

Pieter Scheen's entry in the first (1969) and 1981 editions of his lexicon confuses Hirschig with his sister Matthia Antonia [11] and accordingly gives him the wrong dates while at the same time crediting him with such prodigies as organising an exhibition in The Hague at the age of 13. How much of the entry can be trusted in the circumstances is thus a matter for judgement but Hirschig (at age 23) may indeed have held exhibitions in The Hague and Arnhem in 1890 (the year of Van Gogh's death) and subsequently Amsterdam in 1903. It is also true that a 1922 (not 1912) painting of Hirschig's found its way into The Hague's Municipal Museum as part of the Bredius gift to the nation. [12]

Auvers

Hirschig lodged with Vincent van Gogh at the Auberge Ravoux from around 17 June 1890 to shortly after Van Gogh's death. He occupied the attic room next to Van Gogh's and these two rooms can still be seen at the inn. It is not documented whether Hirschig was taking lessons from Van Gogh.

Anton Hirschig is mentioned in three of Van Gogh's letters. [13] At first Van Gogh thought Hirschig too "gentil" to be an artist and questions whether he would ever amount to anything. However, in what was to be Van Gogh's last letter (to his brother Theo), he softens his position and says that he thinks Hirschig has begun to understand things a little better. Curiously that was also destined to be the last judgement he ever made on an artist in his letters.

Adeline Ravoux, the daughter of the innkeeper at the Auberge Ravoux, described Vincent's stay at the inn in a memoir. [14] She was some 12 years old at the time and approaching 80 when her memoir were published.

In the memoir, Adeline Ravoux recalls Hirschig as apparently more interested in beautiful girls than painting. She recalls him as speaking French very badly and that consequently he and Van Gogh were obliged to speak Dutch together. She didn't think Van Gogh took him very seriously. She records Hirschig as leaving the inn shortly after Van Gogh's death.

Account of Van Gogh's death

Van Gogh shot himself in a field on 27 July 1890 and died in the early hours of 29 July. [15] [16] In a letter to Albert Plasschaert written "half a lifetime later" in 1911, [17] Hirschig gives a graphic and shocking account of Van Gogh's death which is sharply at variance with the moving and sensitive account given by Émile Bernard in a letter to Albert Aurier. [18]

Il était couché dans sa mansarde sous un toit en zinc. Il faisait terriblement chaud. ’t was in de maand Augustus. Hij is daar eenige dagen gebleven. Misschien maar enkelen. Misschien velen. ’t Komt mij voor velen. ’s nachts schreeuwde hij, schreeuwde hij hard. Zijn bed stond tegen ’t beschot van de andere mansarde waar ik sliep: Il n’y a donc personne qui veut m’ouvrir le ventre! Midden in de nacht ik geloof dat er niemand bij hem was en ’t was zoo warm. Ik heb geloof ik nooit een andere docter gezien als zijn vriend de gewezen militaire dokter: C’est ta propre faute, pourquoi t’es-tu tué? Hij had geen instrumenten die dokter. Hij heeft daar gelegen tot dat hij dood was.
He lay in his attic room under a tin roof. It was terribly hot. It was August. He stayed there alone for some days. Perhaps only a few. Perhaps many. It seemed to me like a lot. At night he cried out, cried out loud. His bed stood just beside the partition of the other attic room where I slept: Isn't there anyone willing to open me up! I don't think there was anyone with him in the middle of the night and it was so hot. I don't think I ever saw any other doctor like his friend the retired army doctor: It's your own fault, what did you have to go kill yourself for? He didn't have any instruments this doctor. He lay there until he died.

Hirschig doesn't describe the funeral itself though he was present at the funeral and assisted in the arrangements, collecting flowers for the coffin and walking to Méry nearby to hire the hearse. [16]

In 1934 Abraham Bredius supplied in Oud Holland a short excerpt from a letter of Hirschig's detailing his recollections of Van Gogh. [19] The letter itself is not documented. The piece is careless in describing Hirschig as having lived with Van Gogh in the south of France whereas Auvers lies north of Paris. The excerpt covers much the same ground as the Plasschaert letter and in addition the following remarks of Hirschig's are quoted:

"Ik zie hem nog altijd met zijn afgesneden oor en zijn verwilderde oogen, waar iets krankzinnigs in zat en die ik niet dorst aan te kijken, zitten op de bank voor 't raam van 't cafétje ... (lit.: I can still him see with his cut off ear and his wild eyes, in which was resting something crazy and which I didn't dare look into, sitting on the bench at the café window...)"
"... tout était terrible chez cet homme. Je crois qu'il a beaucoup souffert sur cette terre. Je ne l'ai jamais vu sourire.... (everything was dreadful about that man. I think he suffered a great deal in life. I never saw him smile.)"

Related Research Articles

Anton Mauve

Anthonij (Anton) Rudolf Mauve was a Dutch realist painter who was a leading member of the Hague School. He signed his paintings 'A. Mauve' or with a monogrammed 'A.M.'. A master colorist, he was a very significant early influence on his cousin-in-law Vincent van Gogh.

<i>The Church at Auvers</i>

The Church at Auvers is an oil painting created by Dutch post-impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh in June 1890 which now hangs in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, France.

Auvers-sur-Oise Commune in Île-de-France, France

Auvers-sur-Oise is a commune on the northwestern outskirts of Paris, France. It is located 27.2 km (16.9 mi) from the centre of Paris. It is associated with several famous artists, the most prominent being Vincent van Gogh. This was also the place where Vincent van Gogh apparently died by suicide.

Paul Gachet French physician who treated the painter Vincent van Gogh during his last weeks

Paul-Ferdinand Gachet was a French physician most famous for treating the painter Vincent van Gogh during his last weeks in Auvers-sur-Oise. Gachet was a great supporter of artists and the Impressionist movement. He was an amateur painter, signing his works "Paul van Ryssel", referring to his birthplace: Rijssel is the Dutch name of Lille.

<i>Farms near Auvers</i> Painting by Vincent van Gogh

Farms near Auvers or Thatched Cottages by a Hill is an oil painting by Vincent van Gogh that he painted in July 1890 when he lived in Auvers-sur-Oise, France. The painting is an example of the double-square canvases that he employed in his last landscapes.

Vincent van Gogh chronology

This is a chronology of the artist Vincent van Gogh. It is based as far as possible on Van Gogh's correspondence. However, it has only been possible to construct the chronology by drawing on additional sources. Most of his letters are not dated and it was only in 1973 that a sufficient dating was established by Jan Hulsker, subsequently revised by Ronald Pickvance and marginally corrected by others. Many other relevant dates in the chronology derive from the biographies of his brother Theo, his uncle and godfather Cent, his friends Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin, and others.

<i>Daubignys Garden</i>

Daubigny's Garden, painted three times by Vincent van Gogh, depicts the enclosed garden of Charles-François Daubigny, a painter whom Van Gogh admired throughout his life.

<i>The Town Hall at Auvers</i>

The Town Hall at Auvers is a painting by Vincent van Gogh, executed mid-July 1890. It is based on the view Van Gogh had when he stepped out on the street from the Auberge Ravoux, where he stayed.

Auberge Ravoux Historic landmark in French village of Auvers-sur-Oise

The Auberge Ravoux is a French historic landmark located in the heart of the village of Auvers-sur-Oise. It is known as the House of Van Gogh because the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh spent the last 70 days of his life as a lodger at the auberge. During his stay at Auvers, Van Gogh created more than 80 paintings and 64 sketches before shooting himself in the chest on 27 July 1890 and dying two days later on 29 July 1890. The auberge (inn) has been restored as a museum and tourist attraction. The room where Van Gogh lived and died has been restored and can be viewed by the public.

<i>Girl in White</i>

Girl in White was painted by Vincent van Gogh in 1890 in Auvers-sur-Oise, France, during the last months of his life. Girl in White has been part of the Chester Dale Collection in the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. since 1963.

<i>Paintings of Children</i> (Van Gogh series)

Vincent van Gogh enjoyed making Paintings of Children. He once said that it's the only thing that "excites me to the depths of my soul, and which makes me feel the infinite more than anything else." Painting children, in particular represented rebirth and the infinite. Over his career Van Gogh did not make many paintings of children, but those he completed were special to him. During the ten years of Van Gogh's career as a painter, from 1881 to 1890, his work changed and grew richer, particularly in how he used color and techniques symbolically or evocatively.

<i>Doctor Gachets Garden in Auvers</i>

Dr. Gachet's Garden in Auvers and Marguerite Gachet in the Garden were both painted in 1890 by Vincent van Gogh in the gardens of his homeopathic physician, Dr. Paul Gachet. Both paintings reside at the Musée d'Orsay.

Death of Vincent van Gogh

The death of Vincent van Gogh, the Dutch post-Impressionist painter, occurred in the early morning of 29 July 1890, in his room at the Auberge Ravoux in the village of Auvers-sur-Oise in northern France. Van Gogh was shot in the stomach, either by himself or by others, and died two days later.

<i>The Letters of Vincent van Gogh</i>

The Letters of Vincent van Gogh refers to a collection of 903 surviving letters written (820) or received (83) by Vincent van Gogh. More than 650 of these were from Vincent to his brother Theo. The collection also includes letters van Gogh wrote to his sister Wil and other relatives, as well as between artists such as Paul Gauguin, Anthon van Rappard and Émile Bernard.

<i>Thatched Cottages and Houses</i>

Thatched Cottages and Houses is an oil painting by Vincent van Gogh that he painted in May 1890 when he lived in Auvers-sur-Oise, France.

<i>Old Vineyard with Peasant Woman</i>

Old Vineyard with Peasant Woman is a watercolour painting by Vincent van Gogh that he made in May 1890 when he lived in Auvers-sur-Oise, France.

<i>Tree Roots</i> 1890 painting by Vincent van Gogh

Tree Roots is an oil painting by Vincent van Gogh that he painted in July 1890 when he lived in Auvers-sur-Oise, France. The painting is an example of the double-square canvases that he employed in his last landscapes.

<i>Landscape with a Carriage and a Train</i>

Landscape with a Carriage and a Train is an oil painting by Vincent van Gogh that he painted in June 1890 when he lived in Auvers-sur-Oise, France.

<i>Houses at Auvers</i> Painting by Vincent van Gogh

Houses at Auvers is an oil painting by Vincent van Gogh. It was created towards the end of May or beginning of June 1890, shortly after he had moved to Auvers-sur-Oise, a small town northwest of Paris, France.

Statue of <i>Vincent and Theo van Gogh</i>

A statue of Vincent and Theo van Gogh by Ossip Zadkine stands on Vincent van Goghplein in the town of Zundert in the Netherlands. It stands in front of the Van Gogh church and not far from the place where the brothers were born. The bronze statue was unveiled by Queen Juliana on 28 May 1964.

References

  1. ↑ C.E.G. ten Houte de Lange, 'Hirschig', in: De Nederlandsche Leeuw Archived July 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine 111 (1994), p 206-21 (a comprehensive genealogy of the Hirschig family to the present day)
  2. ↑ "Jaarboek van de Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde, 1871 · dbnl".
  3. ↑ Inventaris van het archief van de familie De Lange, 1737-1987 Archived March 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine (includes a family history)
  4. ↑ "Beeldmateriaal 1900-1910 7211".
  5. ↑ nl:Lijst van rijksmonumenten in Baambrugge
  6. ↑ Pieter A. Scheen. Lexicon Nederlandse Beeldene Kunstenaar 1750-1950. (Gravenhage: Kunsthandel Pieter A. Scheen, 1969), s.v. Prins, Benjamin
  7. ↑ "Family tree of Vincent Van Gogh" (PDF). vangoghletters.org.
  8. ↑ "Letter 888". Vincent van Gogh. The Letters. Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum.
  9. ↑ Guillelmus Adrianus Hirschig (1856). Erotici scriptores. Paris: Didot. p.  100. hirschig 1856 leucippe.
  10. ↑ "Hirschig". Nederlandse Familienamenbank (in Dutch). Meertens Instituut.
  11. ↑ RKD database Archived September 7, 2010, at the Wayback Machine (confusion of A.M. Hirschig with M.A. Hirschig)
  12. ↑ "Gifts to Museums". Bredius Museum. Archived from the original on 2010-03-06.
  13. ↑ "Search result". Vincent van Gogh. The Letters. Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum.
  14. ↑ Adeline Ravoux (1957). "Souvenirs sur le séjour de Vincent van Gogh à Auvers-sur-Oise". Les Cahiers de Van Gogh; 1 (in French). pp. 7–17.
  15. ↑ "none". Le Régional . Beaumont-sur-Oise: Private archive of M. Jean-Pierre Mantel, Auvers-sur-Oise. 7 August 1890.
  16. 1 2 Obst, Andreas (2010). Records and deliberations about Vincent van Gogh's first grave in Auvers-sur-Oise. Lauenau: Het Geheugen van Nederland.
  17. ↑ van Crimpen, Han (1988). "Friends remember Van Gogh in 1912". In Haruo Arikawa; et al. (eds.). Vincent van Gogh. International Symposium Tokyo – October 17–19, 1985. Tokyo. pp. 73–90.
  18. ↑ "Letter from Emile Bernard to Albert Aurier. Paris, 2 August 1890". van Gogh's letters. WebExhibits.
  19. ↑ 'Herinneringen aan Vincent van Gogh' Oud Holland Archived 2012-02-26 at the Wayback Machine 1934 Vol 51 p. 44
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.