Van Gogh Museum and Drents Museum jointly acquire rare Van Gogh painting

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the Drents Museum in Assen have jointly acquired Vincent van Gogh's painting "Peasant Burning Weeds" (1883), one of only five surviving works from the artist's stay in Drenthe. The acquisition ensures that all known paintings from Van Gogh's Drenthe period are now in Dutch public collections. The work, executed in dark tones, depicts a peasant burning weeds at dusk—a scene Van Gogh described in a letter to his brother Theo as capturing "the vastness of the plain and the twilight, and the small fire with the thread of smoke is the only point of light." During his autumn 1883 stay in Drenthe, Van Gogh painted at least 18 studies, but most were lost. The Van Gogh Museum already held three Drenthe-period works, and the Drents Museum held one. The joint acquisition was supported by public and private funds. The painting will be alternately displayed at both museums, starting with the Drents Museum.