It's painted by....?

So if "Cottage with sticks" is not by Van Gogh, and it also is not a fake (see section "It's a fake"), who did paint it then?
It must be painted by someone.

First lets take a 'fresh' look at the painting. What do we see and know?

a - it's old, say at least 100 years.
b - it's painted in Drenthe or nearby.
c - it has a dark and dreary style.
d - it's not signed.

The question can be rephrased as:
"Who was 100 years ago in Drenthe and painted a dark and dreary painting in this style and didn't sign it?"

Beside the most probable answer, there are 2 other possibilities:

1. It's painted by an unkown amateur.
2. It's painted by a known painter.

Option 1. It's painted by an unknown amateur.
At the end of the 19th century the population in the Netherlands was much smaller than it is now. Most people lived in great poverty. (During my investigation into the provenance of the painting I learned that around 1900 a wealthy man in my town visited a nearby neighbourhood. He was struck by the poverty and arranged that hundreds of breads were baked and every family received one bread).
As can be read from Vincent's letters, painting materials, especially paint, was very expensive these days. Painting as a hobby as we see it nowadays, wasn't in the picture those days.
I can imagine one could become a painter those days if one was very much talented and could find the financial support. It's probable that those few who did became more or less "known" painters.

Option 2. It's painted by known painter.
During the time of Van Gogh a number of painters have visited the province of Drenthe. If the painting "Cottage with sticks" is not by Van Gogh than it is only probable that it is painted by one of those other painters who visited Drenthe.
In the period when those cottages as depicted were found in Drenthe, the following artists visited Drenthe or are known to paint landscapes:

- Theophile de Bock (1851-1904)
- Paul Joseph Constantin Gabriël (1828-1903)
- Isaac Israëls (1865-1934)
- Anton Mauve (1838-1888)
- Hendrik Willem Mesdag (1831-1915)
- Willem Roelofs (1822-1897)
- H. v.d. Sande Bakhuyzen (1795-1860)

I've checked paintings of most of these painters, trying to find paintings which came closest to "Cottage with sticks". Unfortunately I couldn't find one!
Practically all these paintings differ greatly from "Cottage with sticks", as they represent a much more "photographic" likeness, much more detail, brighter colors etc.



As can be concluded from the above, the question "Who did paint it?", remains a great mystery.
With all my best intentions, I can't find any clue leading in a direction other than Vincent van Gogh.

Cottage with sticks & Vincent van Gogh - by Carl & Ans 2003-2005.

Click image to enlarge

"Farm at the waterside"
Theophile de Bock

"Landscape"
P.J.C. Gabriël

"Donkey riding along the beach"
Isaac Israëls

"Morningride along the beach"
Anton Mauve

"Pinks in the surf"
H.W. Mesdag

"Landscape with nearing thunderstorm"
Willem Roelofs

"Selfportrait in a landscape"
H. v.d. Sande Bakhuyzen