A rarely seen painting by Vincent van Gogh will be auctioned at Sotheby’s in Paris later this week. It is an appropriate venue for the sale of the work that depicts the Moulin de la Galette, a historic windmill in the Montmartre district of Paris. The work had been held within a French family’s private collection for over a century, and it is expected to fetch close to $10 million. Before it reaches the auction block, the work has already traveled to Amsterdam and Hong Kong where it went on public display.
A perennial favorite of art lovers, Vincent van Gogh rose to great fame after his apparent suicide. His legacy was secured in large part thanks to the efforts of his sister-in-law Johanna Gezina van Gogh-Bonger, wife to his brother Theo. After Vincent’s death, his property passed to his younger brother. In turn, his brother passed to his property, including Vincent’s paintings and his correspondences to his wife. With no income and a child to feed, Johanna demonstrated a shrewd eye and a natural adeptness for managing her brother-in-law’s legacy, serving as art dealer, and promoting and caring for the works. Rather than simply sell works for the highest price, she made strategic donations to exhibitions to enhance the painter’s fame. In addition, she transcribed a Van Gogh family history by compiling and editing the brother’s correspondences. The publication of the letters helped spread the Romantic reputation of Vincent van Gogh as an emotional and suffering painter. Johanna played an important role in the artist’s legacy.
Keeping pace with the artist’s rising popularity, the value of Vincent van Gogh’s art rose dramatically decades after his death. Sales of his works through auction have broken records numerous times in the 1980s and the 1990s. Lawsuits concerning his works have made the news for decades now. Five years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the appeal of a man who sued Yale University as part of his bid to recover a $200 million van Gogh painting, The Night Café, from the institution. (The plaintiff alleged the painting was stolen from his family during the Russian Revolution; Yale has held the painting since 1961.) Only a few years earlier, the Supreme Court rejected another appeal seeking to divest actress Elizabeth Taylor of her van Gogh, View of the Asylum and Chapel at Saint-Remy, on the basis that a previous owner was coerced to sell the painting while fleeing Nazi Germany. With the values of the artist’s works in the millions, or even hundreds of millions of dollars, the stakes are high. Following these high-value ownership disputes, allegations of Nazi looting, and high-end forgery scandals, buyers are wise to complete due diligence prior to the acquisition of an artwork.
The painting for sale this month is recognized as one of van Gogh’s major works. The subject of the piece, the Moulin de la Galette, became popular during the 19th century for the brown bread it baked, which the windmill was later named after. As technology progressed to replace windmills, they became attractive tourist destinations for Parisians looking to enjoy a bucolic view amidst the urban landscape. The contrast between city and country clearly captured van Gogh’s attention, who began a series of works featuring the mill shortly after his arrival in Paris in 1887. Van Gogh was not the only artist inspired to capture its image; the windmill is featured in works by Pissarro, Utrillo, and in Renoir’s notable Bal du moulin de la Galette. Van Gogh’s rendition stands proudly among these works and has been featured in seven catalogues, although it has never been publicly exhibited—until now.
If you cannot make it to Paris, there are other ways to immerse yourself in van Gogh with the Van Gogh Experience in NYC this summer. This innovative exhibition uses 360º wall-sized projections to engage the viewer in van Gogh’s works from every angle. Similar versions of the exhibit can be found in many prominent cities across the country, including Los Angeles, Dallas, and Chicago. For an immersive experience that can be enjoyed from the comfort of home, fans might look to Loving Vincent, a 2017 movie depicted entirely in van Gogh’s signature painterly style. For a more conventional viewing, fans can turn to At Eternity’s Gate, a 2018 film for which Willem Dafoe received an Academy nomination for best actor based on his performance as van Gogh. And for purists, van Gogh’s most famous work, Starry Night, remains on permeant display at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.
Amineddoleh & Associates LLC has previously worked with a well-known international collector to assist in the authentication of a van Gogh work in his collection. Through this process, we have corresponded with the Van Gogh Museum, and collaborated with provenance investigators and forensic scientists. We continue working with experts to authenticate our clients’ collections or assist them with due diligence prior to a purchase.