It can cross your mind, while seeing Vincent Van Gogh paintings, that you would like to have one day. If this is the case, you will have to put yourself online with more than a few billionaires, and even they may never see one on the auction block. It would probably be a surprise for Van Gogh himself, who died of the overtaking – and practically unknown – after an artistic career of only ten years. Meanwhile, he managed to sell exactly a paint, at least according to certain definitions of “selling”. Van Gogh made barter paintings for food and art supplies, and he accepted the commissions, starting with one of his art uncle. But with regard to sales made to non-results thanks to an official program, we only know: The red vineyard.
Known in English under the name Red vineyards near Arlesor simply The red vineyardThe painting represents a landscape that Van Gogh fell on “late afternoon with Paul Gauguin on October 28, 1888, five days after the arrival of his friend in Arles”. Then written to Martin Bailey at The Art JournalWho adds that “the selection of grapes takes place normally in September in Provence, but the harvest seems to have been at the end of the year.”
To his brother Theo, Vincent described the scene as well: “A red vineyard, completely red like red wine. In the distance, it turned yellow, then a green sky with a sun, purple fields and sparkling yellow here and there after the rain in which the setting sun has been reflected. However, the artist was not moved to set up his canvas at the time and there; Rather, he painted the vineyard the following month, from memory.
Vincent let Theo hang the canvas that results in his Paris apartment until he asks him to exhibit it in the Brussels annual show organized by a group called the twenty at the beginning of 1890. Red vineyards“ The buyer was one of their number, a certain Anna Boch, the sister of the colleague of Van Gogh in Impressionism (and Subject of time portraits) Eugène Boch. Although she did not have a relationship, Anna paid for the total price of stickers for painting, and Van Gogh then expressed her regret for not having given her a “friend of the friend”. But whatever it costs, it was surely a flight compared to its value today, after its purchase by a Russian collector, its revolutionary expropriation and its long Soviet suppression followed by a proud exposure at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow – Which, due to the fragility of painting, does not even lend it.
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Based in Seoul, Colin MArshall Written and broadcastTS on cities, language and culture. His projects include the substack newsletter Books on cities And the book The stateless city: a walk through Los Angeles from the 21st century. Follow it on the social network formerly known as Twitter in @ColinmArshall.
At Learnopoly, Finn has championed a mission to deliver unbiased, in-depth reviews of online courses that empower learners to make well-informed decisions. With over a decade of experience in financial services, he has honed his expertise in strategic partnerships and business development, cultivating both a sharp analytical perspective and a collaborative spirit. A lifelong learner, Finn’s commitment to creating a trusted guide for online education was ignited by a frustrating encounter with biased course reviews.