a rare Van Gogh auctioned for 13 million euros in Paris

Dated 1887, painted during the two short years that Vincent van Gogh spent in Paris, “Street scene in Montmartre” was listed in catalogs (by black and white photos), but had never appeared since its acquisition by a French family around 1920. It was estimated between 5 and 8 million euros.

“It’s a great adventure for the French market, which has not seen a Vincent van Gogh painting of this quality for a very long time”, greeted masters Claudia Mercier and Fabien Mirabaud, at the origin of this rediscovery.

Dated 1887, painted during the two short years that Vincent van Gogh spent in Paris, this canvas represents the Pepper Mill, one of the mills of La Galette, behind palisades, against a blue-gray winter sky. In the foreground, a couple are walking and two children are playing.

In the itinerary of the Dutch painter (1853-1890), this painting marks a turning point, an expressionist beginning with a use of color aimed at creating an impression beyond the transcription of reality.

The last Van Gogh auctioned off, Plowman in a field (1889), had reached $ 81 million in 2017 at Christie’s in New York.