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Portrait of Dr. Gachet

(Redirected from Portrait of Doctor Gachet)


Portrait of Dr. Gachet is one of the most famous paintings by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh which he painted in two versions in June 1890 during the last months of his life. Both paintings are 67 x 56 cm (26" x 22") in size and are oil paintings on canvas.

The portraits were painted in Auvers-sur-Oise close to Paris, and depicts Doctor Gachet as well as a foxglove plant. Gatchet took care of van Gogh during his last months. Gatchet was also a hobby painter and became good friends with Vincent van Gogh; it was he who requested that van Gogh should paint a second version of the portrait. The foxglove in the painting is a plant from which digitalis, used for heart treatment, is extracted. The foxglove is thereby an attribute of Gachet.

The painting became world famous in 1990 when a Japanese businessman named Ryoei Saito bought the painting at an auction in New York for $82.5 million; this made it the most expensive painting to date. Ryoei Saito died in 1996 and since then it has not been known who owns the painting and where it is. It is assumed to be in a private collection somewhere in the world. Mr. Saito had earlier caused a scandal when he threatened to have the van Gogh painting cremated with him at his death. Saito, 75 years old at the time, the honorary chairman of Daishowa Paper Manufacturing Co., later stated: "What I really wanted to [express] was my wish to preserve the paintings forever." Saito, his aides explained, was using a figure of speech: threatening to torch the oils was just an expression of intense affection for the masterpieces. Later, Saito said he would consider giving the paintings to his government or a museum.

The painting also has had a storied history before its sale in 1990. It was bought and sold by numerous dealers, collectors, and museums. It was owned for over 26 years(1911-1937) by the Stadel Museum in Frankfurt, Germany when it was confiscated by the Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (an arm of the Nazi government that sought to rid Germany of so-called degenerate art). After being confiscated it came into the possession of the infamous Nazi leader Hermann Goring who quickly sold it to a dealer in Amsterdam who in turn sold it to another collector, Siegfried Kramarsky . Karmarsky's family are the ones who sold the painting to Saito in 1990.

The story is the subject of a book (Portrait of Dr. Gachet: The Story of a van Gogh Masterpiece, Money, Politics, Collectors, Greed, and Loss.) by Cynthia Saltzman.

The other version of the portrait is currently in Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France.

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Last updated: 05-17-2005 12:48:44