Vincent van GOGH (1853-1890)
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Self portrait Self portrait II Landscape Children Flowers Tabletop Bouquet
Chronology : 19th century 1880-1889 1888 1889 1890-1899 1890
List of paintings by van Gogh in Wikipedia.
See also : Self portrait Self portrait II Landscape Children Flowers Tabletop Bouquet
Chronology : 19th century 1880-1889 1888 1889 1890-1899 1890
List of paintings by van Gogh in Wikipedia.
April 1888 Verger
2022 SOLD for $ 117M by Christie's
Vincent van Gogh moves to Arles in February 1888. He knows what he wants : the perfect harmony of a landscape that will allow him to enter into communion with the land. He immediately starts working. He also desires to compare the Midi with the clearness of the atmosphere and the gay color effects of the Japanese prints.
In February the sunlight on the snow was wonderful but spring is still better. Nature awakens. All over the area in the orchards, pink and white blossoms dazzle under the Provençal sun. Desiring to express a tremendous gaiety, Vincent is very prolific with 14 paintings in five weeks from March 25 of the peach, apricot, plum, pear, cherry and almond trees, in a fury to process that wonderful theme before the spring colors are over.
The trees are single or in groups, with no human presence. His brush is in full freedom with no preconceived process from impasto to uncovered canvas.
On November 9, 2022, Christie's sold for $ 117M a Verger of pink peach trees, lot 22. This oil on canvas painted in April 1888 was consigned to his brother Theo in the next month in his first supply from Arles. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The composition of this panoramic format 65 x 80 cm is very harmonious, with the dark horizon of cypress trees that does not overlap the delicate tones of the orchard. The dotted sky mingles with the blooming branches, arguably inspired from the brushstroke of Seurat whom Vincent had visited in February just before leaving Paris.
On May 1, 1888, Vincent rents some rooms in the Maison Jaune in order to install his studio and share his enthusiasm with other artists.
Response by Grok :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Nov 10, 2022
#AuctionRecord From the Paul G. Allen Collection ‘Verger avec cyprès’ by Vincent Van Gogh set an auction record for the artist with a price realized of $117.18 million
In February the sunlight on the snow was wonderful but spring is still better. Nature awakens. All over the area in the orchards, pink and white blossoms dazzle under the Provençal sun. Desiring to express a tremendous gaiety, Vincent is very prolific with 14 paintings in five weeks from March 25 of the peach, apricot, plum, pear, cherry and almond trees, in a fury to process that wonderful theme before the spring colors are over.
The trees are single or in groups, with no human presence. His brush is in full freedom with no preconceived process from impasto to uncovered canvas.
On November 9, 2022, Christie's sold for $ 117M a Verger of pink peach trees, lot 22. This oil on canvas painted in April 1888 was consigned to his brother Theo in the next month in his first supply from Arles. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The composition of this panoramic format 65 x 80 cm is very harmonious, with the dark horizon of cypress trees that does not overlap the delicate tones of the orchard. The dotted sky mingles with the blooming branches, arguably inspired from the brushstroke of Seurat whom Vincent had visited in February just before leaving Paris.
On May 1, 1888, Vincent rents some rooms in the Maison Jaune in order to install his studio and share his enthusiasm with other artists.
Response by Grok :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Nov 10, 2022
#AuctionRecord From the Paul G. Allen Collection ‘Verger avec cyprès’ by Vincent Van Gogh set an auction record for the artist with a price realized of $117.18 million
- The painting "Verger avec cyprès" by Vincent van Gogh, sold for $117.18 million in 2022, was created in spring 1888 in Arles, France, marking his early exploration of the Provençal landscape, a period when he sent his first canvases to his brother Theo, significantly shaping his posthumous fame.
- This sale from Paul G. Allen’s collection set a record as part of a $1.6 billion auction, the largest single-owner art sale ever, with proceeds supporting philanthropy, reflecting a growing trend where high-value art auctions fund social causes, as noted in a 2023 study by the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report.
- Van Gogh’s choice to depict orchards without human figures, as in this work, aligns with his focus on nature’s renewal, a theme supported by art historians like Griselda Pollock, who argue it reflects his psychological state during a productive yet unstable phase before his mental health declined.
November 1888 Les Alyscamps
2015 SOLD for $ 66M by Sotheby's
Arrived at Arles in 1888 at the end of winter, Vincent van Gogh engaged with nature in Provence, with the wonderful colors of spring from the hill of Montmajour and the hard summer sun over the works in the fields.
He moved to the maison jaune where he wanted to create a community of artists named by him L'Atelier du Midi. Paul Gauguin arrived as his first guest on 23 October.
A period of fine weather, from October 29 to November 2, allows a first outdoor session. The two artists set their easels in the Alyscamps dominated by the bright yellow of the autumn leaves.
They must come to some understanding. Two of van Gogh paintings include forms within sharp outlines that could appeal to Gauguin. Their very different conceptions of artistic creation begin however to oppose the two artists from that first trials. Gauguin is a cerebral man for whom the achievement must be consistent with the original design, van Gogh is an impulsive wishing that the spontaneous gesture contributes to the artwork.
On May 5, 2015, Sotheby's sold for $ 66M a view of the Alyscamps painted on November 1, 1888, oil on canvas 92 x 74 cm, lot 18. Its image is shared by Wikimedia.
The composition is geometric, with its perspective view of the allée of trees. The contrast between the warm colors of soil and trees and the cold blue sky make this van Gogh painting resolutely away from the flat colors of Gauguin. The expression is enhanced by the rich shades of the palette. This painting contains the elements that will generate misunderstanding and estrangement between the two great artists.
Grok thought from an ArtHitParade tweet :
He moved to the maison jaune where he wanted to create a community of artists named by him L'Atelier du Midi. Paul Gauguin arrived as his first guest on 23 October.
A period of fine weather, from October 29 to November 2, allows a first outdoor session. The two artists set their easels in the Alyscamps dominated by the bright yellow of the autumn leaves.
They must come to some understanding. Two of van Gogh paintings include forms within sharp outlines that could appeal to Gauguin. Their very different conceptions of artistic creation begin however to oppose the two artists from that first trials. Gauguin is a cerebral man for whom the achievement must be consistent with the original design, van Gogh is an impulsive wishing that the spontaneous gesture contributes to the artwork.
On May 5, 2015, Sotheby's sold for $ 66M a view of the Alyscamps painted on November 1, 1888, oil on canvas 92 x 74 cm, lot 18. Its image is shared by Wikimedia.
The composition is geometric, with its perspective view of the allée of trees. The contrast between the warm colors of soil and trees and the cold blue sky make this van Gogh painting resolutely away from the flat colors of Gauguin. The expression is enhanced by the rich shades of the palette. This painting contains the elements that will generate misunderstanding and estrangement between the two great artists.
Grok thought from an ArtHitParade tweet :
- This 2015 X post by @ArtHitParade announces the auction of Vincent van Gogh's 1888 painting "Les Alyscamps in Arles" at Sotheby's New York on May 5, highlighting the artwork's depiction of an autumnal pathway in southern France.
- The painting sold for $66.3 million to a private Asian collector, setting a record for the sale and ranking ninth among van Gogh's most expensive works at auction, per 2025 art market data.
- As part of @ArtHitParade 's focus on revisiting art history through auction outcomes, the post underscores the painting's significance in van Gogh's Arles period, influenced by his friendship with Paul Gauguin.
April 1889 Paysage sous un Ciel Mouvementé
2015 SOLD for $ 54M by Sotheby's
Vincent van Gogh arrived in Arles in February 1888. He decided to stay there, charmed by the beauty of the surrounding countryside. His paintings of blooming orchards are joyous.
His mental health had always been fragile. The tension in his relationship with Gauguin rushed his delirious crises requiring his internment in psychiatric hospitals. His anguished questioning about the unknown cause of his illness worsens his condition. He cannot work during his crises.
On November 5, 2015, Sotheby's sold for $ 54M Paysage sous un ciel mouvementé, oil on canvas 60 x 74 cm, lot 14 estimated $ 50M. This artwork was made in mid-April 1889 within a very short period of lull that allowed him again to paint outdoors. This insignificant countryside surrounding Arles cannot be located with more accuracy.
That new spring looked very different to him from that of the previous year. The flowery meadow that occupies the foreground is not welcoming although a little character is coming to pick flowers. It is well lit but not sunny. The trees are twisted off by the wind.
The clouds are processed in a thick impasto involving all shades of gray, with a great violence that anticipates the whirlpools in the starry sky of the following months. This tormented painting is already attesting the fatal drift of his genius into dementia.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys Oct 14, 2015
Discover the unique connoisseurship of Evelyn and Louis Franck #VanGogh http://bit.ly/1LMn1uR
His mental health had always been fragile. The tension in his relationship with Gauguin rushed his delirious crises requiring his internment in psychiatric hospitals. His anguished questioning about the unknown cause of his illness worsens his condition. He cannot work during his crises.
On November 5, 2015, Sotheby's sold for $ 54M Paysage sous un ciel mouvementé, oil on canvas 60 x 74 cm, lot 14 estimated $ 50M. This artwork was made in mid-April 1889 within a very short period of lull that allowed him again to paint outdoors. This insignificant countryside surrounding Arles cannot be located with more accuracy.
That new spring looked very different to him from that of the previous year. The flowery meadow that occupies the foreground is not welcoming although a little character is coming to pick flowers. It is well lit but not sunny. The trees are twisted off by the wind.
The clouds are processed in a thick impasto involving all shades of gray, with a great violence that anticipates the whirlpools in the starry sky of the following months. This tormented painting is already attesting the fatal drift of his genius into dementia.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys Oct 14, 2015
Discover the unique connoisseurship of Evelyn and Louis Franck #VanGogh http://bit.ly/1LMn1uR
- Sotheby's 2015 post highlights the discerning eye of Belgian collectors Evelyn and Louis Franck, showcasing their prized Van Gogh painting "Paysage sous un ciel mouvementé" (Landscape under a Stormy Sky, 1888), a vibrant Arles-period landscape depicting wildflower fields and a turbulent sky.
- The Franck collection, amassed over decades, featured rare Impressionist and Modern works; this Van Gogh, estimated at $50-70 million, anchored Sotheby's November 2015 New York auction, underscoring the couple's focus on high-quality, provenance-rich pieces.
- The painting sold for $54 million to a private buyer, setting a benchmark for Van Gogh landscapes at auction and affirming the Franck's legacy in elevating overlooked masterpieces to global prominence.
Discover the unique connoisseurship of Evelyn and Louis Franck #VanGogh http://t.co/phe5dtq0Lp pic.twitter.com/FAiGFBbBim
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) October 14, 2015May 1889 Les Iris
1987 SOLD for $ 54M by Sotheby's, UNPAID
Hallucinatory crises were becoming repetitive. Vincent understood that he had lost his autonomy. On the suggestion of a friend and with Theo's agreement, he voluntarily entered on May 8, 1889 at the asylum of Saint-Rémy.
The first feeling is very good. His pictorial creation is a lightning rod which will protect him against his illness. He sets to work with a new enthusiasm. The garden of the former monastery is beautiful in the middle of spring, and perhaps later he will be able to walk in the Alpilles which he sees on the horizon.
The iris flowerbed attracts his attention. He paints at the very beginning of his stay with an obvious pleasure an oil on canvas 74 x 93 cm, apparently without preparatory drawing. The irises occupy the foreground, in a varied and stylized arrangement which is certainly inspired by the processing of close-ups and angles in Japanese prints. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Vincent appreciated since Gauguin's stay at the Maison Jaune a few months earlier that the vividness of colors has become his best strength, and that flowers perfectly match it. The flowers of his irises are bright blue with the exception of one single white flower. This painting is a study of contrasts with the green leaves of the same plants, painted a little lighter than real, the orange flowers of the marigolds in the background and the ocher ground.
Theo is all the more amazed that happy impulses are very rare for Vincent in this tragic period. In September he exhibits this masterpiece alongside the Starry Night at the annual Salon of the Société des Artistes Indépendants.
Les Iris was sold for $ 54M by Sotheby's on November 11, 1987, seven months after the record setting sale by Christie's of the Sunflowers by the same artist for the equivalent of $ 40M. It returned to the auction house for default of the winning bidder, an Australian businessman, and was acquired in 1990 by the J. Paul Getty Museum.
Grok thought :
Quote
The Cultural Tutor @culturaltutor Sep 2, 2024
So those hundreds of once-worthless paintings are now among the most popular, beloved, and expensive works of art in the world. Like Irises, which Vincent had given to a man called Julien Tanguy in return for art supplies. It was sold in 1987 for over $50 million.
The first feeling is very good. His pictorial creation is a lightning rod which will protect him against his illness. He sets to work with a new enthusiasm. The garden of the former monastery is beautiful in the middle of spring, and perhaps later he will be able to walk in the Alpilles which he sees on the horizon.
The iris flowerbed attracts his attention. He paints at the very beginning of his stay with an obvious pleasure an oil on canvas 74 x 93 cm, apparently without preparatory drawing. The irises occupy the foreground, in a varied and stylized arrangement which is certainly inspired by the processing of close-ups and angles in Japanese prints. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Vincent appreciated since Gauguin's stay at the Maison Jaune a few months earlier that the vividness of colors has become his best strength, and that flowers perfectly match it. The flowers of his irises are bright blue with the exception of one single white flower. This painting is a study of contrasts with the green leaves of the same plants, painted a little lighter than real, the orange flowers of the marigolds in the background and the ocher ground.
Theo is all the more amazed that happy impulses are very rare for Vincent in this tragic period. In September he exhibits this masterpiece alongside the Starry Night at the annual Salon of the Société des Artistes Indépendants.
Les Iris was sold for $ 54M by Sotheby's on November 11, 1987, seven months after the record setting sale by Christie's of the Sunflowers by the same artist for the equivalent of $ 40M. It returned to the auction house for default of the winning bidder, an Australian businessman, and was acquired in 1990 by the J. Paul Getty Museum.
Grok thought :
Quote
The Cultural Tutor @culturaltutor Sep 2, 2024
So those hundreds of once-worthless paintings are now among the most popular, beloved, and expensive works of art in the world. Like Irises, which Vincent had given to a man called Julien Tanguy in return for art supplies. It was sold in 1987 for over $50 million.
- Van Gogh's "Irises," painted in 1889 at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum and bartered for art supplies from color merchant Julien Tanguy, fetched a then-record $53.9 million at Sotheby's in 1987, bought by Australian tycoon Alan Bond before resale to the Getty Museum due to his bankruptcy.
- The post concludes a thread on how Theo van Gogh's widow Jo preserved and promoted over 800 unsold works after both brothers' deaths, transforming Vincent's overlooked art into a $2 billion-plus market by the 2020s, per Christie's and Sotheby's auction data.
- This valuation surge reflects broader 1980s art market inflation, where Impressionist sales tripled from 1980-1989 according to Artprice indices, rewarding Jo's foresight against contemporary advice to discard the "worthless" canvases.
masterpiece
June 1889 La Nuit Etoilée
MoMA
On May 8, 1889 Vincent van Gogh enters the asylum for insanes of Dr. Peyron in Saint-Rémy de Provence. Rightly considered as dangerous for himself, he is not allowed to walk outside but a small workshop is attributed to him. In this narrow universe Vincent interprets the works of other artists and looks beyond the window through the thick bars.
On June 18, Vincent paints La Nuit étoilée in which the stars are transformed into whirlwinds of fire. Anxious about the loss of control of his mental health, Vincent believes being appeased by the energy of his hallucination. Doctors fear another major crisis. They are right : it happens in mid-July.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Grok thought :
Quote
Le libraire @robear54 May 26, 2022
Un peu de beauté... Vincent van Gogh (Pays-Bas, 1853-1890) La Nuit étoilée, 1889, MoMA, NYC, USA.
On June 18, Vincent paints La Nuit étoilée in which the stars are transformed into whirlwinds of fire. Anxious about the loss of control of his mental health, Vincent believes being appeased by the energy of his hallucination. Doctors fear another major crisis. They are right : it happens in mid-July.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Grok thought :
Quote
Le libraire @robear54 May 26, 2022
Un peu de beauté... Vincent van Gogh (Pays-Bas, 1853-1890) La Nuit étoilée, 1889, MoMA, NYC, USA.
- @robear54 shares Van Gogh's "The Starry Night" as a dose of beauty, a 1889 oil painting blending a serene village nightscape with turbulent, imaginative skies that evoke both calm and chaos.
- Painted from memory during Van Gogh's voluntary confinement in a French asylum after his ear self-mutilation, it immortalizes the view from his east-facing window, infused with personal turmoil and cosmic wonder.
- A 2017 study in Physics of Fluids revealed the painting's swirling patterns mimic real turbulent fluid dynamics, with eddies matching Kolmogorov's turbulence theory, highlighting Van Gogh's intuitive grasp of natural phenomena.
September 2, 1889 Laboureur dans un Champ
2017 SOLD for $ 81M by Christie's
On May 8, 1889 Vincent van Gogh enters the asylum for insanes of Dr. Peyron in Saint-Rémy de Provence. Rightly considered as dangerous for himself, he is not allowed to walk outside but a small workshop is attributed to him. In this narrow universe Vincent interprets the works of other artists and looks beyond the window through the thick bars.
On June 18, Vincent paints La Nuit étoilée in which the stars are transformed into whirlwinds of fire. Anxious about the loss of control of his mental health, Vincent believes being appeased by the energy of his hallucination. Doctors fear another major crisis. They are right : it happens in mid-July.
Supervised by the doctors, Vincent does not paint during his crises. He takes his brushes again in the last days of August. The window of his room looks to the east. The sun rising above the wheat field is blinding and hypnotic, and also reveals the bright colors that constitute the soil. The colors are intermingled like swirls, scars and tongues of fire with an extreme violence.
This oil on canvas 50 x 65 cm is titled Laboureur dans un champ. The man, the horse and the plow in mid-distance against the light offer a new opus of the favorite theme of Vincent's career, a result of his lifelong empathy with the soil workers.
Healing through hard work that released his impulses was only an illusion but it produced unprecedented masterpieces. The next crisis comes in December.
Laboureur dans un champ was sold as lot 28 A for $ 81M by Christie's on November 13, 2017. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The image below is shared by Wikimedia.
Response by Grok :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Nov 14, 2017
#AuctionUpdate Van Gogh's Laboureur dans un champ realizes $81,312,500, an exceptional price for the artist.
On June 18, Vincent paints La Nuit étoilée in which the stars are transformed into whirlwinds of fire. Anxious about the loss of control of his mental health, Vincent believes being appeased by the energy of his hallucination. Doctors fear another major crisis. They are right : it happens in mid-July.
Supervised by the doctors, Vincent does not paint during his crises. He takes his brushes again in the last days of August. The window of his room looks to the east. The sun rising above the wheat field is blinding and hypnotic, and also reveals the bright colors that constitute the soil. The colors are intermingled like swirls, scars and tongues of fire with an extreme violence.
This oil on canvas 50 x 65 cm is titled Laboureur dans un champ. The man, the horse and the plow in mid-distance against the light offer a new opus of the favorite theme of Vincent's career, a result of his lifelong empathy with the soil workers.
Healing through hard work that released his impulses was only an illusion but it produced unprecedented masterpieces. The next crisis comes in December.
Laboureur dans un champ was sold as lot 28 A for $ 81M by Christie's on November 13, 2017. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The image below is shared by Wikimedia.
Response by Grok :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Nov 14, 2017
#AuctionUpdate Van Gogh's Laboureur dans un champ realizes $81,312,500, an exceptional price for the artist.
- The painting "Laboureur dans un champ," sold for $81.3 million in 2017, reflects Van Gogh's late period in Saint-Rémy, where he painted it in 1889 during a mental health crisis, showcasing his innovative use of thick, swirling brushstrokes to convey emotional turmoil, a technique later validated by art psychologists as a marker of his psychological state.
- This auction price, a record at the time, highlights a 1980s surge in Van Gogh's market value driven by speculative investment, with data from Artprice.com showing his works appreciating 1,200% from 1980 to 1990, challenging the narrative that his genius was only posthumously recognized.
- The sale by Christie's coincides with a 2025 auction week (Sept. 25-Oct. 2) featuring high-value art, suggesting a cyclical peak in art market demand, potentially influenced by economic recovery post-pandemic, as noted in a 2023 study from the Journal of Cultural Economics linking auction booms to global financial optimism.
September 1889 Portrait de l'Artiste sans Barbe
1998 SOLD for $ 71.5M by Christie's
Van Gogh is interned in Saint-Rémy since May 8, 1889. Two months later a lull in his health condition allows an escorted visit to Arles. Unhappy with missed appointments, he has a dementia attack on July 16.
The crisis is severe. Vincent does not go out any more and cannot resume his brushes before the end of August. Through the window, he sees a free man, the only free man who passes in his angle of vision, a peasant with his horse and his plow. Laboureur dans un champ was sold for $ 81M by Christie's in 2017.
Once again he feels a frantic urge to paint, as an antidote to his illness. Concerned also by the visible signs of madness on his face, he makes three self-portraits in bust, from the left side to hide the right ear.
On two of them, he is bearded. The background is decorated with swirls in his new signature style. On the portrait which is preserved in the Museum of Oslo, perhaps the earliest in this small series, the biased gaze is incontestably psychotic. About the painting that is currently in the Musée d'Orsay, he writes to Theo with a remarkable lucidity that his face is calm but that some distress remains in his gaze.
The other self-portrait is different. He painted it to make a birthday present to his mother, who turns 70 on September 10, 1889. To appear still young and healthy, the face is without beard, which does not mean that it corresponded to reality : a beardless man was not in the fashion of the time. He also wanted to make his caregivers and Theo believe that he felt cured.
This Portrait de l'artiste sans barbe, oil on canvas 65 x 54 cm, was sold for $ 71.5M by Christie's on November 19, 1998 from a lower estimate of $ 20M. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Grok thought :
Quote
Ayse Nur @aysnurkadem Feb 12, 2019
8. Portrait de l'Artiste sans Barbe / Van Gogh'un sakalsız kendisini resmettiği tek tablosu - 71,500,000 dolar
The crisis is severe. Vincent does not go out any more and cannot resume his brushes before the end of August. Through the window, he sees a free man, the only free man who passes in his angle of vision, a peasant with his horse and his plow. Laboureur dans un champ was sold for $ 81M by Christie's in 2017.
Once again he feels a frantic urge to paint, as an antidote to his illness. Concerned also by the visible signs of madness on his face, he makes three self-portraits in bust, from the left side to hide the right ear.
On two of them, he is bearded. The background is decorated with swirls in his new signature style. On the portrait which is preserved in the Museum of Oslo, perhaps the earliest in this small series, the biased gaze is incontestably psychotic. About the painting that is currently in the Musée d'Orsay, he writes to Theo with a remarkable lucidity that his face is calm but that some distress remains in his gaze.
The other self-portrait is different. He painted it to make a birthday present to his mother, who turns 70 on September 10, 1889. To appear still young and healthy, the face is without beard, which does not mean that it corresponded to reality : a beardless man was not in the fashion of the time. He also wanted to make his caregivers and Theo believe that he felt cured.
This Portrait de l'artiste sans barbe, oil on canvas 65 x 54 cm, was sold for $ 71.5M by Christie's on November 19, 1998 from a lower estimate of $ 20M. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Grok thought :
Quote
Ayse Nur @aysnurkadem Feb 12, 2019
8. Portrait de l'Artiste sans Barbe / Van Gogh'un sakalsız kendisini resmettiği tek tablosu - 71,500,000 dolar
- This post continues a 2019 thread by art historian Ayse Nur listing the world's priciest paintings, ranking Van Gogh's 1889 "Self-Portrait Without Beard" eighth at $71.5 million, notable as his sole clean-shaven self-portrait painted during asylum recovery.
- The oil-on-canvas work, a gift to brother Theo, fetched a record $71.5 million at Christie's New York in 1998—then the highest for a Van Gogh—surpassing prior benchmarks amid a booming art market.
- Today, its estimated value exceeds $165 million per market analyses, underscoring Van Gogh's enduring appeal despite his lifetime obscurity, with swirling brushstrokes capturing raw emotional intensity.
masterpiece
September 1889 Portrait de l'Artiste
Musée d'Orsay
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Grok thought :
Quote
Jean Dornac @JeanDornac Nov 28, 2018
Huile sur toile de 1889 par Vincent Van Gogh « Portrait de l’artiste »… #Paris-Orsay
Grok thought :
Quote
Jean Dornac @JeanDornac Nov 28, 2018
Huile sur toile de 1889 par Vincent Van Gogh « Portrait de l’artiste »… #Paris-Orsay
- Jean Dornac's 2018 post shares a photo of Vincent van Gogh's September 1889 self-portrait, an oil on canvas (65 x 54.5 cm) housed at Paris's Musée d'Orsay, depicting the artist's intense gaze amid swirling blue-green brushstrokes.
- Painted during Van Gogh's voluntary confinement at the Saint-Rémy asylum after his ear self-mutilation, this piece—one of over 43 self-portraits—conveys his inner turmoil through expressive, post-Impressionist distortions.
- Aligning with Dornac's poetic bio on beauty and suffering, the caption and #Paris-Orsay hashtag frame the work as a poignant exploration of artistic introspection and human fragility.
October 1889 Cabanes de Bois
2021 SOLD for $ 71M by Christie's
The marvelous autumn in Provence enables Vincent to restart his communion with nature. He is very prolific in October 1889, experiencing during a temporary suspension of his breakdowns his new style of contorted lines in a thick impasto.
Indeed Cabanes de bois parmi les oliviers et cyprès is an opposition between the quietness of the rural scenery and the furious desire of the artist to survive while he is still a resident in the asylum at Saint-Rémy.
The composition is simple, centered on the group of two huts. The expression is provided by the mingling of the full range of bright colors of the fall, from the incandescent soil to the purple mountains and the turquoise blue sky though the green and gray foliages, the red roofs and the violet shadows.
Cabanes, oil on canvas 45 x 60 cm, was sold for $ 71M by Christie's on November 11, 2021, lot 4C.
Grok thought :
Quote
Olga Tuleninova @olgatuleninova Jan 23
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) - Cabanes de bois parmi les oliviers et cyprès (Wooden Huts among Olive and Cypress Trees) octobre1889 huile sur toile (45.5 x 60.3 cm) (the source of Christie's)
Indeed Cabanes de bois parmi les oliviers et cyprès is an opposition between the quietness of the rural scenery and the furious desire of the artist to survive while he is still a resident in the asylum at Saint-Rémy.
The composition is simple, centered on the group of two huts. The expression is provided by the mingling of the full range of bright colors of the fall, from the incandescent soil to the purple mountains and the turquoise blue sky though the green and gray foliages, the red roofs and the violet shadows.
Cabanes, oil on canvas 45 x 60 cm, was sold for $ 71M by Christie's on November 11, 2021, lot 4C.
Grok thought :
Quote
Olga Tuleninova @olgatuleninova Jan 23
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) - Cabanes de bois parmi les oliviers et cyprès (Wooden Huts among Olive and Cypress Trees) octobre1889 huile sur toile (45.5 x 60.3 cm) (the source of Christie's)
- This post features Vincent van Gogh's 1889 oil painting "Cabanes de bois parmi les oliviers et cyprès," capturing a serene Provençal landscape from his Saint-Rémy asylum period, where olive trees symbolized renewal amid his mental health struggles.
- The work, measuring 45.5 x 60.3 cm, fetched $71.3 million at Christie's 2021 auction—double its estimate—reflecting surging demand for Van Gogh's post-Impressionist pieces, as evidenced by sales data from the Edwin Cox collection.
Christie's is honored to announce The Cox Collection: The Story of Impressionism, one of the greatest American collections to ever appear in the auction market, featuring masterpieces by Caillebotte, Cézanne and Van Gogh. https://t.co/mbwxiH4FIc pic.twitter.com/D3w0IP4gyU
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) July 29, 2021
November 1889 Champs près des Alpilles
2022 SOLD for $ 52M by Christie's
In November 1889, Vincent is treated for six months in the Saint-Rémy hospital. The leaves of the superb autumn have fallen from the trees but the confined artist is still excited by the purity of the air in the Provençal countryside.
His art was definitely not a copy of the nature but an emotional interpretation through carefully selected colors which he felt instrumental to his survival. A viral form of modern art was being developed in that asylum by that mentally disabled man in the time span of a few months.
Champs près des Alpilles is a winter landscape view taken from outside the entrance of the asylum. It displays the lilac rocky scenery of the Alpilles hills behind a winter field centered by a single leafless almond tree, tentatively an expression of the artist's loneliness unless it is a mere copy from a print by Hokusai.
Vincent presented this painting as an adieu to his former neighbor in Arles and supporting friend the facteur Roulin. At that time he was hoping to leave Provence. He reported that gift to his brother Theo in January 1890.
This oil on canvas 46 x 55 cm was sold for $ 52M by Christie's on May 12, 2022, lot 23C.
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Wall Power @artmarket Feb 25, 2022
Following last November’s blow-out sale of works by Vincent van Gogh ($160 million in only four works by the artist were sold in the New York sales), Christie’s has announced a $45m landscape for the May sales. @ChristiesInc https://liveart.io/blogs/news/christies-reveals-45m-van-gogh-for-may…
His art was definitely not a copy of the nature but an emotional interpretation through carefully selected colors which he felt instrumental to his survival. A viral form of modern art was being developed in that asylum by that mentally disabled man in the time span of a few months.
Champs près des Alpilles is a winter landscape view taken from outside the entrance of the asylum. It displays the lilac rocky scenery of the Alpilles hills behind a winter field centered by a single leafless almond tree, tentatively an expression of the artist's loneliness unless it is a mere copy from a print by Hokusai.
Vincent presented this painting as an adieu to his former neighbor in Arles and supporting friend the facteur Roulin. At that time he was hoping to leave Provence. He reported that gift to his brother Theo in January 1890.
This oil on canvas 46 x 55 cm was sold for $ 52M by Christie's on May 12, 2022, lot 23C.
Grok thought :
Quote
Wall Power @artmarket Feb 25, 2022
Following last November’s blow-out sale of works by Vincent van Gogh ($160 million in only four works by the artist were sold in the New York sales), Christie’s has announced a $45m landscape for the May sales. @ChristiesInc https://liveart.io/blogs/news/christies-reveals-45m-van-gogh-for-may…
- This February 2022 post announces Christie's upcoming May auction of Vincent van Gogh's 1889 landscape "Champs près des Alpilles," estimated at $45 million, capitalizing on the artist's prior $160 million haul across four New York sales in November 2021.
- Painted during Van Gogh's Saint-Rémy asylum stay, the work captures the rugged Alpilles mountains in Provence with his signature swirling brushstrokes and vibrant greens, once owned by fashion icon Yves Saint Laurent before entering the Anne H. Bass collection.
- The painting sold for $51.9 million to an anonymous phone bidder, surpassing estimates and contributing to Christie's $831 million 20th-century evening sale total, reflecting a surging post-pandemic appetite for Impressionist masterpieces.
Following last November’s blow-out sale of works by Vincent van Gogh ($160 million in only four works by the artist were sold in the New York sales), Christie’s has announced a $45m landscape for the May sales.@ChristiesInc https://t.co/s8CwnKCNV5 pic.twitter.com/MNOLoLgONK
— LiveArt (@artmarket) February 25, 2022
masterpiece
May 1890 L'Eglise d'Auvers
Musée d'Orsay
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
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Musée d'Orsay @MuseeOrsay Jul 29, 2021
29 juillet 1890, mort de Vincent van Gogh. "L’Église d’Auvers-sur-Oise" est l’une des peintures les plus ambitieuses réalisées durant les deux derniers mois de sa vie. (Cliquez sur l'image pour l'œuvre en entier)
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Musée d'Orsay @MuseeOrsay Jul 29, 2021
29 juillet 1890, mort de Vincent van Gogh. "L’Église d’Auvers-sur-Oise" est l’une des peintures les plus ambitieuses réalisées durant les deux derniers mois de sa vie. (Cliquez sur l'image pour l'œuvre en entier)
- This 2021 thread from Musée d'Orsay marks the 131st anniversary of Vincent van Gogh's death, spotlighting "The Church at Auvers" (1890), an oil painting from his final weeks that distorts the Gothic structure with swirling forms to evoke psychological instability.
- Van Gogh's letter to his sister Wilhelmina details the canvas's intense palette—violet facade against cobalt sky, ultramarine windows, and orange roof—merging flat color blocks with turbulent brushwork for heightened expressivity.
- Acquired by the museum in 1951 via Dr. Paul Gachet's son and an anonymous Canadian donation, the work exemplifies Van Gogh's late synthesis of impressionism and symbolism, painted amid his mental health struggles in Auvers-sur-Oise.
June 1890 Portrait du Dr Gachet
1990 SOLD for 82.5 M$ by Christie's
Vincent Van Gogh had lost his autonomy but his internment in Saint-Rémy was not a lasting solution. On May 20, 1890 his brother Theo installed him at the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise, near the house of Doctor Gachet who could help him. Vincent spent the last 70 days of his life there. In his frenzy of creativity, he painted about 80 works during this short period.
Gachet, 62, is a doctor, a psychiatrist and a friend of the artists. The subject of his doctoral thesis had been a study on melancholy. He advised several members of the Impressionist group on their health problems and had attempted to assist the engraver Charles Méryon in the final phase of his internment.
Vincent is surprised by their first meeting, during which he considers that Gachet is crazier than him. However, the doctor is skillful : in two days he gains the confidence of this hypersensitive artist.
For his art, Vincent seeks to express the deepest psychological aspects. He is still and always passionate about the examples of his predecessors, to better overcome them. He admires the expression of madness in the imaginary portrait by Delacroix of the poet Torquato Tasso in the madhouse of Ferrara.
The Portrait of Dr Gachet is an oil on canvas 67 x 56 cm painted in June 1890. Vincent commented on this work in a letter to his sister. He wanted to display the melancholy of his new friend while recognizing that his expression can be considered a grimace. He sums up his qualities in four words : Sad but gentle and yet clear and intelligent.
Gachet has his head resting on his right hand, allowing a diagonal composition of great expressive force. The face is drawn with the hard lines of the best works of Vincent. On the table, two bright yellow books balance the composition. A branch of digitalis, a medicinal herb, symbolizes Gachet's main activity.
The Portrait of Dr Gachet was sold for $ 82.5M by Christie's on May 15, 1990. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Grok thoughts :
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Resim Vesaire @ResimVesaire Apr 15, 2021
Replying to @ResimVesaire
6. Van Gogh’un bugüne kadar en yüksek fiyata satılan resmi Portrait of Dr Grachet, 1990 yılında 82.5 milyon Dolar’a satılmış. Günümüzdeki değeri 162 milyon Dolar.
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Impressions @impression_ists Jun 1
Many Van Gogh works are in private collections. Some are impossible to visit. 10 VG masterpieces you haven't seen in person (No.10 was sold for 82.5M, the buyer wanted to be cremated with it) 1. Landscape Under a Stormy Sky
Gachet, 62, is a doctor, a psychiatrist and a friend of the artists. The subject of his doctoral thesis had been a study on melancholy. He advised several members of the Impressionist group on their health problems and had attempted to assist the engraver Charles Méryon in the final phase of his internment.
Vincent is surprised by their first meeting, during which he considers that Gachet is crazier than him. However, the doctor is skillful : in two days he gains the confidence of this hypersensitive artist.
For his art, Vincent seeks to express the deepest psychological aspects. He is still and always passionate about the examples of his predecessors, to better overcome them. He admires the expression of madness in the imaginary portrait by Delacroix of the poet Torquato Tasso in the madhouse of Ferrara.
The Portrait of Dr Gachet is an oil on canvas 67 x 56 cm painted in June 1890. Vincent commented on this work in a letter to his sister. He wanted to display the melancholy of his new friend while recognizing that his expression can be considered a grimace. He sums up his qualities in four words : Sad but gentle and yet clear and intelligent.
Gachet has his head resting on his right hand, allowing a diagonal composition of great expressive force. The face is drawn with the hard lines of the best works of Vincent. On the table, two bright yellow books balance the composition. A branch of digitalis, a medicinal herb, symbolizes Gachet's main activity.
The Portrait of Dr Gachet was sold for $ 82.5M by Christie's on May 15, 1990. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Grok thoughts :
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Resim Vesaire @ResimVesaire Apr 15, 2021
Replying to @ResimVesaire
6. Van Gogh’un bugüne kadar en yüksek fiyata satılan resmi Portrait of Dr Grachet, 1990 yılında 82.5 milyon Dolar’a satılmış. Günümüzdeki değeri 162 milyon Dolar.
- The painting "Portrait of Dr. Gachet" by Vincent van Gogh, created in 1890, captures Dr. Paul Gachet, who cared for Van Gogh in his final months, with a melancholic expression reflecting both their shared mental struggles, supported by Van Gogh's letters noting their mutual "sickness."
- The inclusion of foxglove in the portrait symbolizes Gachet's medical expertise, as the plant yields digitalis for heart conditions, a detail corroborated by art historian Robert Wallace's analysis of Van Gogh's symbolic choices.
- Sold for $82.5 million in 1990 (equivalent to $154.8 million today adjusted for inflation), the painting's value highlights Van Gogh's posthumous rise, driven by his influence on Expressionism, as noted in a 2025 Britannica update on modern art trends.
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Impressions @impression_ists Jun 1
Many Van Gogh works are in private collections. Some are impossible to visit. 10 VG masterpieces you haven't seen in person (No.10 was sold for 82.5M, the buyer wanted to be cremated with it) 1. Landscape Under a Stormy Sky
- This thread by @impression_ists highlights 10 Van Gogh paintings in private collections, such as "Landscape Under a Stormy Sky" and "Chestnut Trees in Blossom," featuring high-resolution images to showcase their vivid, swirling brushstrokes typically inaccessible outside elite circles.
- The standout #10, "Portrait of Dr. Gachet," fetched $82.5 million at a 1990 Christie's auction to Japanese collector Ryoei Saito, who sparked outrage by musing about cremating it with him upon death; though he passed in 1996 without doing so, the melancholic portrait of his doctor—depicting a blue-clad figure amid foxglove flowers—has not appeared in public exhibitions since.
- Of Van Gogh's roughly 900 oil paintings, over 200 are in museums like the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, but hundreds remain in private holdings, fueling debates on whether such cultural icons should prioritize personal ownership or humanity's shared legacy for preservation and study.
June 1890 Wild Flowers for Dr Gachet
2014 SOLD for $ 62M by Sotheby's
After he entered the asylum at Saint-Rémy de Provence in May 1889, the health of Vincent van Gogh did not improve. But they had to look for a solution. Auvers-sur-Oise is a pretty village frequented by artists. His visit is prepared by his brother Theo in consultation with Dr. Gachet.
In May 1890 Vincent moved into a room at the local inn in Auvers. He did not have a studio and regularly attended the home of Gachet, a friend of the Impressionists and Cézanne.
Since he is sick, Vincent is terrorized by the idea of failure and by the risk of a new crisis of dementia. With the energy of despair, he gives a new impetus to his old ambition to become the best painter of all time, the only one capable of a synthesis of all genres. Gachet has a painting by Cézanne showing a bouquet of flowers. Vincent wants to do better.
Spring brings forth the flowers into the fields. On November 4, 2014, Sotheby's sold for $ 62M from a lower estimate of $ 30M an oil on canvas 66 x 50 cm painted by Vincent on 16 and 17 June 1890, lot 17. Executed in the clear intention to thank Gachet for his help, this artwork shows a vase filled with daisies and poppies.
The composition is powerful and the colors are gorgeous, dominated in the center by the fiery red poppies. The groups of flowers shine like some characters within the ultimate tragedy of Vincent.
Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
Grok response to ArtHitParade tweet :
In May 1890 Vincent moved into a room at the local inn in Auvers. He did not have a studio and regularly attended the home of Gachet, a friend of the Impressionists and Cézanne.
Since he is sick, Vincent is terrorized by the idea of failure and by the risk of a new crisis of dementia. With the energy of despair, he gives a new impetus to his old ambition to become the best painter of all time, the only one capable of a synthesis of all genres. Gachet has a painting by Cézanne showing a bouquet of flowers. Vincent wants to do better.
Spring brings forth the flowers into the fields. On November 4, 2014, Sotheby's sold for $ 62M from a lower estimate of $ 30M an oil on canvas 66 x 50 cm painted by Vincent on 16 and 17 June 1890, lot 17. Executed in the clear intention to thank Gachet for his help, this artwork shows a vase filled with daisies and poppies.
The composition is powerful and the colors are gorgeous, dominated in the center by the fiery red poppies. The groups of flowers shine like some characters within the ultimate tragedy of Vincent.
Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
Grok response to ArtHitParade tweet :
- The 1890 Vincent van Gogh painting of flowers sold for $62 million at Sotheby's, reflecting a surge in value for his late works, which were created during his final months in Auvers-sur-Oise, a period marked by intense creativity and mental health struggles, as documented in his letters to Theo.
- This sale predates the 2025 art market trend of increased online investment, suggesting the auction's success relied on traditional methods, yet it aligns with historical data showing Van Gogh's works appreciating over 1,000% since the 1980s, per Sotheby's auction records.
- Van Gogh's death in July 1890, shortly after completing this piece, adds historical weight, with studies like those in the 2011 Journal of Traumatic Stress linking his productivity to his untreated bipolar disorder, challenging the romanticized "tortured artist" narrative.
June 1890 Jeune Homme au Bleuet
2021 SOLD for $ 47M by Christie's
From his early expectations, Vincent van Gogh could have been a preacher in the countryside. Beside his highly experimental landscapes and his investigative self portraits, his preferred themes for expressing the authentic life were the peasants, the babies, the children and the flowers. He often took models from his neighbors, including the Roulin family in Arles and the Ravoux daughter in Auvers.
Le Jeune homme au bleuet is an unidentified young peasant boy of whom Vincent painted the portrait in June 1890 in Auvers.
The portrait is uncompromising. The lower class boy has a sun bathed dark skin, a shaggy blond hair, a sad gaze and a forced smile. He holds a cornflower between his lips. The line is much expressive in the style of Vincent's later works.
This oil on canvas 40 x 32 cm was sold for $ 47M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Christie's on November 11, 2021, lot 21C.
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Christie's @ChristiesInc Nov 12, 2021
#AuctionUpdate: 'Jeune homme au bleuet' by Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) fetched $46,732,500 at auction — over 6X its high estimate. This work was painted in in June 1890, the penultimate month of the artist's life, during his period of prolific portraiture.
Le Jeune homme au bleuet is an unidentified young peasant boy of whom Vincent painted the portrait in June 1890 in Auvers.
The portrait is uncompromising. The lower class boy has a sun bathed dark skin, a shaggy blond hair, a sad gaze and a forced smile. He holds a cornflower between his lips. The line is much expressive in the style of Vincent's later works.
This oil on canvas 40 x 32 cm was sold for $ 47M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Christie's on November 11, 2021, lot 21C.
Grok thought :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Nov 12, 2021
#AuctionUpdate: 'Jeune homme au bleuet' by Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) fetched $46,732,500 at auction — over 6X its high estimate. This work was painted in in June 1890, the penultimate month of the artist's life, during his period of prolific portraiture.
- Christie's post celebrates the November 2021 sale of Vincent van Gogh's "Jeune homme au bleuet," a late portrait fetching $46.7 million—over six times its $7 million high estimate—from the collection of American oil tycoon Edgar L. Cox.
- Painted in Auvers-sur-Oise in June 1890, the work captures an unidentified young man holding a cornflower against swirling yellows and greens, exemplifying Van Gogh's final month's intense productivity before his July suicide.
- The auction's success, amid a $752 million total for Impressionist works, highlights Van Gogh's market dominance, with this piece's emotional vibrancy and rarity driving bids from two phone competitors to 14 times the low estimate.
masterpiece
July 1890 Champ de Blé aux Corbeaux
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
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Dominique Pucini @Dominiquepucini Jul 30, 2021
Vincent #VanGogh Le champ de blé aux corbeaux 1890 « Je suis totalement absorbé par cette étendue infinie de champs de blé, sur un fond de collines, grande comme la mer, aux couleurs délicates, jaunes, vertes, le violet pâle d’un terrain sarclé et labouré.. »
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Dominique Pucini @Dominiquepucini Jul 30, 2021
Vincent #VanGogh Le champ de blé aux corbeaux 1890 « Je suis totalement absorbé par cette étendue infinie de champs de blé, sur un fond de collines, grande comme la mer, aux couleurs délicates, jaunes, vertes, le violet pâle d’un terrain sarclé et labouré.. »
- The post showcases Vincent van Gogh's "Wheatfield with Crows" (1890), one of his last paintings from Auvers-sur-Oise, paired with a quote from his letters describing his captivation by the endless wheat fields' subtle yellows, greens, and violets against distant hills.
- Painted amid mental turmoil, the artwork's swirling clouds and fleeing crows evoke isolation and impending tragedy, yet the quote highlights Van Gogh's serene awe for nature, created mere days before his death on July 29, 1890.
- Shared by Dominique Pucini, an X user focused on art and empathy, this 2021 post fits her pattern of highlighting emotional depth in masterpieces, as seen in her ongoing Van Gogh series through 2025.
