1 Name: Firion !ZeMESPtKtE : 2021-02-26 07:41 ID:AX4dSmt+ (Image: 976x650 jpg, 152 kb) [Del]
A painting of Paris by Vincent van Gogh, which has almost never been seen by the public after being stashed within a French family's private collection for more than a century, has finally been unveiled. Acquired by a French collector in 1920, it has remained hidden ever since and never been shown in public despite being listed in seven catalogues.
Titled "Scène de rue à Montmartre" which translates into "Street scene in Montmartre", Van Gogh painted it in the spring of 1887. It shows Parisians walking through a rural and sparse landscape in Montmartre, the entrance of the Moulin de la Galette enclosure topped with decorative lanterns and a carousel behind a wooden fence, and the Moulin Dubray or Moulin à Poivre, a Montmartre windmill destroyed in 1911.
Van Gogh expert Martin Bailey said that "This is the first time we are able to see it properly. Small reproductions have been made in the past, often in black-and-white. But the most exciting part is that it is Van Gogh painting which has been hidden away ever since it came off the artist's easel. It has always been in private collections, so only the owners and their friends knew it."
The painting is set to go on public display for the first time, exhibited in London, Amsterdam and Paris before being sold by Sotheby’s auction in Paris. It is expected to fetch between 5 million euros and 8 million euros ($6 million and $9.7 million) when it goes under the hammer in March.
The work is part of a series of works representing the famed Moulin de la Galette, a windmill turned into a dance hall in Montmartre. The district is still popular among tourists and locals for its village feel, but the surrounding streets have been built up and now bear little resemblance to the scene in the painting.
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-56183086
https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/van-gogh-paris-painting-public-display-scli-intl/index.html
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/feb/24/vincent-van-gogh-paris-painting-from-1887-to-make-public-debut
