On October 29, 2021, a painting by Vincent Van Gogh called “Meules de blé” (left) was exhibited at Christie’s in New York.
Vincent Van Gogh’s landscape paintings captured by the Nazis during the occupation of France during the Second World War were sold for 35.9 million U.S. dollars at a New York auction, setting a record for Dutch impressionist watercolor paintings.
Works from 1888, Wheat pileThe auction house Christie’s stated that it will buy at a pre-sale price of US$200-30 million. It was last exhibited in 1905.
Wheat pile It depicts the haystacks in Arles, France, where Van Gogh lived for more than a year in the 1880s. Different from his most famous work, this painting is painted with oil, this painting is done on paper with watercolor, gouache, pen and ink.
This work was originally owned by the artist after his brother Theo van Gogh (Theo van Gogh) committed suicide when the artist was 37 years old. After passing by several owners, it was occupied by Nazi troops during the Nazi occupation of France.
After the war, until the 1970s, the whereabouts of the painting was still unclear. It remained in private hands until Christie’s settled with the collector and the heir of the original owner.
Van Gogh is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential painters in the art world, although he saw little commercial success in his lifetime.
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