How are
you?
From this
week on every Thursday, I will introduce various artists and their paintings
with the title “Interesting Art Stories”.
The first
story for this week is "Portrait of Dr. Gachet" by Dutch painter
Vincent van Gogh.
Vincent
van Gogh is a Dutch painter who painted many worldwide famous paintings, and
this painting is one of them.
The painting depicts Dr. Paul Gachet, a homeopathic
doctor and artist, who lived in Auvers-sur-Oise, where van Gogh resided after being
released from an asylum at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Dr. Gachet took care of van
Gogh during the last months of his life.
There are two versions of Dr. Gachet’s
portrait painted by van Gogh in June 1890 in Auvers-sur-Oise. In both versions,
Dr. Gachet sits at the table, leaning his head on his right arm, but the colors
and styles of the two versions are completely different.
When van
Gogh's younger brother, Theo, was looking for a comfortable home for his
brother who was released from the asylum, he found out that Dr. Gachet was
interested in working with artists. So he sent van Gogh to Dr. Gachet.
At
first, van Gogh didn’t like Dr. Gachet and wrote his thought to Theo in a
letter.
“I think we should not rely on Dr. Gachet at all. First of all, he is
sicker than I am. For example, if one blind person leads another, don’t they both
fall into a ditch? ”
Over the
time, however, he became a fan of Dr. Gachet and after sending his first letter
to Theo, he sent another letter to his sister, commending him.
“I found true
friendship in Dr. Gachet. Like brothers, we resemble each other physically and
mentally. ”
As a
result, van Gogh deepened his friendship with Dr. Gachet, and he painted the famous
"Portrait of Dr. Gachet".
After completing the painting, he told his
brother, "Those who see it may frown, but I drew Dr. Gachet with a
melancholy expression."
The plant depicted in the painting is the foxglove, a
type of the digitalis.
This is a means of indicating that Gachet's job is a doctor
and may also suggest that van Gogh himself was being treated with the foxglove.
Today,
this painting is also one of the most expensive paintings of all time.
Thank
you.
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