“Most of the works from the Montmartre period are housed in top museums around the world, with only a few still in private hands. The appearance of these hall-of-fame works from this classic series on the market today is undoubtedly a great story in the art world, and a rare and valuable collecting opportunity for collectors of Van Gogh’s works and the wider art community.” – Senior Directors of Impressionist and Modern Art Department at France’s Sotheby’s, Etienne Hellman and Aurélie Vandevoorde.
This important artwork, titled “Street Scene in Montmartre,” was created by the modern art master Vincent van Gogh in the spring of 1887. It will soon be featured at the Paris Sotheby’s auction of “Impressionist and Modern Art.” Of particular interest is the fact that this piece has been held in a family collection for over a century since its completion, never before publicly exhibited. In other words, this upcoming auction will mark the first time in 134 years that the painting has been unveiled.
To celebrate this important moment, Sotheby’s will collaborate with Mirabaud Mercier auction house to hold public exhibitions in different locations before the auction – at Sotheby’s Amsterdam (March 1-3), Sotheby’s Hong Kong (March 9-12), Drouot Auction House in Paris (March 16-18), and Sotheby’s Paris (March 19-23) – unveiling the mysterious veil of “Montmartre Street Scene.”
除了未曾曝光的罕有性，《蒙馬特街景》又有何值得留意？
Do not misunderstand, although “Montmartre Street Scene” has not been publicly displayed and has only been kept by private collectors, the painting is not like the case of “Le Blute-Fin Mill” painted in 1975, which took 35 years to clarify the “joke”; according to Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Department and Mirabaud Mercier auction house jointly confirmed, “Montmartre Street Scene” is listed in seven Van Gogh catalogs, it is a genuine Van Gogh masterpiece.
The painting was completed in the spring of 1887 when Van Gogh was in Montmartre, Paris. In “Montmartre Street Scene,” he depicted the famous landmark at the center of Montmartre Heights – the Pepper Mill (also known as the Debray Mill). The mill was built around 1865 but was destroyed in 1911 due to the construction of Junot Avenue. The painting’s perspective is from the end of the famous local spot “Impasse des deux frères,” looking towards the Pepper Mill. On the left side of the painting, there is a couple in dark clothing passing by the Pepper Mill, which later turned into a nightclub, while on the right side, two children are walking in the opposite direction. Lantern decorations hang on the fence in front of the entrance to the Pepper Mill, and behind the wooden fence, the top of a carousel can be vaguely seen.
Van Gogh demonstrated his rich use of color and detail through “Montmartre Street Scene,” capturing a brief moment as two figures pass each other, fully documenting the leisurely and carefree atmosphere of the Montmartre hill before it turned into a place of nightly revelry, as well as the cultural charm of that area that became a beloved sanctuary for many artistic masters.
After going through the entire Impressionist and Modern Art department of Sotheby’s and the Mirabaud Mercier auction house, experts were brought in for a rigorous appraisal. Both experts agreed that the legendary colors of the painting simultaneously highlight two major historical facts: 1) symbolizing Van Gogh’s transition from an early style of dark colors to a vibrant and bright artist; 2) laying the foundation for Van Gogh’s later Arles period. Therefore, “Montmartre Street Scene” can be said to witness Van Gogh’s transformation from a relatively unknown Dutch painter to a world-renowned legendary artist.
On the other hand, the completion period of “Montmartre Street Scene” is also a major focus of the painting. In the spring of 1887, it was a crucial period for Van Gogh as he left Amsterdam and arrived in the “art capital” of Paris for two years. Around late February 1886, Van Gogh arrived in Paris alone, fortunately with the help of his brother Theo van Gogh, who was already a well-known art dealer in Paris, he was able to deeply feel the local artistic atmosphere. Since the first day he set foot in Paris, Van Gogh was attracted by the strong artistic atmosphere and culture of the place. Later, through Theo’s introduction, he met several Impressionist painters, including masters such as Monet, Toulouse-Lautrec, Gauguin, Pissarro, Degas, Seurat, and the Dutch artist Rembrandt, whom Van Gogh referred to as his “idol”, all of whom profoundly influenced all of Van Gogh’s subsequent works.
After being exposed to these great figures of Impressionism, Van Gogh was completely captivated by their painting style, gradually absorbing their techniques and determined to forget the graffiti-like methods he had used during his time in the Netherlands. He evolved from absorption to pointillism, even using a more rigorous approach, such as presenting vibrant rapid performances on the canvas through short, parallel brushstrokes, ultimately refining it into the iconic “pointillism” that only Van Gogh could demonstrate. After a very brief period of absorption and assimilation, Van Gogh began a large number of “self-portraits” and a series of works related to Paris and flowers during this period. Naturally, these themes later became representative subjects in Van Gogh’s paintings. And let’s not forget that from initially opening up new perspectives in Paris to later referencing different techniques and evolving them into his own unique painting style, Van Gogh only took two years; this shows that his artistic talent and harmonious painting were truly gifts from above.
“The Montmartre Street Scene” will be auctioned for the first time at Sotheby’s in Paris on March 25th, with an estimated value of 5,000,000 to 8,000,000 euros – approximately a minimum of HK$50 million. Interested readers and art lovers should not miss the preview at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong from March 9th to 12th.
資料及原作圖片來源：Courtesy of Sotheby’s
