Portrait of Doctor Gachet
Appreciation
Portrait of Doctor Gachet Nederland Vincent van Gogh Gallery and Appreciation
Portrait of Dr. Gachet is one of the most revered paintings by Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh of Dr. Paul Gachet, who took care of him in his last months. In 1990, it fetched a record price of $82.5 million ($75 million, plus a 10 percent buyer's commission).
Dr. Gachet was also an artist of the Impressionist era. He was an amateur painter and engraver. Vincent van Gogh went to the doctor for medical care. Van Gogh saw himself in the doctor; like himself, he saw in Dr. Gachet “the heart-broken expression of our time.�Similar to many of van Gogh’s portraits, the painting is a study not of the physical features of the man, but of the inner qualities of the doctor’s personality. The portrait of Dr. Gachet notes all the tiniest details of his appearance and depicts them in the way that van Gogh sees them. The characteristics of the doctor’s image are all freely painted so that the viewer may see them the same way that van Gogh does.
The Portrait of Doctor Gachet is one of Van Gogh's most famous paintings. It's notable for a number of reasons. It was painted in the last few months of Vincent's life and the subject has been the focus of a great deal of controversy. How competent was Doctor Gachet? What did Vincent mean when he wrote to Theo "First of all, he is sicker than I am, I think, or shall we say just as much" (Letter 648)? This portrait is also one of Van Gogh's most well known since it holds the distinction as the most expensive painting ever sold at auction. On 15 May 1990 The Portrait of Doctor Gachet was sold within three minutes for $82.5 million (U.S.) to Ryoei Saito, Japan's second-largest paper manufacturer. This record remains unbeaten, but an ironic footnote to this sale is the recent news that Christie's has purchased the work back from Mr. Saito for one-eighth the price he paid for it. This marks a dramatic change in the vitality of the Japanese art-buying community from its zenith in the 1980's.
In fact, Vincent did two portraits of Gachet: this and a companion piece (F 754). In his original catalogue raisonné, Jacob Baart de la Faille considered the work above to be the superior of the two, but the editors of the 1970 catalogue disagreed and maintained that both works were the product of comparable skill. Whatever the opinion, it's clear that this particular Gachet portrait has had the far more colourful history.
Note the plant on the table in front of Gachet. This is foxglove, from which the drug digitalis is derived. Some consider this to be a symbol for Gachet's profession or perhaps an indication that Van Gogh himself was being treated with digitalis while under Gachet's care.
Portrait of Doctor Gachet (A man with pipe) is also the same Groups of Vincent van Gogh's painting.