Portrait of Dr. Gachet : The Story of a Van Gogh Masterpiece : Modernism, Money, Politics, Collectors, Dealers, Taste, Greed, and Loss [Hardcover]

Cynthia Saltzman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1998

In 1990, one of Vincent van Gogh's last paintings, 'Portrait of Dr. Gachet, ' was sold for the astonishing price of $82.5 million. This fascinating book reconstructs the painting's journey and becomes a rich story of modernism and the forces behind the art market. 'Portrait of Dr. Gachet' was one of van Gogh's last paintings, completed just weeks before his suicide. Depicting the eccentric physician who was attempting to treat the artist, this painting was viewed by van Gogh as a summation of his ideas about portraiture.

Cynthia Saltzman's book reconstructs the journey of this revolutionary and haunting painting, in which, as van Gogh wrote, he strove to capture the 'heartbroken expression of our time.' As Saltzman superbly shows, this painting not only evokes the ethos of modern life but also illuminates the ways in which art, politics, and the market have intersected in the 20th century. Affected by broad social and cultural change, the painting's fate was also influenced by innovations in the way art was sold and displayed, and by the growing role of dealers and museums.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Only a few weeks before his 1890 suicide, Vincent van Gogh painted a portrait of Paul-Ferdinand Gachet, a local physician the painter had been fruitlessly consulting about his depression. Upon his death, the painting, like much of van Gogh's work, went to his brother, Theo. A few years later, Theo's widow sold it for 300 francs (worth, then, $58). In 1990, a wealthy Japanese businessman paid $82.5 million at a Christie's auction for it and promptly hid it away in a Tokyo warehouse, where it presumably remains to this day.

Cynthia Saltzman traces the painting's provenance through a century of art collecting and cultural politics. Along the way, the portrait passes through--among others--the hands of early modernist collectors, the Nazi regime (where it was shown as part of an exhibit of "degenerate" art), and New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. In addition to a detailed account of the circumstances of each change of possession (it slipped out of the Nazis' hands, for example, when Herman Goerring needed a quick transfusion of hard currency), Saltzman provides a sensitive appraisal of the changing critical reputation of van Gogh and of the fluctuating market for "masterpieces" on canvas. Portrait of Dr. Gachet is an art history which never loses sight of the fact that art history is always a subset of a larger history.

From Publishers Weekly

Saltzman's meticulously researched narrative shows how historical forces and turning points in individual lives have determined the fate of a celebrated painting. The story begins in Auvers-sur-Oise, France, where a disturbed Vincent van Gogh churned out his last work before his suicide in 1890. Physician Paul-Ferdinand Gachet, a melancholic amateur painter, did little to alleviate van Gogh's suffering, but he posed for the portrait that captured, in van Gogh's own words, "the heartbroken expression of our time." Over the next century, the painting had 13 owners; it was hung in private homes and world-famous museums, and traveled to Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and New York. Confiscated as "degenerate art" by the Nazis and smuggled out of Germany during WWII, it was on loan off and on for 50 years to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, before fetching $82.5 million at auction. Since the death of its last owner, a Japanese paper magnate, its whereabouts are unknown, and the art world waits for the masterpiece to resurface. Meanwhile, though this book's detail about art dealers and collectors may be more than the casual reader wishes to know, the capsule biography of van Gogh, the criminality of Nazi art thieves and the fevered May 15, 1990, art auction at Christie's provide gripping real-life drama. In all, Saltzman (a former reporter for Forbes and the Wall Street Journal) offers an illuminating case study of provenance. Eight pages of b&w illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; 1st edition (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670862231
• ISBN-13: 978-0670862238
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,850,167 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From $0 To $82,500,000, September 14, 2000

By 

taking a rest - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Portrait of Dr. Gachet : The Story of a Van Gogh Masterpiece : Modernism, Money, Politics, Collectors, Dealers, Taste, Greed, and Loss (Hardcover)

While reading about the history of the Sotheby's and Christie's Auction Houses the story of the highest priced paid for a painting at auction was quite a tale. I qualify my comment with an auction sale, as the possibility exists that somewhere an individual may have spent more. Based on what I have read I doubt it, for even with all the deception in the art world, secrets are not particularly well kept.

Ms. Cynthia Saltzman has written a scholarly work that is readable by anyone who enjoys well-written history, or even a novel. The course this painting has taken in a bit more than 110 years is as extraordinary as the price paid when it was last sold.

Vincent Van Gogh was a troubled man who managed to produce a rather large body or work before tragically taking his own life. There are dozens of speculations as to the manner of disease he suffered, but suffer he did. Van Gogh did not live to see any appreciation of his art, and even for years after his death his work was not of any renown nor sought after. This final portrait that he was to paint did not sell for 7 years after his death, and even then the purchase price was $58 in US currency.

Over the next 14 years the painting would again change hands 4 more times, and with the last of the 4 sales became a museum piece for the first time. The locale was Frankfurt, the year 1911, and the price $3861. It was this last move that was to place this painting and hundreds of others into a collection of Art deemed "degenerate" by the Nazis of Hitler's Germany. The piece also was in the possession of Herman Goering briefly. Fortunately for the painting it was sold outside of Germany, where a new owner would hold it for the next 52 years. The Germans may have thought it degenerate for propaganda purposes, but money was another matter. While the painting was confiscated, when sold in 1938 the passing 17 years brought the value to $20,000.

Until the next and final sale the painting would be hung in a home in New York City, the property of private collectors. When the "crazy years" of the art market arrived impressionist work was in great demand, much of which was generated from Japan. For in 1995 Mr. Saito paid $82.5 million, and then 2 days later another $78.5 million was spent by the same man on a Renoir. What has happened since then really has to be read as it would make a great novel were it fiction.

Ms. Saltzman has done an amazing job of documentary work, and added the history of the times surrounding the work, as well as those who sought the piece, and the personalities of those who came in contact with, or were the temporary custodians of the work, "The Gachet".

A wonderful read for anyone who enjoys a good story written with consummate skill and style.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An All-Time Favorite, May 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Portrait of Dr. Gachet: The Story of a Van Gogh Masterpiece, Money, Politics, Collectors, Greed, and Loss (Paperback)

The history of a single work of art from conception, several owners, war, and fame as the record-holder for highest price for a painting at auction, this book is nothing short of amazing. Cynthia Saltzman's concept is fresh and her writing ludcid. This is a book you won't be able to put down. It has everything a good story should have; suspense, tragedy, triumph, and action. I found myself holding my breath, though I knew the outcome, as I read about the auction of the Portrait of Dr. Gachet.

This is a book I heartily recommend, and so far, everyone I've leant it to or purchased it for has loved it just as much as I have.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent, June 9, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Portrait of Dr. Gachet : The Story of a Van Gogh Masterpiece : Modernism, Money, Politics, Collectors, Dealers, Taste, Greed, and Loss (Hardcover)

This is a unique "story" or "history" of a work of art. It is one of the most inventive means, by giving the detailed history behind the provenance of the work, of telling a part of, not only art history, but of the times and circumstances in which the work of art exists. It makes the work of art become more than simply an object to be examined but a real and almost living part of the culture in which it exists. The writing is of the highest quality and makes you want to continue reading to find out what happens next to the painting. It is a wonderful book that I recommend without reservation. I've already bought an extra copy to pass around among my friends.