"What I am most passionately engaged in - far, far more than the others of my craft - is the portrait, the modern portrait."
Vincent van Gogh wrote these words about his new passion in a letter to his sister Wilhelmina on 5 June 1890. That was in the period between his admission into a mental institution in the South of France, and his suicide at the end of July 1890.
Happy impression
At this time, Van Gogh had made a very happy impression on his brother Theo and his wife Jo. Together with his newborn nephew Vincent, they lived in Paris, where the artist had visited them. In some 70 days, he produced about 80 paintings. He was living close to Paris, in the village of Auvers-sur-Oise. Inspired by his nephew, he made many childrens' portraits, including the one that is now up for sale.
The size of the canvas is about 50 x 50 centimetres (20 x 20 inches). What do we see in the painting "L'Enfant à l'Orange"? Emma Ward from the art dealer Dickinson describes it thus:
"It's a very cheerful painting. You see a small boy with long blonde hair and blue eyes. He's sitting in a field with yellow flowers, and wearing a blue jacket. In his hands he's holding an orange."
Rising prices
It's not every day that ‘a Van Gogh' is up for sale. For years, the prices have been increasing to enormous amounts. Tens of millions of dollars isn't unusual. The price for the child portrait in Maastricht is well in excess of $30 million. It was bought in 1908 by the widow Jo van Gogh, along with four other paintings, for a combined total of 10,000 guilders (4500 euro or US$6400). That's a tiny fraction of its value today. But a spokesperson for the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam says that the museum doesn't intend to buy the portrait:
"The painting doesn't have any priority for us. We're more interested in work we can afford, work from other painters."
Good cause
The current owners are the descendants of the Swiss couple Hanloser-Bühler who bought the painting in 1916. The pair founded the Villa flora museum in Winterthur, with the works of great artists such as Rodin, Renoir, Cézanne, Toulouse-Lautrec, Matisse and also Van Gogh.
The painting of the young boy with an orange didn't form part of the museum's collection. It hung in the owners' house, though it was regularly displayed in museums, according to an older and somewhat reticent inhabitant of Winterthur. The museum had given his telephone number for further information. The man wouldn't say if he was one of the owners, only that the proceeds are intended for a childrens' charity. He wouldn't give any further information because the family don't want a lot of publicity.
Carpenter's son
More is known about the child in the painting. In all probability it's Raoul Levert, the two-year-old son of carpenter Vincent Levert. He was a neighbour of Van Gogh, and had rented a room in a local inn.
Art dealer Emma Ward says:
"It was one of the last portraits of his life. You can see from the painting that he was very happy then. He felt very absorbed with the children in the countryside. They were healthier than children in the city, where his nephew Vincent lived. In his letters he often asked his brother Theo to bring the young Vincent to see him. He evidently wanted the best for his nephew".
You can also see from the rosy cheeks of the carpenter's son that living in the open air is so good for children. In addition, you can see in the cheerful colours and the vigorous brush strokes on the canvas that Vincent also benefited from living in the village of Auvers. But suddenly, at the end of July 1890, something snapped and he shot himself in the chest. He died two days later. But Emma Ward says there was no evidence of depression:
"The last weeks of his life are known as his most intensive weeks of work. In this painting you see the happy Van Gogh."
* RNW translation (as)
Tags: art, child, Maastricht, orange, Van Gogh