답,Two versions of Dr. Gachet by Gogh

[강조자]

Portrait of Dr. Gachet Vincent Van Gogh, 1890

Oil on canvas, 67 × 56 cm

Private collection, Japan

                       Portrait of Dr. Gachet Vincent Van Gogh, 1890 

Oil on canvas, 67 × 56 cm

Musée d'Orsay, Paris

     

Portrait of Dr. Gachet is one of the most revered paintings by Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. He painted two versions in June 1890 during the last months of his life.

The portraits were painted in Auvers-sur-Oise close to Paris, and depict Doctor Gachet with a foxglove plant. Gachet took care of van Gogh during his last months. Gachet was also a hobby painter and became good friends with van Gogh, and he requested that van Gogh paint a second version of the portrait. The foxglove in the painting is a plant from which digitalis is extracted for the treatment of certain heart complaints; the foxglove is thereby an attribute of Gachet.

Of the painting van Gogh wrote to his brother in 1890,

    I've done the portrait of M. Gachet with a melancholy expression‎, which might well seem like a grimace to those who see it... Sad but gentle, yet clear and intelligent, that is how many portraits ought to be done... There are modern heads that may be looked at for a long time, and that may perhaps be looked back on with longing a hundred years later.    

[edit]

Ownership history

The painting was sold by van Gogh's sister-in-law for 300 francs in 1897. In 1911 the painting was acquired by the Stadel Museum (Städtische Galerie) in Frankfurt, Germany where it hung at the museum until 1933 when the painting was removed and put in a hidden room. In 1937 it was confiscated by the Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, an arm of the Nazi government that sought to rid pre-war Germany of so-called degenerate art. After being confiscated it came into the possession of Hermann Göring, who quickly sold it to a dealer in Amsterdam, who in turn sold it to a collector, Siegfried Kramarsky. He brought it with him when he fled to New York, where the work was often lent to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Kramarsky's family put the painting up for auction in 1990.

The painting became famous on May 15, 1990, when Japanese businessman Ryoei Saito paid US$82.5 million for it at auction in Christie's New York, making it the most expensive painting at the time. Ryoei Saito, who died in 1996, caused a scandal when he stated to have the van Gogh painting cremated with him after his death. Saito, 75 years old at the time, the honorary chairman of Daishowa Paper Manufacturing Co., later said: "What I really wanted to [express] was my wish to preserve the paintings forever." Saito, his aides explained, was using a figure of speech: threatening to torch the oils was just an expression‎ of intense affection for the masterpieces. Later Saito said he would consider giving the paintings to his government or a museum. The whereabouts of the first version are currently unknown. The second version of the portrait is in the possession of the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France.

   

[강조자]

그의 생애, 마지막 몇 달 동안에 그린 그림이고 현재 우리가 볼 수 있는 것은 Orsay Museum of Paris 에 있는 그림이라는 것, 그림에 보이는 식물은 Foxglove plant인데 사전에는 Digitalis와 동일하다고 했지만 이 식물에서 Digitalis 성분이 추출?다는 것,,,,,,1897년에 300francs로 팔렸고

[강조자]

1990년 5월에, 일본 사업가 Ryoei Saito가 US$82.5 million를 주고 Christie 경매에서 산 이래로 유명해졌는데 자기가 죽을 때 같이 묻어달라고 했다는데 논란이 일자 그 만큼 열정적인 애정표현이라고 보좌관이 해명했다고 합니다. 지금 이 그림의 행방은 모른답니다.

[명석]

Foxglove의 학명은 Digitalis purpurea이지요. 잎파리가 손가락 모양이고, 꽃이 purple색이라 그렇게 이름 붙쳤다는데 제가 본 foxglove하고는 모양이 좀 다르네요. 1200년대 Welsh physician들이 질병치료에 사용했다는 기술이 있고, 1785년 William Withering이라는 사람이 "Foxglove의 의학적 용도에 관하여"라는 논문에서 강심, 이뇨작용에 관하여 최초로 발표하였습니다. 요즘에는 별로 쓰이지 않는군요.

[강조자]

약리학교수님의 권위있는 부연설명으로 확실히 더 잘 알게 되었습니다. 감사합니다!

[격인]

강 선생님, 정답을 주셔서 감사합니다. 어저께 allposters란 사이트에서 첫번째 그림을 주문하였읍니다. 오르세 미술관에서 복사본을 구하려고 하였지만 팔지를 않아서 아예 복사본을 안만드는구나 하고 오해를 하고 있었더랬읍니다. 선생님 덕분에 그림을 발견하고 꿈에 그리던 그림을 복사본이나마 가지게 되었네요...

[강조자]

격인님, 제가 가지고 있는 Van Gogh화집은 Taschen출판사에서 나온 것인데 Dr. Gachet를 위시해서 그림이 많이 실려있어요. 설명도 좋고 상세하게! 교보문고나 서울 시립미술관에서 팝니다.