“Street scene in Montmartre” was painted in the spring of 1887, three years before the Dutch master was said to have died by suicide.
It shows Parisians walking through a rural and sparse landscape in Montmartre, a historic district that is today one of the city’s most popular destinations.
The painting will be shown to the public for the first time before being sold at auction in Paris. It is expected to fetch between $ 5 million and $ 8 million ($ 6 million and $ 9.7 million) when it goes under the hammer in March.
“When we first saw this painting, we were immediately captivated,” said Claudia Mercier and Fabien Mirabaud of the Paris auction house Mirabaud Mercier, who discovered the work.
“It is with great pleasure that we can now present this to the world, after being cherished for a century by the same French family,” they said in a statement.
The painting is part of a series of works depicting the famous Moulin de la Galette, a windmill turned dance hall in Montmartre. The district is still popular among tourists and locals for its village feel, but the surrounding streets are built-up and now bear little resemblance to the scene in the painting.
The painting is expected to fetch nearly $ 10 million. Credit: Sotheby’s / ArtDigital Studio
Sotheby’s said the painting provided a gateway to Montmartre in the late 1800s, when the outdated mills became tourist attractions and leisure spots where Parisians met to drink, dance and relax.
“There are very few paintings from the Van Gogh period in Montmartre that are still in private hands, and most of the series are now kept in prestigious museum collections around the world,” said Aurélie Vandevoorde and Etienne Hellman, senior directors of the Impressionist department. and modern art from Sotheby’s France. who handles the sale, in a statement.
“The release of a work of this caliber and from such an iconic series is undoubtedly an important event, and indeed an opportunity, for collectors of the artist as well as for the larger-scale art market.”
The painting will be auctioned on March 25 at Sotheby’s in Paris. Before then, it will be shown publicly in Amsterdam and Hong Kong before going to France.