Painted by Vincent Van Gogh between 1886 and 1887, this canvas which represents the Moulin de la Galette, on the butte Montmartre, has remained in the same family of French collectors since the 1920s. The auction house Sotheby's estimates it between 5 and 8 million euros.
It will be auctioned on March 25.
His paintings are rare, very rare in auction rooms where they are generally snapped up for astronomical sums.
On March 25, Van Gogh will be in the spotlight at Sotheby's, which is selling a relatively little-known painting in Paris:
Scenes from the streets in Montmartre
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This is the first time that this work has been found on the art market.
Very rare, it has belonged to the same family of Parisian collectors for 100 years.
A very popular period
It was the grandfather who bought this Van Gogh in the 1920s, and the canvas has not left his office since.
His heirs chose to get rid of this painting from the painter's Montmartre series, a period highly sought after by Van Gogh fans.
"It is a series of paintings that Van Gogh painted when he moved to Paris between 1886 and 1887, with his brother Théo on the butte Montmartre, rue Lepic", explains to Europe 1 Aurélie Vandevoorde, who heads the department impressionist and modern art at Sotheby's France.
"He will in particular make several paintings which represent the mills of Montmartre and which obviously evoke the Dutch mills of his childhood."
Sotheby's and @MirabaudMercier Mercier unveil a masterpiece by Vincent Van Gogh.
Street scene in Montmartré, 1887. From a private French collection, it will be the emblem of the Impressionist and Modern Art sale on March 25 in Paris.
pic.twitter.com/aERfeHfDex
- Sotheby's France (@SothebysFr) February 24, 2021
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Between 5 and 8 million euros
"This painting is rare because today, almost all the paintings which represent the Moulin de la Galette are in major international museums. And it is very rare to find any still in private hands", underlines this specialist.
"It is a painting which has been for almost 100 years in the same French family who have never exhibited it. For a century, no one has seen this painting."
We recognize Van Gogh's paw through a very marked luminosity.
The painting, estimated between 5 and 8 million euros, will be exhibited to the public for the first time in Paris in mid-March.