by Vincent Noce
Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890), Scène de rue à Montmartre (Impasse des Deux Frères et le moulin à Poivre) Street scene in Montmartre (Impasse des Deux Frères and the Pepper-grinding Mill), 1887, oil on canvas, 46.1 x 61.3 cm/18.1 x 24.1 in. Thursday, March 25, Galerie Charpentier. Mirabaud-Mercier auction house, Sotheby's France auction house Result: €13,091,250
The Conseil des Ventes (Voluntary Sales Council) has expressed concerns about the bumpy ride afflicting Van Gogh's Scène de rue à Montmartre, the star of the sale at Sotheby's Paris on March 25 . As the Gazette went to press, the newly appointed government commissioner to the Council was about to open an investigation. Yves Micolet, a magistrate from the financial division (and formerly the deputy), took up his post on April 1. This view of the Butte, painted when Vincent was living in Paris with his brother Theo, had everything going for it. Paris auctioneer Fabien Mirabaud and his partner Claudia Mercier had been entrusted with this rediscovery by a family who had owned the work for over a century, from the time the artist was just achieving… read more
