Van Gogh was a hit in his own lifetime
Letter shows high-profile Paris exhibition displaying artist’s works was visited by the French president
New research suggests that, contrary to the popular perception that Vincent van Gogh never received artistic acclaim in his own lifetime, the painter gained recognition earlier than previously thought. An expert identified that a major exhibition starring his work was visited by none other than the French president. Martin Bailey, an author and curator, found a letter from Van Gogh’s brother Theo, which he believes will help overturn the “myth that Van Gogh was ignored” in his lifetime.
HE HAS been held up as the quintessential misunderstood genius, an artist unappreciated in his own lifetime selling just a solitary painting before committing suicide.
In fact, Vincent van Gogh was beginning to gain recognition earlier than previously thought, according to new research, after an expert identified that a major exhibition starring his work was visited by none other than the French president.
Martin Bailey, an author and curator, found a letter from Van Gogh’s brother Theo, which he believes will help overturn the “myth that Van Gogh was ignored” in his lifetime.
Far from being entirely unappreciated, it suggests, the artist’s work was viewed in 1890, four months before his death, by French president Sadi Carnot who proclaimed himself “rather amazed” by the exhibition.
Theo van Gogh, who attended the private view of the Salon des Indépendants exhibition in Paris, wrote to his brother Vincent on March 19, 1890 to say that Carnot had been the honoured guest at the exhibition and that 10 of the artist’s paintings had been “well placed” on the gallery walls.
They are understood to have been paintings of the brightly coloured landscapes of Provence, including Cypresses, now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and Wheatfield after a Storm, now in Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen.
The president was escorted by the painter Paul Signac, a friend of the Van Gogh brothers who had visited Vincent at his Arles hospital the previous year.
Mr Bailey, the author of a new book on the painter, found contemporary press reports which record that Carnot spent over an hour at the exhibition, escorted by Signac.
Mr Bailey writes of the letter, which is now held by the Van Gogh Museum archive: “Theo mention Carnot’s visit slightly casually in his letter to Vincent, which may explain why this episode has been rather overlooked.”
The author cross-referenced the letter with an account of the exhibition as a whole published in Le Petit Parisien on March 21, 1890, which said Carnot was struck by the “disconcerting tonalities” of some of the paintings in the Indépendants exhibition and left after his visit “rather amazed”.
Vincent was, at the time, in Saintpaul-de-mausole, a mental asylum in the south of France, after mutilating his ear. He would die in July of 1890.
Mr Bailey, who has written several books about Van Gogh and is co-curating a Tate Britain exhibition of the artist’s work next year, said: “During the 20th century, as Van Gogh’s fame steadily grew, the legends around him developed. It so often said that he was ignored during his lifetime, as evidenced by the fact that he only succeeded in selling a single painting.
“He may have failed to sell, but I believe that he was beginning to gain recognition, at least in avant-garde circles in Paris – which was then the art capital of the world.
“I have long suspected it was a myth that Van Gogh was ignored – and the Salon des Indepéndants exhibition and the visit by the
‘I have long suspected it was a myth that Van Gogh was ignored’
French president suggests that he was beginning to win some acceptance.
“Once one sees Van Gogh as an artist who was beginning to become appreciated, it is easier to understand why his work had such an influence on the artists to come, in the 1890s and the early 1900s, and to appreciate why he played such a key role in the development of modern art.
“Had his life not come to a tragic end, at the age of 37 in 1890, he would have continued to develop – and he would soon have begun to be regarded as a genius.
“We need to break away from the myths that surround Van Gogh, and try to look afresh at his work.”
♦ Starry Night: Van Gogh at the Asylum, by Martin Bailey, which tells the story of the artist’s year at Saint-paul-demausole, is published today.