RARELY SEEN VAN GOGH PAINTING EXHIBITED

Paris, Feb. 25: A rare painting by Dutch impressionist master Vincent van Gogh of a street scene in the Parisian neighbourhood of Montmartre will be publicly displayed for the first time before its auction next month. Sotheby's auction house said the work, painted in 1887, has remained in the same family collection for more than

100 years — out of the public eye.

It will be exhibited next month in Amsterdam, Hong Kong and Paris ahead of an auction scheduled on March 25 in the French capital. “It's an important painting in the oeuvre of Vincent van Gogh because it dates from the period in which he's living in Paris with his brother, Theo," Etienne Hellman, senior director of Impressionist and Modern Art at Sotheby's, said.

Van Gogh moved to Paris in 1886 and lived in Montmartre. He left the capital in 1888 for southern France, where he lived until his death in

1890. “Before this, his paintings are much darker... In Paris he discovers colour,” Hellman said. “Colour blows up into the painting."

“Street Scene in Montmartre” depicts a windmill named the Pepper Mill, seen from the street under a bright sky, with a man, a women and a little girl walking in front of wooden palisades that surrounded the place. “Paris marks this period where... the major impressionists influence his work,” Hellman said.

Washington, Feb. 25: Republican leaders in the House and Senate say a proposed plan for an independent commission to study the Capitol insurrection is overly tilted toward Democrats, arguing that the panel should have an even party split like the one formed to study the September 11 terrorist attacks. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday that a legitimate commission would be comprised of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats.

A draft proposed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would create an 11-member commission with four Republicans and seven Democrats, three of whom would be chosen by President Joe Biden, according to one of multiple aides who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the details under negotiation.

Pelosi has not commented on the draft or said why there should be more Democratic members. Last week, she said the commission must be “strongly bipartisan” and have the power to subpoena witnesses.

But on Wednesday, House Democratic Conference Chair Hakeem Jeffries said McCarthy hasn't operated in good faith and “set a bad tone” when he supported former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn Biden's legitimate election victory.

The partisan bickering before the commission gets off the ground is raising questions about whether lawmakers can coalesce around a thorough review of the Jan. 6 riot that interrupted the presidential electoral count and led to five deaths. Both parties support creating an independent investigation, but much of the consensus ends there, with Democrats demanding accountability for lawmakers who amplified Trump's falsehoods about the election.

Both urban rural households have greater confidence in their future than in their current economic conditions. Their continued confidence in their future is critical to sustain the economic recovery seen thus far, according to CMIE, a private think-tank.

CMIE's Consumer Sentiments Index (CSI), based on consumers' perception of the current economic conditions and expectations for the future, had hit a low during the lockdown, falling to 46 in April 2020 from 97 in the previous month. Sentiments have recovered marginally since then, reaching 54 in January 2021. The index has a base of 100 in SeptemberDecember 2015.

Interestingly, urban sentiments are somewhat worse than rural sentiments. The rural Consumer Sentiments Index was 55.8 in January while the urban index was at 50.3.

But both rural and urban Indian households indicate greater confidence in their future. While the Current Economic Conditions Index stood at 51.6 in January 2021, the Consumers Expectations Index was higher at 55.7. The difference between the two indices is usually about 1.5 per cent.

"This continued confidence in the future is vitally important to sustain the recovery seen thus far. If households remain hopeful of their future they are likely to spend and help in the recovery process. But, this cannot be taken for granted. It is important to build upon the confidence of households," said Mahesh Vyas, managing director and CEO, CMIE.

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