Vincent's Palette

Claudia over at Museworthy has an interesting post today about artists' palettes, including photographs of palettes used by painters at one of the venues where she models. I thought I'd chime in with a photograph of a palette allegedly used by Vincent in June 1890 to paint a portrait of Dr. Paul Gachet's daughter, Marguerite, seated at her piano (see an image here). According to Dr. Gachet's son (also named Paul), Vincent discovered when he began working at the doctor's house that he'd left his palette at the Auberge Ravoux, where he lived. Dr. Gachet lent Vincent one of his palettes to use instead (Gachet was an avid amateur artist), and the palette remained in the Gachet family's possession ever since. Paul Gachet fils donated it to the French state as a "souvenir" of van Gogh when the state acquired the remaining paintings of the Gachet collection. Today it belongs to the Musée d'Orsay and is seldom put on display.

The conservators of the Musée d'Orsay, in preparation for the major 1999 exhibition about the Gachet collection (which was also shown at the Met), analyzed under electron microscope samples of the paints on the palette, as well as paint from six van Goghs formerly in the Gachet collection (now in the Orsay), and a tube of geranium lake pigment said by Paul Gachet fils to have been Vincent's. (They were not able to analyze the pigments used in "Marguerite Gachet at the Piano," because that painting is in the Kunstmuseum Basel.) They were particularly interested in the reds/pinks used by van Gogh; the pink colors on the palette are more vivid than the pinks in the paintings. The conservators determined that the tin carmine lake pigment used by Vincent in the paintings has faded over time, sometimes extensively. So Marguerite Gachet's dress was probably a much deeper rose than it is now, which makes sense because Vincent describes the dress as such in a letter to Theo. In the same way, "The Church at Auvers"originally had much more pink in the foreground, which again Vincent himself says, referring in a description for Theo to "sand with the pink glow of sunshine on it." The red pigments Vincent used while living in Auvers-sur-Oise were simply not stable. Which of course makes us wonder how many of Vincent's other paintings were originally even brighter than they are now? [For more about this, see J.-P. Rioux, "The Discoloration of Pinks and Purples in Van Gogh's Paintings from Auvers" in A. Distel and S.A. Stein, "Cézanne to Van Gogh: The Collection of Doctor Gachet," Metropolitan Museum 1999, pp. 104–113.]

Claudia refers in her post to the individuality of each artist's palette and the fact a palette can say something about them. If Vincent did use this palette as the Gachets claimed, don't you think it says something about his personality and working method? I see restlessness and impatience to keep moving, myself. Not necessarily "frenzy"--because although Vincent worked quickly, he worked with deliberation and forethought. But certainly a lack of tidiness, which Vincent was apparently known for. Paul Gauguin complained in his autobiography about the haphazard state of VIncent's Arles studio, and Vincent's lack of housekeeping skills seems to have caused friction when he was living with the more fastidious Theo.

The Musée Marmottan in Paris has one of Claude Monet's palettes on display. He was much more tidy!

A Poignant Remembrance

Today begins Master Drawings Week in London galleries and auction houses, and among the artworks for sale by dealer Emanuel von Baeyer is this etching by Dr. Paul Gachet (under the pseudonym Paul van Ryssel), showing Vincent on his deathbed. The etching was inspired by an original charcoal sketch done by Dr. Gachet at Vincent's bedside; the date on the drawing is July 29 [1890], but it's not clear whether it was done before Vincent passed away at 1:30 am that morning, or after. The drawing today belongs to the Musée d'Orsay, a gift to the French state from Dr. Gachet's son Paul. Another drawing, however, is in the Van Gogh Museum--Dr. Gachet made a copy as a gift to Theo, inscribing it "à mon ami Theo." In a letter of 12 August 1890, Theo told the doctor, "I must also tell you that it gave my mother immense pleasure to see the drawing you have made of our dear Vincent. A number of people have seen and admired it." Gachet exhibited his original drawing at the 1891 Salon des Indépendants in Paris; artist Paul Signac organized a memorial display of ten van Gogh paintings at the same Salon. Later Gachet made a painting after his drawing and gave it to Johanna van Gogh-Bonger in 1905 (it's now in the Van Gogh Museum collection). Gachet also made an etching after the drawing--you can still see his etching press at the house in Auvers-sur-Oise--and both he and his son made prints which they gave to friends and visitors. The etching has almost a halo effect compared to the drawings. I had the opportunity to see the drawing Gachet gave Theo at the Van Gogh Museum last year (it's not always on display, but it was for the focus-show "Van Gogh and Friends"), and it is difficult not to be moved by it.

For more information, see A. Distel and S. A. Stein, eds., "Cézanne to Van Gogh: The Collection of Dr. Gachet" (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999) pp. 140–41 for Gachet's drawings and etchings, and p. 266 for Theo's letter, quoted above.

Going to the Doctor's

Since I brought up Auvers-sur-Oise last week, and we are in the middle of the dates Vincent spent in Auvers (he arrived there on 20 May 1890 and died there on 29 July), I thought I'd dedicate a series of posts to this interesting town and some of the artwork Vincent produced while there. One of the reasons Vincent settled in Auvers, in addition to wanting to be near Theo and his family in Paris, was the presence of Dr. Paul Gachet, recommended to Theo by Camille Pissarro as someone who could possibly help Vincent with his illness. Gachet was a homeopathic doctor and art collector, acquainted with numerous artists such as Pissarro, Cézanne, and others.

Pictured here is the garden of Dr. Gachet's house. Gachet moved to Auvers in 1872 with his wife and three-year-old daughter Marguerite; his son (Paul Gachet fils) was born there in 1873. Gachet's wife died in Paris in 1875. Vincent was a frequent visitor to the Gachet home during his time in Auvers, where he painted portraits of the doctor and of Marguerite (but never Paul the son), as well as pictures of the doctor's garden. Also living in the house at the time was the housekeeper, Madame Louise-Anne-Virginie Chevalier (1847-1904) and her daughter; Vincent does not mention them in his letters, but Theo was said to have given a small painting to Madame Chevalier after Vincent's death. The Gachets were an eccentric family, to say the least, and many stories have sprung up about Vincent's time with them, some true, some not (some exaggerated stories were circulated by the Gachets themselves, especially Paul Gachet fils in later years). Vincent seems to have had mixed feelings about Dr. Gachet, thinking at first that the doctor truly could help him, but later expressing doubts in letters to Theo. Dr. Gachet seems to have done little for Vincent in the way of medical attention, and according to Vincent's letters, encouraged him to focus on his painting and not worry about his illness.

Paul Gachet fils died in 1962, and the house was sold at public auction. It was acquired by an American couple, the Vandenbrouckes, who fortunately treated the house with respect and believed in its historical importance. The French state declared it a historical monument in 1991, and in 1994 paid two million francs to acquire it for public display. After a lengthy restoration, the house was opened to the public a few years ago. Today you can see Gachet objects and artifacts that remained in the house after the 1962 auction, although much of the original furniture is gone (including Marguerite Gachet's piano, today in a musical instruments museum in Brussels). Gachet's printing press--he was an ardent engraver--is here, as are some of his medical knicknacks. The table from Vincent's portraits of the doctor stands under a glass case in the back garden. Gachet's art collection was sold off or donated by his children, with some of the van Goghs he owned (mostly acquired after Vincent's death) today in the Musée d'Orsay, others scattered in public and private collections around the world. Small exhibitions of local artwork by contemporary artists are sometimes held in the Gachet house today.

The house is definitely worth a visit, even though it's a bit of a walk from the van Gogh sites clustered on the east side of town. Both times I've visited, I've had the place to myself, and it's a pleasure to sit in the garden and reflect on Vincent's time there. Non-intrusive plexiglass "posters" of Vincent's paintings stand in relevant places around the house (pictured here is a garden scene with a female figure, likely Marguerite Gachet).

Any van Gogh book will discuss the Auvers period, but here are some especially good sources:
*Anne Distel and Susan Alyson Stein, eds., Cézanne to van Gogh: The Collection of Doctor Gachet (Metropolitan Museum, 1999): an exhibition catalogue (I saw that show, it was great) which details in the text the history of the Gachet family, house, and art collection
*Ronald Pickvance, Ed., Van Gogh in Saint-Rémy and Auvers (Metropolitan Museum, 1989): another exhibition catalogue, a terrific resource
*Cynthia Saltzman, Portrait of Dr. Gachet: The Story of a Van Gogh Masterpiece, Money, Politics, Collectors, Greed, and Loss (1998): a fascinating account of Vincent's Gachet portrait and its travails through time
*Marije Vellekoop and Roelie Zwikker, eds., Vincent Van Gogh Drawings, Volume 4: Arles, Saint-Rémy, and Auvers-sur-Oise (Van Gogh Museum, 2007): part of the multivolume catalogue of the VGM's holdings, a fantastic resource