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 Portrait
of Dr. Gachet, 1890 by The Artist Vincent van Gogh.
Paul-Ferdinand Gachet (July 30 1828 - January 9 1909) was a French
Doctor who treated Vincent van Gogh’s mental illness during
the last weeks of van Gogh’s life. Gachet was an artist and
great supporter of the Impressionist movement. Gachet was recommended
by Vincent’s brother Theo and Camille Pissarro, a comtemporary
impressionist artist, and had treated other artists.
Van Gogh left the clinic in Saint Remy to travel to Auvers to be
treated by the doctor. The two became friends though van Gogh described
Gachet as “sicker than I am”. In the end, van Gogh did
not take his friend's advice, continued into his demise and would
soon commit suicide while under the doctor’s care.
Gachet seems sad in the portrait, leaning on his hand with a melancholy
expression. It is said that the foxglove plant in Gachet’s
hand suggests he was treating Vincent with the plant’s derivative
digitalis. This drug is known to cause “yellow vision”
linking the plant and drug as having a direct effect on van Gogh’s
work, namely the sunflower
series.
The portrait fetched over $80 million in 1990, which was the most
paid in history for a painting until <Picasso’s
“Boy with Pipe” shattered the record.
Purchase
a print of van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet
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