@Kwek00 yes, The painting has been housed in the private collection of a French family for more than a century. The painting has never been publicly exhibited, though it has been well documented and has appeared in seven catalogues over the years. Van Gogh painted the work in the spring of 1887, during a two-year sojourn in Paris, when he was living with his brother Theo on the Rue Lepic. The artist was fascinated by the mix of pastoral and urban elements then in Montmartre, where the “mills blended with the cabarets,” according to a statement from Sotheby’s.
I'm not sure about an earlier work that you mention
@usher Not really then. That's like 3 years before he died. And I just looked it up, he started painting around 1880. Just amazed that it looks so sereen, hence why I thought it might be an early work. His later stuff is ussually more vibrant with heavy colours, at least that's what I got from him.
But his sunflowers are for instance painted in 1887 Starry Night in 1889 The Yellow House in 1888 Café Terrace at Night in 1888 Starry night over the Rhone in 1888 Arles: View from the Wheat Fields in 1888 Bedroom in Arles 1888
... I think by looking it up, I kinda think that his most famous works are mostly made in that late periode. When the man was drinking himself to death with wine and absinth and annything else he could fine. According to Wiki his "breakthrough" came around 1888. Most people don't talk about stuff like "the potato eaters" from 1885.
@Kwek00 Yes I agree.. the potato eater for instance is one of the most brilliant pieces of work I 've seen. Pity he never got the recognition he so deserved in his day.
@usher Don't know where you live. But I'm from the dutch speaking side of Belgium. And well, because e are dutch speakers, we get influences from the Netherlands pretty easily. And since Van Gogh is a dutch painter, and has popularity over there it trickles over to here too. So I kinda know the painting. But I rarely see it mentioned outside the dutch language area. But could be that I'm biased, just an impression.
