Vincent Van Gogh’s Unique Paris Street Painting Sold For Over 13 Million Euros

Vincent Van Gogh’s drawing of a Paris street that has spent more than 100 years behind closed doors has brought in 13.09 million euros (£ 11.2m) from the auction.

Sotheby’s claims that the sale price is a record for the Dutch artist in France, where auction took place on Thursday.

It had previously been estimated that the Paris Street Scene in Montmartre could receive eight million euros (£ 6.9m).

Background

Painted in 1887, the piece has been owned by a French family for most of the time since.

The experts knew the unique work but it was only written as a black and white picture.

A slightly higher price was reached for the drawing on Thursday afternoon, but the sale was canceled due to online bidding problems.

It was also presented at the end of the auction, which was broadcast live online by Suthuby of Paris.

Street Scene of Montmartre is one of Van Gogh’s series of works while living in Paris with his brother Theo in 1886 and 1887.

The painting depicts one of the storms that described Montmartre at a time when it was just a small village north of Paris.

The famous Sacré-Cœur church that now dominates the area was under construction at the time.

Van Gogh left Paris for the south of France in 1888. He died near Paris in July 1890.

Van Gogh’s Paris Journey

Van Gogh scholar Martin Bailey told BBC News last month that the painting was “a temporary work in progress of Van Gogh’s Dutch years, in which he painted in dark, earthy colors, and the exuberant works that he did in Provence.

“It was in Paris that he discovered the Impressionists, and this led him to explore colour,” added Mr Bailey, who writes a blog on Van Gogh for The Art Newspaper.

“What is exciting is that it is a Van Gogh painting which has been hidden away ever since it came off the artist’s easel,” he continued.

“It has always been in private collections, so only the owners and their friends knew it.”

According to Mr Bailey, the scene shown in the painting was just a short distance from the apartment where Vincent and his brother were living at the time.

“By his time the mills had become an entertainment center,” he went on. “No doubt Vincent would occasionally drop by for a drink when he had a few francs in his pocket.”