FINDING VAN GOGH “In general when people don’t know where a painting is, they say it’s in a private collection in Switzerland. That’s the standard response.” Where is the Portrait of Dr Gachet now? Since the historical auction in 1990, the artwork has never been on view to the public again. Its last three decades begin in Japan and lead to an Austr…

FINDING VAN GOGH “I absolutely hated taking auctions. I was incredibly nervous. I was paralyzed with fear is really the answer.” The Portrait of Dr Gachet has meanwhile changed owners thirteen times – and now it’s writing art market history. How did it come about: the historical auction where the painting broke all the price records? Johannes trave…

FINDING VAN GOGH “Essentially, it’s like this: You need life for art to be created!” The Portrait of Dr Gachet is in storage in a granary in Berlin along with thousands of other confiscated artworks. Here it comes to the attention of one of the leading National Socialists: Hermann Göring wants to turn it into cash abroad. By a circuitous route, the…

FINDING VAN GOGH “His face displays the pain-filled expression of our time.” Frankfurt, Germany, 1905. Georg Swarzenski is appointed director of the Städel at the age of 30. He wants to open the richly traditional museum for exciting new art. In 1911, he purchases the Portrait of Dr Gachet in Paris – an act that makes a strong statement in the unyi…

FINDING VAN GOGH “He painted it really not just as a portrait of Dr Gachet but as a self-portrait and as a portrait of the modern artist. And also the state of mind of the modern world.” Johannes and the curator Alexander Eiling are standing in the Städel Museum’ storage room – in front of an empty picture frame. It is the frame that once held the …

FINDING VAN GOGH In search of the legendary Portrait of Dr Gachet The last great portrait by Vincent van Gogh disappeared from the public eye three decades ago. It was sold at auction in New York in 1990 – at what was then the highest price ever paid for a painting. The podcast series FINDING VAN GOGH sets out in search of the legendary masterwork,…