Van Gogh's lost print

A special appeal from The Art Newspaper:

The hunt is on for a Japanese print from Van Gogh’s own collection which the artist reproduced in the background of his painting Self-portrait with bandaged ear, now at the Courtauld Institute Gallery, London. Vincent’s copy of the print Geishas in a landscape was also in the Courtauld Collection, but was stolen in 1981. The theft was never announced. The print published by Sato Torakiyo has little intrinsic value, but the copy stolen from the Courtauld may well be languishing in a collection, its link with the artist unrecognised. . .

The Art Newspaper has traced the story of Geishas in a landscape and has established that Van Gogh’s own copy is instantly recognisable. A photograph in the Courtauld’s records reveals that all four corners of the print had suffered considerable damage from drawing pins. Throughout his travels, Vincent would decorate his rooms with prints, using pins and frequently damaging the paper.

Posted by David on February 10, 2005 8:20 AM