The Ballerinas of Degas

The Most Expensive Joke

No.5, 1948

I have never pretended to be an art connoisseur who understands which piece of art is worth how much, but some times its easier to tell how much something is not worth. So here is exhiibit A. The most expensive painting in the world. It is appropriately named image no. 5 and was sold by music agent David Geffen to financier David Martinez for $140m in 2006. Would I pay $10 for it if I found it on a stroll through Covent Gardens? No. Would I expect my five year old to produce something better for his art class? Yes. Enough said.

Impressionism named for this painting

Impression, soliel levant, 1872, Musee Marmottan-Monet

This painting by Claude Monet (painted 1873) is responsible for the name "Impressionism" for the famous art movement. Art critic Louis Leroy wrote a scathing review of the first impressionist art show in Le Charivari newspaper in 1874, and inspired by the name of this painting said "wallpaper in its embryonic stage is more finished than that seascape". The title of the review: "The Exhibition of Impressionists". The movement has been inadvertently named since.

Le Moulin de la Galette by Pierre Auguste Renoir, 1876

Musee D'Orsay

Till death us do part

Take a look at this painting by Van Gogh. It is known as "the wheat field with crows". Is it good? Anything special about it? Linger for a moment.... don't read further... just stare at it for 30 seconds or so and see what you can get out.



Now let me tell you something. This was the last painting Van Gogh made before killing himself. Look at the painting again. Does it change the way you look at it? Whatever was going through his head, the demons he was fighting, the way he was looking at the world... he finished this painting and shot himself to death. He only sold one painting during his lifetime, depended on his brother Theo for hand outs and could not get along with his fellow painters. He understandably felt a bit low. Now he is widely acknowledged as one of the all time best, but he never knew that. When he painted the broad brush strokes of bright yellow and blue in this painting, his mind was on death... his own.

Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci, 1506

Musee Louvre, Paris, France

The Kiss by Gustav Klimt, 1908

Osterreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna, Austria

Self Portraits- Van Gogh

It is all too easy to forget that Van Gogh was a struggling artist who never managed to sell any of his works and was dependent largely on the generosity of his brother Theo. Under these circumstances, finding models was an unnecessary expense and he largely perfected his portrait painting by using himself as the model. He mentioned to his brother in a letter that he had especially bought a mirror of good quality for this purpose.

In the last three years of his life alone, Van Gogh painted over 30 self-portraits. I have tried to gather as many as I could find and will keep adding to the collection as I find more.

The Hague Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, Holland, 1886

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Holland, 1887

The Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit, USA, 1887

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Holland, 1887

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Holland, 1887-88

Zurich Foundation E.G.Buhrle, Zurich, Switzerland, 1887-88

Metropolitan Museum, New York, 1887-88

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 1888

Private Collection, Unknown, 1888

Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA, 1888

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Holland, 1888

Unknown, 1889

Musee D'Orsay, Paris, France, 1889

London Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, UK, 1889

Collection Niarchos, 1889

Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh, 1889

Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), New York City,

Hanging at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, this is considered Van Gogh's most famous painting. Painted in 1889, it depicts the scene from the window of the sanitarium where he was held in the village of Saint-Remy. It was drawn from memory during day time. We know from a letter to his brother Theo, that Van Gogh did not particularly like this painting.