Havana Cuba. — On November 19, but in 1998, the painting “Portrait of the Artist Without a Beard” -also known as “Self-portrait without a beard”-, by the post-impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) was auctioned in New York City. The canvas that the Dutchman gave to his mother, Anna Carbentus, for her birthday, reached the astronomical sum of 71.5 million dollars in an auction of the house Christie’s, thus becoming one of the most expensive works of art in history; but without exceeding the absolute record for a Van Gogh set by the piece “Portrait of Doctor Gachet”, which the Dutch artist painted in 1890 and which would also be auctioned by Christie’s a century later, in no less than 82.5 million dollars.
Splendid, like all the work of Zundert’s genius, the “Self-portrait without beard” has remained at the center of controversy because several specialists consider it the last work by Van Gogh. Others, however, believe that the “Self-portrait with open coat” was painted at a later date.
The truth is that during the year prior to his death, the artist worked feverishly on this theme that suited his tormented soul and introverted nature so well. Perhaps the most remembered of all is the “Self-portrait with a severed ear”, dated January 1889, a shocking testimony of the mental and emotional state in which one of the great icons of universal art was immersed.
It is estimated that throughout his life, Van Gogh produced forty-three self-portraits, all beautifully crafted and impressively honest. In “Self-Portrait with a Beard” the artist vividly expressed the hardness and deterioration of his facial features, his perennial anxiety and the traces of insomnia.
The painting is notable for its high value in the art market, but also for its disconcerting use of colour, a distinctive feature of Van Gogh’s poetics and for many a direct expression of the mental disorder that ultimately led to his suicide.
Receive information from CubaNet on your cell phone through WhatsApp. Send us a message with the word “CUBA” on the phone +525545038831, You can also subscribe to our electronic newsletter by giving click here.
