Vincent Van Gogh: The Portrait Of Dr. Gachet

Even those who are not art connoisseurs know the name Vincent Van Gogh. His artworks are some of the most famous in the world, recognized for their vibrancy, color, texture, and swirling impressionistic style, and are seen as icons in pop culture still today. He is considered one of the greatest Dutch painters of all time, and several of his paintings rank among the most expensive in the world; "Irises" sold for a record $53.9 million, and his "Portrait of Dr. Gachet" sold for $82.5 million. However, even though his name remains emblazoned in history in this day and age, Vincent Van Gogh lived his life extremely poor, virtually unknown, and ostracized by whatever community he came to.

It was on March 30, 1853, in Groot-Zundert, Holland, that

In 1885, he began what is now considered his first masterpiece, “Potato Eaters,” but even Theo, now living in Paris, believed that the painting would not be received well in France, where impressionism was the up and coming style. Despite this, Vincent moved to Paris and came to Paris unannounced in 1886, staying with Theo until moving into what is known as “the little yellow house” in Arles, France. Here, he began developing the artistic style that is so recognizable today. At this point in Vincent Van Gogh’s life, he had little to no money and could not afford to hire models, and was forced to use his self or friends instead. He had the habit of isolating himself from other artists, as his passion for art often morphed into an unmoving tenacity, and caused incessant bickering amongst himself and other artists. This was exemplified in his relationship with a fellow painter, Paul

This was until, improved XRF allowed researchers to examine the underpainting, featuring two wrestlers fighting, which was first noted in the 1990s. Teio Meedendorp, a researcher at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, was able to confirm that the painting was an authentic piece by Van Gogh by examining the underpainting, which corresponded to a painting of wrestlers that was described by Vincent Van Gogh to Theo in their letters. Meedendorp and the other scientists also used XRF to determine that the top layer was applied not even long after it was painted. “We can tell this because he used a lot of zinc white in the wrestlers picture, and it dries very, very slowly. The x-rays show that it had not hardened completely when the still life was added, causing some cracks in the paint of the flower picture, which suggests it was painted less than half a year later.” This timing also fits in with the timeframe of the correspondence, and “Still Life with Meadow Flowers” increased exponentially in value, as it was confirmed as a