When Van Gogh left the asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, his brother, Theo, organised for Vincent to move to Auvers-sur-Oise, to live in the house of a doctor and homeopath, Dr. Paul Gachet. Camille Pissarro recommended this doctor to Theo, stating that this doctor had a particular interest in treating artists.
Van Gogh made three portraits of Dr. Gachet, an etching (May 1890) and two paintings (June 1890). One copy he gave to Dr. Gachet as a gift. The most famous portrait depicts the doctor sitting at a table and leaning his head on his right hand. Dr. Gachet’s face portrays a heart-broken man.
Van Gogh thought Dr. Gatchet was as crazy as him. In a letter to Theo, Vincent writes ” he certainly seems to be suffering as seriously as I”.
In 1890, one of the portraits of Gachet sold for a staggering price of $82.5 million dollars at an auction in New York.
Today, one portrait of Dr. Gachet is on display in the Musee D’Orsay in Paris. The second painting belongs to a private art collector.