梵高靜物畫預計將拍出5000萬美元

A “rare and poignant” still life painted by Vincent Van Gogh in the month before he took his own life is expected to raise up to $50m when it is put up for auction in the autumn.

梵高(Vincent Van Gogh)自殺前一個月創作的一副“罕見而熱烈的”靜物畫，預計將在今年秋季拍賣中拍出5000萬美元的高價。

“Still life, Vase with Daisies and Poppies” is one of only a handful of major paintings by the acknowledged father of expressionism to be sold on the open market since the late 1980s. Before he died at the age of 37, the Dutch Artist painted just a few hundred works, the majority of which are now in museums.

自上世紀80年代末以來，這位公認的表現主義之父在公開市場上出售的重要作品屈指可數。這幅《靜物：花瓶、雛菊與罌粟》(Still life, Vase with Daisies and Poppies)將是其中之一。這位荷蘭畫家死於37歲，生前只畫了幾百幅作品，其中大多數作品如今都在博物館裏。

Simon Shaw, co-head of impressionist and modern art at Sotheby’s, which is auctioning the work with an estimate of $30m-$50m, said Van Gogh’s early death meant his works were in “radically diminished supply”. “Unlike Monet and Picasso, who were very productive artists with long, prolific careers, Van Gogh only painted for a very short time,” he said.

蘇富比(Sotheby’s)表現主義和現代藝術副主管西蒙•肖(Simon Shaw)表示，梵高的早逝意味着他的作品“極度稀缺”。蘇富比將負責這件作品的拍賣，預計將拍出3000萬至5000萬美元的價格。肖說：“跟創作時間很長並且高產的莫奈(Monet)和畢加索(Picasso)不同，梵高創作的時間非常短。”

The artist is thought to have suffered from bipolar disorder, where manic episodes of high energy, emotion and creativity give way to periods of depression. Living outside Paris, he was being treated by Dr Paul Gachet, his physician and patron, when he painted the still life in June 1890. The work was “particularly poignant”, Mr Shaw said, because Van Gogh picked the flowers for the picture from the meadows where he would shoot himself the following month.

據信，梵高生前患有狂躁抑鬱症，這種患者時而精力、情感和創造力瘋狂爆發，時而陷入抑鬱，兩者情況交替出現。1890年6月，梵高住在巴黎郊外，一邊接受他的醫生兼資助人保羅•加謝(Paul Gachet)的治療，一邊創作那副靜物畫。肖說，那副作品“特別熱烈”，因爲梵高作畫時參照的花，採自他一個月後自殺的那片草地。

Chronically short of money, Van Gogh relied on his brother for funds and supplies of paint, brushes and canvas. The flower picture was painted on kitchen-quality linen rather than the more expensive prepared canvas sold by art supply shops in Paris.

梵高長期窮困潦倒，靠弟弟提供錢、顏料、畫筆和畫布。那副靜物畫是畫在餐布上，而不是畫在巴黎美術用品商店裏出售的更昂貴的精製畫布上。

The work is thought to have been first owned by Dr Gachet, to whom Van Gogh offered it as payment in kind for his treatment. Subsequently it became one of the first of his works to arrive in the US in the 1920s and was later gifted to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York. Sotheby’s said its present vendor was “an important European collection” which had held the picture for more than two decades.

據信，靜物畫最初的所有者是加謝醫生，梵高把那副作品送給了他，算是支付診療費。後來，那幅畫出現在上世紀20年代首批抵達美國的梵高作品中，後被送給了紐約州水牛城的奧爾布賴特-諾克斯畫廊(Albright-Knox Art Gallery)。蘇富比表示，它現在的所有者是“一位歐洲重要收藏者”，已擁有這幅畫逾20年。

Other significant works by Van Gogh have sold for tens of millions at auction. “Portrait of Dr Gachet” sold at Christie’s for $82m in 1990, while in 2006, “L’Arlésienne, Madame Ginoux” fetched $40m.

梵高的其他重要作品都拍出了數千萬的價格。《加謝醫生的肖像》(Portrait of Dr Gachet)1990年在佳士得(Christie’s)拍出8200萬美元，《阿萊的基諾夫人》(L'Arlésienne, Madame Ginoux)在2006年拍出4000萬美元。

The flower painting will be displayed at Sotheby’s showrooms in Hong Kong, London and New York in October before its auction in New York on November 4.

這幅靜物畫10月將依次在蘇富比香港、倫敦和紐約的陳列室展出，11月4日在紐約開拍。