In August 1888, Vincent van Gogh sent his brother Theo a total of 36 paintings he made while in Arles, France. As always, the struggling painter was extremely critical of himself. “Among them there are many with which I am desperately dissatisfied,” he wrote in a letter, adding that he sent them only to give his brother a “vague idea” of the place he now calls home.
One of these paintings, a self-portrait in oil on canvas measuring 45 by 43 centimeters depicting the artist walking along a sunny road with art materials in his hands, was purchased by the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Magdeburg, Germany, in 1919. Entitled “The Painter in Road to Tarascon”, was immortalized in a color photograph taken in the 1930s – a fateful decision on the part of the museum team, as the painting itself may not have survived the Second World War.
Having narrowly escaped Nazi Germany's iconoclasm against modern and – in his opinion – “degenerate” art, “The Painter on the Road to Tarascon” was removed from the museum's collection and transferred to a nearby salt mine to protect it from bombing. British. Also located within the mine was a Luftwaffe BMW jet engine factory, which burned when American troops entered on April 12, 1945.
The cause of the fire, which lasted two weeks and reduced the mine's interior to ashes, is still uncertain. Major Michael C. Ross of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives program, better known as the Monuments Men, noted that it was started “by displaced people who entered the cave to loot” or “in the second case, perhaps through the negligence of the cave guards.” USA”, but that there was not enough evidence to reach a definitive conclusion. (The Monuments Men and Women Foundation offered a reward of up to $25,000 for the painting.)
It was rumored that these “displaced people” could have been the captive workers who worked at the factory, although it is equally likely that the looting was carried out by the Nazis themselves. Other possible culprits include local citizens and even American military personnel.
Surprisingly, “The Painter on the Road to Tarascon” is one of six paintings by Van Gogh which are thought to have been lost or destroyed – an unusual record considering the painter's productivity. Still, some believe it could still be out there somewhere. This was the case of “Wider Hans Worst”, a pamphlet by the German theologian Martinho Luther who had also been stored inside the mine and was miraculously returned to Magdeburg in 1996.
“The Painter on the Road to Tarascon” occupies an important place in the work of Van Gogh, as it is the only self-portrait that shows the painter's entire body, rather than just the head and torso. Even if the painting is never recovered, we are lucky to have this photograph.
Source: Artnet News