“Unseen for a century,” is what they said about a painting depicting this very street. Welcome to Rue des Deux Frères. It’s a street touched by the brush of Vincent van Gogh.
This street in Montmartre found its way onto a canvas in early spring. It was a year after Van Gogh’s arrival in Paris. He was staying with his brother Theo. Theo was an art dealer on Rue Lepic.
Let me set the scene. A couple is dressed in black. They stroll past a former pepper mill. This mill would later be demolished to make way for a cabaret. Two children walk in the opposite direction. To the left, behind a wooden enclosure sits a carousel.
Van Gogh captured a moment in time on Rue des Deux Frères. He painted it with a pale, luminous sky. He used vivid colors. He created a sense of movement. This painting became part of his Moulin de la Galette series. It portrayed Montmartre. Montmartre was transforming into a leisure and tourist attraction.
This work marked a turning point for Van Gogh. It contrasted with the dark tones of his earlier works. Those were made in Belgium and the Netherlands. It also predated his distinctly expressive style. He developed that in Arles in the south of France.
Most paintings from Van Gogh’s Montmartre series reside in large international museums. It is rare to find one still in private hands. Especially one that has remained with the same family for a century. Van Gogh was drawn to the pastoral side of Montmartre. He preferred to capture its ambience. He was less interested in its balls and cabarets.
During his two-year stay in Paris, Van Gogh created around 200 paintings. Many were smaller in scale. Montmartre became one of his favored subjects.
After arriving in Paris, Van Gogh discovered the Impressionists in 1886. He admired works by Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec. He met Paul Signac shortly before painting here. Paris opened his eyes to light. Later, the south of France revealed the sun to him.
The family who owned the painting had it hanging in an office. It had been acquired in the 1920s. The painting froze an intimate scene. It foreshadowed the great Van Gogh. The Van Gogh that would emerge three or four years later with his Arles period.
The painting is titled Scène de rue à Montmartre. This translates to Street Scene in Montmartre. It is also known as Impasse des deux frères et le Moulin à Poivre. That means Impasse of the Two Brothers and the Pepper Mill. Its estimated value is between 5 million and 8 million euros.
Take a moment to imagine Van Gogh standing here on Rue des Deux Frères. He is capturing the essence of Montmartre. He is transforming an ordinary street into an immortal work of art.