The Revolver Van Gogh used to shoot Himself is Going Up for Sale through Auction Art in Paris (foto Stéphane Briolant)

“Van Gogh Pistol” Circus: Why Art Historians and Auctioneers should keep their Long, Crooked Noses Out of True Crime

It’s a Farce, That’s What It Is. The Public Relations Spiel to Sell a Piece of Rusted Junk, Punted [always in “Inverted Commas” You’ll Notice] as the Weapon “Believed” to have Killed the Great Artist is All about Making Money. It started Two Months Ago, in April. The Sheer Amount of Media that Participated and Recycled the Same Garbage was Impressive.

Forbes,The Art Newspaper,The Telegraph, CNN, Dutch News, EuroNews and So on and on and on.

A Few of these Media Stories admitted in their Headlines that the Whole Thing was a Bit of a Stretch. CNN  described it as Van Gogh’s “Possible” Suicide Weapon [but then Incorrectly Assumed the Suicide as Fact]. Dutch News was a Little More Honest, saying that it was simply the Gun that “May” have been Used, but then they make the same Mess as CNN by Referring to the Same Myth of Suicide.

So what’s All the Fuss about if It’s Not Definitively, Definitely Connected to “The Incident” [Murder, Suicide, Accident, Whatever It Was]?

More
Van Gogh did Not Kill Himself, Authors Claim BBC
New Theory finds Teenager may have Shot Van Gogh ABC
Was van Gogh Killed? New Research Says He Was Shot Art Net

If the Audience at the Auction “Believe” the Gun is Authentic, like an Authentic Work of Art, it’s Worth More. But there’s something Patently Ridiculous about an Auction that Clearly admits there’s No Forensic or Ballistic Proof linking the Gun to Van Gogh.

This would be Fairly Easy to Do in Theory – since the Bullet is Still Lodged in the Skeleton in the Grave where Van Gogh is Buried in Auvers sur Oise. But Imagine Going to a Car Dealership and being Told that the Model for Sale is “Possibly” a Mercedes, or that the Shining Silver Surfboard on Wheels “May” be a Ferrari, or that Hidden under a Cloth is Vehicle that is “Believed” to be a Porche. Is it or isn’t it? Because if it isn’t then there’s a huge difference is how much its worth.

Now, Aside from Linking a Weapon to a Homicide or Suicide [Art Historians can’t decide whether it’s One or the Other, or whether it’s Possibly an Accidental Killing], there’s the Issue of the 75 Years that passed between the Incident and the Recovery of the Weapon. Quite a Lot hHappened in those 75 Years. Van Gogh went from Almost Complete Obscurity at the Time of his Death in July 1890, to becoming One of the Most Famous, Popular, and Expensive Artists in the World. When the So Called Weapon was “Discovered” in a Field it was when Van Gogh had come into his Fame. Why Not Before?

So there is Clearly a Motive for Coming after the Fact, Planting a Fake Weapon and Claiming it as the Real Thing. In fact there’s € 67.000 on the Line if some Sucker falls for this Spiel. Incidentally, there’s a Vast, Sinister Underworld of Fakes and Forgeries Associated with Van Gogh. Everything from his Diary, to his Sketches, to his Paintings have been Passed Off as the Real Thing. Sometimes a Painting Regarded as Authentic will Later be Dismissed as Fake, sometimes the Pendulum goes from Real, to Fake, to Real Again, depending on the “Right” Art Expert appearing in the “Right” Place at the “Right” Time.

Timeline |  World History Documentaries – Is Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers‘ A Fake? The Fake Van Gogh’s!

Gepubliceerd 27 mrt. 2018

Timeline | World History Documentaries

Was the Most Expensive Painting Ever Sold at Auction a Fake?This Award Winning Documentary explores the Authenticity of the Sunflowers Painting by Vincent van Gogh, bought in the late 1980’s for a then Record Sum by a Japanese Insurance Company.

In 2002, the Painting went on Public Exhibition alongside an Undisputedly Genuine Version of Sunflowers, raising once again the Questions so Vividly Posed in this Film.

It’s like Netflix for History. Sign Up to History Hit, the World’s Best History Documentary Service, at a Huge Discount using the Code ‘TIMELINE‘ – – – ᐳ http://bit.ly/3a7ambu

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Reacties
https://youtu.be/1xPYxroE6P8

Each Time This Happens, someone becomes a Millionaire. Each Time a Promising Forgery remains a Forgery, Someone who is Not a Millionaire remains a Not a Millionaire. So the Stakes on these “Priceless” Artefacts are Dizzingly High.