In the world of art, the right names can turn into astonishing sums, as was the case at a recent auction.
An early masterpiece by Vincent van Gogh, titled Head of a Peasant Woman, was recently sold for 4.5 million euros at the prestigious Tefaf art and antiques fair in the Netherlands, as reported by Dutch outlets NOS and L1 Nieuws.
This oil portrait, measuring 63 by 48 centimeters, is believed to have been created in 1884 during Van Gogh's residency in Nuenen, the Netherlands. This was the same period he produced the iconic painting The Potato Eaters, which is part of the collection presented at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
Sold by the American gallery MS Rau, the artwork has found a new home with a private museum owner situated outside Europe. While details about the museum remain under wraps, it is expected that the painting will be showcased to the public.
Tefaf, where the sale took place, is renowned as one of the premier art fairs globally, attracting over 270 galleries and antique dealers from across 22 countries.
Works by Van Gogh usually fetch high prices.
This transaction follows the 2021 auction of Van Gogh's watercolor "Wheatstacks" at Christie's, which carried an approximate valuation of 30 million dollars.
That same year, another painting of his was sold at auction for 13.65 million dollars. This concerned a never-before-exhibited painting that Van Gogh painted in Paris in the spring of 1887: Scène de Rue à Montmartre.
