Portrait of Dr. Gachet

the long version

Portrait of Dr. Gachet was one of van Gogh's last paintings, completed just weeks before his suicide. Depicting the eccentric physician who was attempting to treat the artist, this painting was viewed by van Gogh as a summation of his ideas about portraiture. Cynthia Saltzman's book reconstructs the journey of this revolutionary and haunting painting, in which, as van Gogh wrote, he strove to capture the "heartbroken expression of our time.". As Saltzman superbly shows, this painting not only evokes the ethos of modern life but also illuminates the ways in which art, politics, and the market have intersected in the twentieth century. Affected by broad social and cultural change, the painting's fate was also influenced by innovations in the way art was sold and displayed, and by the growing role of dealers and museums.