Van Gogh Museum has purchased Virginie Demont-Breton’s L’homme est en mer at TEFAF for between €500,000 and €1 million. The acquisition adds a rare work by a woman artist to the museum’s holdings.
The painting is notable for having inspired Van Gogh’s own copy, underscoring its significance within the artist’s circle of reference. It is now only the third painting by a woman in the museum’s collection.
Before entering the museum, the work had remained in a private Dallas collection for 20 years. Its sale marks a notable addition to the museum’s relatively small group of works by women artists.
