This weekend, art enthusiasts attending The European Art Fair (TEFAF) in Maastricht, the southern Dutch city, will have the opportunity to witness an extraordinary collection of artworks, including a rare early piece by Vincent van Gogh and a record-setting masterpiece by Wassily Kandinsky.
The highlights of the exhibition are Van Gogh’s “Tete de paysanne a la coiffe blanche” (Head of an Old Peasant Woman with a White Cap) from 1884 and Kandinsky’s “Murnau mit Kirche II,” both available for purchase. The former, presented by M.S. Rau, a renowned gallery in the United States, carries a price tag of 4.5 million euros ($4.9 million).
Rebecca Rau, Vice President of Acquisitions at M.S. Rau, expressed the timeless appeal of Van Gogh’s art, anticipating significant interest from buyers. The painting was created in 1884 during Van Gogh’s residence in Nuenen, preceding his famous work “The Potato Eaters” from 1885.
Kandinsky’s “Murnau with Church 2,” painted in 1910, achieved a record-breaking sale of $45 million at Sotheby’s in London last year. The masterpiece, reflecting the artist’s shift towards abstraction, was once part of the collection owned by Johanna Margarethe Stern and Siegbert Stern, prominent figures in Berlin’s cultural scene during the 1920s.
The painting, discovered a decade ago in a museum in Eindhoven, was returned to the Sterns’ heirs in 2022 and acquired by art dealer Robert Landau at auction. While the asking price at TEFAF was not disclosed, Landau emphasized the difficulty in estimating its value.
Although these artworks may find a place in private collections, Rebecca Rau expressed optimism about their eventual presence in museums, considering them as potential future masterpieces to be showcased for public appreciation.
