One of the most famous paintings that was part of the art collections in Breslau was the canvas “The Bridge at Trinquetaille.” In 1905, it entered the salon of the Berlin dealer Paul Cassirer, and its fate serves as an excellent point of reflection on the sudden rise in popularity of Vincent van Gogh’s works among German collectors.
In his native Netherlands and even in France, where he spent many creative years of his life, the artist did not find many admirers. However, in Germany, his paintings gained recognition at the beginning of the 20th century. Cassirer played a significant role in popularizing this exceptional artist, aided by the painter’s sister-in-law, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, who managed the artist’s legacy after the deaths of Vincent and his brother Theo. In 1906, Cassirer’s publishing house, with Johanna’s assistance, published the first German translation of van Gogh’s letters.
The German art critic Julius Meier-Graefe also contributed significantly to promoting the works of the Dutch artist. He authored a German-language biography of the painter published in 1910 and was one of the first collectors of his works, acquiring his first canvas just three years after the artist’s death. In 1910, Cassirer’s gallery in Berlin showcased van Gogh’s paintings, including “Cypresses” (now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York) and “The Bedroom of the Artist in Arles,” now proudly displayed in the artist’s museum in Amsterdam. Cassirer organized large monographic exhibitions of the painter in 1914 and 1928. Through Cassirer’s mediation, many paintings ended up in the hands of German collectors, including the canvas “The Bridge at Trinquetaille.” Hugo von Tschudi, the director of the Berlin National Gallery, acquired it from Cassirer. From 1928 to 1932, the painting was part of Max Silberberg’s collection, from whom it was purchased by Siegfried Kramarsky, residing in Amsterdam.
Due to his Jewish heritage, the collector was forced to flee to New York in 1939, taking with him, among other artworks, the painting “The Bridge at Trinquetaille.” The canvas later became part of the collection of the collector’s daughter, Sonja Kramarsky. In 1987, at a Christie’s auction in London, the painting reached a sum of $20.24 million, making it the third most expensive van Gogh work at the time (after “Irises” and “Sunflowers”).
Painting Information:
oil on canvas, dimensions: 73 x 92 cm, currently in a private collection.
Literature: Walther Feilchenfeldt, Vincent van Gogh, Die Gemälde 1886-1890. Händler, Sammler, Ausstellungen. Frühe Provenienzen, Wädenswil 2009, s. 167.