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The Missing Van Gogh

March 4, 2025

One of the most famous paintings by Vincent van Gogh was sold at auction in 1990 - before disappearing without trace. What has happened to it?

The Missing Van Gogh
Image: ZDF

The search has taken investigators from the US, to France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Van Gogh statue in Auvers sur OiseImage: ZDF

Six weeks before his death in 1890, van Gogh painted a portrait of his physician Paul Ferdinand Gachet. The doctor’s melancholic demeanor, described by the artist himself as "the heartbroken expression of our time”, has afforded the work iconic status.

Image: ZDF

In 1990, 100 years after its creation, the portrait was auctioned in New York for 82 million US Dollars, the highest price ever paid for a work of art at the time. Then, it disappeared into private ownership. Where is it now? Those who know the answer aren’t willing to talk.

Image: ZDF

In pursuing leads as to the whereabouts of the work, this documentary not only explores the excesses of the global art trade, it also sheds light on the emotional connections that people have formed with the portrait.
 

Broadcasting Hours: 

DW English

FRI 14.03.2025 – 01:15 UTC
FRI 14.03.2025 – 04:15 UTC
SAT 15.03.2025 – 13:15 UTC
SUN 16.03.2025 – 19:15 UTC
MON 17.03.2025 – 09:15 UTC
MON 17.03.2025 – 16:15 UTC
MON 17.03.2025 – 21:15 UTC
WED 19.03.2025 – 12:15 UTC

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