A rare painting by Vincent Van Gogh was sold at auction by Sotheby's Paris on Thursday for 13.1 million euros ($15.4 million).

The sale of "Street Scene in Montmartre" was highly anticipated as it was one of the few paintings by the Dutch Impressionist master to still have been in private hands.

The auction house had expected it to sell for between 5 million euros and 8 million euros.

Sotheby's said the work had remained in the same family collection for more than 100 years, out of the public eye.

It shows a windmill named the Pepper Mill, seen from the street under a bright sky, with a man, a woman and a little girl walking in front of wooden palisades that surrounded the place.

The period marked a turning point in Van Gogh's career as he began exploring expressionist techniques and new uses of color in the final years of his life.

It was painted in 1887, one year after Van Gogh moved to Paris and lived in Montmartre while he was lodging with his brother Theo.

He left the French capital in 1888 for southern France, where he lived until his death in 1890.

The piece was among over 30 works being sold by Sotheby's on Thursday from masters including Modigliani, Rodin, Camille Claudel, Degas, Klee and Magritte.

jf/rc  (AP, AFP)