THE RED VINEYARD AT ARIES Vincent Van Gogh struggled for self and public validation for the entirety of his life. He began to suffer mental illness sometime in his twenties , and was submitted to mental asylums on more than one occasion. He was once so depressed over a past relationship that he cut off his own ear, and sent it to his lost love. On July 27, 1890 at the age of 37 years old, Van Gogh walked into a field and shot himself in the chest. He died 2 days after the initial wound. The Red Vineyard at Aries was the only painting Van Gogh sold during his lifetime. It sold for 400 francs at an exhibit in Brussels. THE PORTRAIT OF DR. GACHET In 1990 at a Christie’s auction in New York City, The Portrait of Dr. Gatchet sold for a then record 82.5 million dollars to a Japanese businessman named Ryoei Saito. Saito died in 1996 and put in his will that he wanted the painting to be cremated along with his body. The painting was not cremated.











