Lot 89: Attributed to Dr. Paul Ferdinand Gachet (French, 1828-1909) 'La Toussaint',

'La Toussaint',
bears monogram 'PR' (lower right),
charcoal on paper
24.5 x 16cm (9 5/8 x 6 5/16in).

Dr Gachet, Vincent van Gogh's friend and doctor was also an amateur painter and etcher. Gachet signed his works "Paul van Ryssel", which translated as "from" (in Dutch - 'van') and 'Ryssel', the Flemish name for Lille and city of Gachet's birth.

The work would appear to be a preliminary sketch for Gachet's etching 'La Toussaint' of 1890 (11.5 x 8.5cm) a version of which can be found in the Bibliotheque Nationale de France (see D. Guillet, Un ami de Cezanne et Van Gogh: Le Docteur Gachet, Paris, 1999, p. 193). The work is an allegory of All Saints day and was executed in the year of Vincent van Gogh's death.The final print did not include the bats featured here and it seems that Gachet added a moon for compositional effect.