A family secret came to light last year when a distant cousin contacted me through Facebook from the UK. It seems I have a Great-Great Spinster Aunt that my Canadian family knew nothing about. Cheri Rose Merry was the daughter of John Merry on my paternal Grandfather's side of the family. My cousin told an amazing story of how our Aunt dreamed of being a stage actress, so moved to Paris in 1880 when she was 23. It was a hard life with little success in her chosen career, she was forced to take on dancing and escort work to make her living, - 'work' that her family would consider immoral.
She met Vincent Van Gogh, the year he moved to Paris in 1886. They had a passionate friendship and stayed together for several months, supporting each other emotionally and financially. But jealously created such a volatile home life that she had to leave him. She had sat for many portraits, one of which he painted and gave to her when she left, since it was too painful for him to look at. She apparently didn't like the painting, writing to her Mother that he made her look old and ugly. She eventually sent the painting to her Mother since she was probably unable to sell it.
Her Mother kept the secret of her daughter's shameful life, passing it down to her youngest Granddaughter, whose daughter contacted me in Victoria from the UK. Our Great–Great Grandmother had revealed the secret she'd kept for 50 years to her family but no one believed it was true and besides it was an ugly painting, how could it be a masterpiece, they said. When she learned that I was also a painter with an uncanny resemblance to our Great-Great Aunt, she sent me the painting.
"Cheri Rose in Paris" 1886 Vincent Van Gogh; Appraisal Notes
The subject appears to stand taller than Van Gogh. Since most of his portraits are shown seated or have a lower vantage point, he appears to be making a statement of the subject’s stature/strength and character. His signature blue/green shadows are countered by warm highlights. The swirling patterns in the background appear in many of his paintings. The dramatic contrasting lighting, suggest a mood of intensity in the model, indicating that he most likely knew her. Van Gogh was known to write to his brother Theo that, "I want to make pictures that touch people…not with sentimental melancholy but to reach so far that people will say of my work "he feels so deeply, he feels tenderly. This is my ambition... to show by my work what there is in the heart of such an eccentric man, such a nobody.” Many would say that he achieved this goal and this recently discovered masterpiece adds to his “music”.

$185,000,000

Vincent Van Gogh

1886

I have admired Vincent Van Gogh since high school so given the theme of this show I had to try a van Gogh portrait.

Oil on Canvas