Sotheby’s “Paris Impressionist and Modern Art” auction will present an exceptional painting by Vincent van Gogh, Scène de rue à Montmartre (Impasse des deux frères, le moulin à poivre), sold in association with the Parisian auction house Mirabaud-Mercier. Painted in 1887, when Van Gogh lived in Montmartre with his Brother Theo on the rue Lepic, the painting represents one of the most famous places in Paris, the Moulin de la Galette. In this pivotal work in the artist’s oeuvre, Van Gogh perfectly represents the bucolic atmosphere of Montmartre while integrating the various aesthetic influences he gleaned from Paris’ artistic avant-garde. Kept for nearly a century in the same private collection, hidden from public view, the reappearance of this painting on the market is an exceptional event. It is one of the few works from Van Gogh’s Montmartre period still in private hands.

The sale will include other major works, ranging from Impressionism to the great masters of modern art, including a work by Henri Matisse painted in Etretat in 1920, Chiens de mer, which has been in the same family collection for over 50 years. Surrealism is also represented by a monumental oil by Francis Picabia, Adam et Eve, belonging to the iconic series of transparencies, and an enigmatic composition by Victor Brauner.

The sale will be followed by the live-streamed auction Modern Renaissance: A Cross-Category Sale in London.