Van Gogh Revolver Sells Well At Auction:

The "Van Gogh" revolver just sold in a Paris Auction fetched 162,500 euros .. that's around $182,00 for a rusted and bent old gun best described as being in "relic condition".

The gun's provenance is somewhat disputed - even if it is the actual pistol involved .. as perhaps he didn’t shoot himself in July 1890, but maybe was shot accidentally during a tussle with 16-year-old René Secrétan, who was spending the summer in the village. - Vincent may have been covering for the young man and his brother .. but certainly it would be an unusual and a very difficult contortion for a revolver suicide to self aim at his own chest area rather than the head.

It is also possible that the famous excised ear may actually have been cut-off by Vincent's artist mate Gauguin in another earlier brawl.

A similar Lefaucheux revolver used by poet Paul Verlaine to try to kill his lover Arthur Rimbaud in 1873 was sold at auction in Paris in 2016, brought 434,500 euros ($708,000) - so this one was cheap .. a queer bunch these artistic types eh.

Not This Fine Example ..

.. But This Rusty Wreck - Sold For 162,500 Euros.

- The price for this unusable old relic is interesting - as our New Zealand Government is currently suggesting they will pay only 25% of the wholesale cost of older worn firearms in their enforced "BUY-BACK SCHEME".

I always thought that Government administrations and their law enforcement departments were meant to be fair, truthful and honest .. apparently not,

Vincent Van Gogh - Painting Sunflowers .. As Painted By Gauguin.

Link to my earlier April story: https://flicense.blogspot.com/2019/04/vincent-van-goghs-7mm-lefaucheux.html

Marty K.