Podcast
Finding Van Gogh
In Search of the Legendary “Portrait of Dr Gachet”

Johannes Nichelmann (*1989) has been working as a free-lance reporter, author and moderator for public broadcasting, radio and television since 2008. He leads the way through the story of FINDING VAN GOGH.

Cynthia Saltzman is an art historian and journalist working in New York. Her book “The Portrait of Dr Gachet” (1998) is the first ever to study the painting’s history in depth. Her research was an important source for the podcast.

Alexander Eiling (*1974) is the head of the Städel Museum’s collection of modern art and the curator of the exhibition MAKING VAN GOGH. He would have liked to show the “Portrait of Dr Gachet” in the exhibition.

Dominique Janssens (*1948), a native of Belgium, used to work as a manager for an international food giant. In 1984, he purchased the house where Van Gogh spent the last months of his life—the Auberge Ravoux in the French town of Auvers-sur-Oise. With his Institut Van Gogh he is working to keep the artist’s memory alive.

Andreas Hansert (*1958) is a historian and sociologist. He works as a free-lance author and has carried out research and published texts on such topics as the cultural history of the Frankfurt bourgeoisie and local Nazi history.

Anna Huber (*1982) is an art historian and works in the Städel’s museum education department. For the podcast, she immersed herself in the history of the Gachet portrait.

Konstanze Crüwell (*1942) is a journalist and author. The former editor of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung carried out in-depth research on the biography of former Städel director Georg Swarzenski and published a book about him in 2015.

Iris Schmeisser (*1972) is a provenance researcher and the head of the Städel Museum’s historical archive. Her work focusses on the history of artworks and their changes of ownership, especially during the Nazi era.

Ewald Rathke (*1926) is an art historian and art dealer. He was the director of the Frankfurt Kunstverein from 1961 and 1970 and has owned an art dealership in this city for nearly 50 years. In the early 60s, he saw the “Portrait of Dr Gachet” in the New York apartment of its then owner, Lola Kramarsky.

Gottfried Boehm (*1942) is an art historian, philosopher and professor emeritus of the University of Basel. He is considered one of the most influential art and image theorists in the German-speaking part of Europe.

Christopher Burge worked for Christie’s from 1970 to 2012 and was considered one of its top auctioneers. He auctioned off eight of what, at that time, were the world’s ten most expensive artworks. In 1990 he also directed the auction in New York where the “Portrait of Dr Gachet” broke all the records.

Dirk Boll (*1970), originally from Germany, is now based in London and president of Christie’s in Europe, Middle East, Russia and Africa.

Stefan Koldehoff (*1967) is a journalist and expert on the art market and Van Gogh. He has been researching the “Portrait of Dr Gachet” and its history extensively for three decades.

Giovanna Bertazzoni is with Christie’s London, where she heads the international department of Impressionist and modern art. An Italian by birth, she has been working for the auction house since 1998.

David Nash (*1942) worked for the auction house Sotheby’s for altogether 35 years, most recently as the director of the international Impressionist and modern art department. He is one of the most eminent art dealers in the U.S. Today, he and his wife run a gallery in New York.

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We would like to thank our interviewees, especially Cynthia Saltzman, who—in her book “The Portrait of Dr Gachet” of 1998—reconstructed the history of the painting for the first time, and who spent a great deal of time with us in New York talking about her research. We also extend our warm thanks to the curators, Alexander Eiling and Felix Krämer, who arranged for the production of this podcast in conjunction with the exhibition MAKING VAN GOGH.

Protagonists (in order of appearance):

Alexander Eiling
Cynthia Saltzman
Stefan Koldehoff
Christopher Burge
Anna Huber
Iris Schmeißer
Maike Hoffmann
Dominique Janssens
Martin Sonnabend
Andreas Hansert
Konstanze Crüwell
Ewald Rathke
Gottfried Boehm
Dirk Boll
Giovanna Bertazzoni
und David Nash

With the voices of:

Jenny Schily
Thomas Stecher
Stefan Bergel
Shaun Lawton
Annette Yashpon
Peter Becker
Benjamin Yates
Jakob Schmidt

We would moreover like to thank all the many persons who supported us with their thoughts, expertise and energy.

From the Städel Museum:

Dominik Auvermann
Philipp Demandt
Theresa Franke
Sebastian Heine
Linda Herrmann
Katja Hilbig
Stefanie Jerger
Stefan Knobloch
Julia Lange
Bernadette Mildenberger
Eva Mongi-Vollmer
Franziska von Plocki
Freya Schlingmann
Anne Sulzbach
Elena Schroll
Vanessa Tron
Anna Voß

We also thank:

René Allonge
Isabelle Cahn
Inka Drögemüller
Walter Feilchendfeldt
Mario Kunze
Stefanie Mannstein
Lynda McLeod
Monika Roth
Peter Schjeldahl
Margret Stuffmann

and Vincent van Gogh.