ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 22, 1996 TAG: 9611220048
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: PARIS
SOURCE: Associated Press
It isn't a typical Van Gogh.
The colors are right - iris blues, spring greens and golden yellows. But the abstract perspective and brush strokes have none of the artist's usual realistic touches - a fence, a rooftop or a church spire.
The ``Jardin d'Auvers,'' which goes on the auction block Dec. 9, has some experts at odds. Is it an elaborate fake? Or is it the handiwork of a genius?
For the second time in four years the painting is up for sale, but it's the first time authenticity has been a question.
The world's leading Van Gogh scholars have insisted - repeatedly - that Van Gogh made the small landscape in the creative frenzy leading up to his suicide in 1890. It also is widely held that Van Gogh's sister-in-law was the painting's first owner.
But critic Jean-Marie Tasset cited research showing that ``Jardin'' belonged to the brother of Claude-Emile Schuffenecker. And Schuffenecker had a reputation as a second-rate artist with a talent for copying successful artists - including Van Gogh.
The curator at Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum declares the painting is ``absolutely'' the real thing. ``We're aware of the controversy,'' Sjraar van Heugten said. ``We reviewed all the material and have concluded that there's been a mix-up of facts.''
French, American and British art specialists concur, but the damage has been done.
Jacques Tajan, the French auctioneer handling the sale at the Hotel Georges V, says at least one potential buyer has bowed out. ``When millions of dollars are involved,'' he said, ``people shy away from risk.''
The painting, whose title translates ``Garden at Auvers,'' has been controversial from the start.
Its style doesn't quite fit with other landscapes Van Gogh painted during the same period of 1890. Two nearly identical garden scenes have accents of realism, and align Van Gogh with fellow Impressionists.
But, in the words of one critic, ``Jardin d'Auvers'' is nothing short of a ``masterpiece heralding abstractionism.''
France classified the painting as a national treasure in 1989, meaning it cannot be taken out of the country without an exit visa.
The government is reluctant to give those out, and that has driven down the painting's market value by deterring foreign buyers who would want to take the treasure home.
When the painting was sold the last time, in 1992, it was valued at $40 million but sold for just $11 million.
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: File/1992. Some say the painting of a French landscape,by CNBvalued at $40 million, is less realistic than a typical Van Gogh.