Unseen Van Gogh for Over Three Decades poised to break the Artist’s Auction Record in Asia

Painted during Van Gogh’s transformative two-year stay in Paris, Les canots amarrés is one of a formative series of landscape paintings that the artist created in the summer of 1887 at Asnières, a fashionable suburb situated on the Seine to the northwest of the capital. A centre for boating enthusiasts, Asnières was a picturesque retreat from the heat and noise of Paris during the summer and a popular destination for weekend day-trippers. It was here that the wealth of stylistic lessons Van Gogh had absorbed during his time in the city came into their own and he forged his distinctive painterly style.

Les canots amarrés forms part of a groundbreaking trio of triptychs that have been described as the “artistic pinnacle” of Van Gogh’s time in Asnières. Using the same horizontal format and similar canvas size for each painting, Van Gogh created a panoramic vision of life on this busy stretch of the Seine. The present work is believed to form part of the so-called “Bord de la Seine à Asnières” triptych, along with Ponts sur la Seine à Asnières(Emil Bührle Collection, Kunsthaus Zurich) and Restaurant de la Sirène, Asnières (The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford). Infused with a sense of bright summer light, Les canots amarrés and these closely related works see Van Gogh moving beyond formal concerns alone — specifically his interest in Impressionist and Pointillist colour and brushwork — to respond directly to nature itself, capturing a scene filled with a novel sense of freshness and luminosity that is entirely his own. This unique approach to the landscape would come to define Van Gogh’s art for the rest of his short but legendary career.

Unseen in public for more than three decades, the presentation of this masterpiece marks an extraordinary historic moment and celebrates not only Les canots amarrés’ artistic significance, but also The Royal Family of Bourbon-Two Sicilies honoured commitment to preserving and sharing their art collection with the public. The public exhibition and auction of this exceptional work, together with the previously announced Nymphéas byClaude Monet, will captivate collectors and art enthusiasts, further cementing Christie’s position as a global leader in bringing exceptional Western masterpieces to collectors in Asia.

Main Image: Vincent van Gogh’s Les canots amarrés, HK$230,000,000 – 380,000,000 / US$30,000,000 – 50,000,000, this work will be a highlight of Christie’s 20^th/ 21^st Century Inaugural Evening Sale at The Henderson on 26 September. Copyright Christie's