《鳶尾花》於1889年5月完成。同向日葵一樣,凡高似乎也喜歡畫這種植物。
1892年,唐基(凡高的朋友)以300法郎的價格將這幅畫賣給了評論家奧克塔夫·米爾博--凡高最早的賞識者之一。這幅畫像許多其他的凡高的畫一樣,在他死後不斷地買賣。1988年在拍賣會上,有人叫出了5300萬美元的天價。“這件事為現代美術家的成功定下了新的標準”(見《凡高的曆程》)
1990年7月29日的《紐約時報》上出現了一則匿名公告。(見下)
“公告堅決主張文化和商業之間要保持道義上的距離,並且代表凡高對人們提出嚴厲的勸告:‘藝術的價值與金錢毫不相幹’”(見《凡高的曆程》)
Vincent van Gogh
died100years ago today.We owe it to memory of his achivement,and the manner in which it was achieved,to remember the following:artists must search for truth with integrity;dealers must keep in mind that the importance of art has nothing whatsoever to do with money;critics must recognizetheir responsibility to make every effort to be correct in their judgements; appreciators must experience works of art with the same degree of effort and integrity as the artists who created them.