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Saturday 14 November 2020

1551) Vincent van Gogh, France: "Museum Masterpieces of French Museums Coin Series": A self-portrait depicted on Gold (50 Euros) and Silver (10 Euros) Coins, minted by the Monnaie de Paris (The Paris Mint): Year of Coin issue: 2020:

1551) Vincent van Gogh, France: "Museum Masterpieces of French Museums Coin Series": A self-portrait depicted on Gold (50 Euros) and Silver (10 Euros) Coins, minted by the "Monnaie de Paris" (The Paris Mint): Year of Coin issue: 2020:

Vincent Willem van Gogh (03/1853-29.07.1890):

He  was a Dutch impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western Art.

In just over a decade, he created about 2,100 art-works, including around 860 oil paintings, most of which date from the last two years of his life.

His paintings include landscapes, still lifes, portraits and self-portraits and are characterised by bold colours and dramatic, impulsive and expressive brush-work that contributed to the foundations of modern art.

He was not commercially successful and suffered from depression, poverty and mental illness.

His early works - mostly still lifes and depictions of peasant labourers - contain few signs of the vivid colour that distinguished his later works.

In 1886, he moved to Paris, where he met members of the avante-garde, including Emile Bernard and Paul Gauguin, who were reacting against the impressionist sensibility.

As his work developed, he created a new approach to still lifes and local landscapes. His paintings grew brighter in colour as he developed a style that became fully realised during his stay in Arles in the South of France in 1888.

During this period he broadened his subject matter to include series of olive trees, wheat fields and sunflowers.

His psychological illnesses continued to haunt him all his life and he spent time in psychiatric hospitals, including at Saint-Remy. 

After he discharged himself, he moved to Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris. His depression continued and on 27.07.1890 he shot himself in the chest with a Lefaucheux revolver and passed away from his injuries two days later.

Van Gogh was unsuccessful during his lifetime, and he was considered a madman and a failure. He became famous after his suicide and is considered to be a misunderstood genius and as the artist "where discourses on madness and creativity converge".

His reputation began to grow in the early 20th Century, as elements of his painting style came to be incorporated by the Fauves and German Expressionists.

He attained widespread critical, commercial and popular success over the ensuing decades, and he is remembered as an important but tragic painter, whose troubled personality typifies the romantic ideal of a "tortured artist".

Today, Van Gogh's works are among the most expensive and sought after paintings in the world and his legacy is honoured by a museum in his name - the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam - which holds the world's largest collection of his paintings and drawings.

The Commemorative Coin:

On the Reverse of the 50 Euro Gold and 10 Euro Silver Coins is depicted an 1889 self portrait of Van Gogh from Musee d'Orsay in Paris. 

The painting is an oil on canvas, the dominant colour, the turquoise blue and the absinth green contrast with the fiery orange of his hair and beard. The undulating hair and beard of the artist echo with the hallucinatory arabesques of the background.

At the bottom of the frame label with inscription "Vincent van Gogh 2020".

On the Obverse of the 50 Euro Gold and 10 Euro Silver Coins are façades of various French museums.

The inscriptions are - "REPUBLIC FRANCAISE  50 and 10 Euro".   

The specifications of the Two Variants are:

Silver Variant:

Coin Series: Museum Masterpieces of French Museums; Theme: Self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh; Country of issue: Republic of France; Denomination: 10 Euro (Silver); Diameter/Size: 90.0 mm x 69.0 mm; Weight: 507.0 grams; Shape: Rectangle; Edge: Plain; Coin Quality: Proof; Mint: Monnaie de Paris (The Paris Mint); Mint mark: Cornucopia (Horn of Plenty, with coins spilling out); Mintage: 3,000 pieces; Special Techniques: Colour; Designer: Joachim Jiminez.

The Reverse of the 10 Euro Silver Variant displays Vincent van Gogh's self-portrait.

The Obverse of the 10 Euro Silver Variant.

The two faces of the Silver 10 Euro Variant placed together.

Gold Variant:

Coin Series: Museum Masterpieces of French Museums; Theme: Self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh; Country of issue: Republic of France; Denomination: 50 Euro (Gold); Diameter/Size: 90.0 mm x 69.0 mm; Weight: 507.0 grams; Shape: Rectangle; Edge: Plain; Coin Quality: Proof; MintMonnaie de Paris (The Paris Mint); Mint mark: Cornucopia (Horn of Plenty, with coins spilling out); Mintage: 1,500 pieces; Special Techniques: Colour; Designer: Joachim Jiminez.

The Reverse of the 50 Euro Gold Coin Variant.

The Obverse of the 50 Euro Gold Coin Variant.

The Obverse & Reverse of the 50 Euro Gold Coin.

The Presentation Case in which the Gold and Silver Coins are housed/shipped. The Coins come with a Certificate of Authenticity (COA).






Posts on Coins and stamps issued by France:






















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