[VAN GOGH] RODIN, Auguste (1840-1917)

[VAN GOGH] RODIN, Auguste (1840-1917)

Letter signed « Aug. Rodin » to bookseller-gallery owner Louis Soullié
[Paris], 30 July 1904, 2 p. in-8° in black ink on beige stationary
On his letterhead : ‘182, rue de l’Université’
Autograph note by Soullié at the top of the letter: ‘Replied on August 4, 1904’

Feeling deceived after acquiring three master paintings from the dealer Soullié, Rodin requests, as compensation, a genuine Van Gogh

Dictated by Rodin, the letter was written by his secretary René Chéruy and then signed by Rodin himself:

« Monsieur Soullié
Ainsi que je vous l’ai déjà écrit, je persiste à estimer que les trois tableaux que vous m’avez vendus, de Whistler – Gauguin – et Van Gogh – ne sons pas authentiques, et c’est aussi l’avis de mes amis qui les connaissent.
Je serai donc heureux que vous trouviez un arrangement pour me les reprendre.
Vous me donneriez par exemple un véritable Van Gogh important.
Recevez, Monsieur Soullié, mes salutation empressées
Aug. Rodin »

The case of these forged paintings dates back to early 1904. Louis Soullié, initially a bookseller-publisher specializing in art sale catalogues, expanded his activities in 1903 by creating the Librairie-Galerie des Collectionneurs at 338 rue Saint-Honoré in Paris. Becoming a gallery owner and art dealer in addition to his other activities, he exhibited numerous artists, starting with Paul Cirou, Corot, and Van Gogh, on February 18, 1904. It was on this occasion that Rodin purchased three paintings from him, a few days before the opening, on February 5: a “Whistler,” a “Gauguin,” and a “Van Gogh.” Tormented by doubts about their authenticity, he addressed the present letter to Soullié to request compensation. The dealer’s reply, dated August 4 and attested by the autograph note at the top of the first page, states that the three paintings came from the painter Émile Schuffenecker, from whom he had personally acquired them, adding: “Everyone knows that he has the best and largest collection of Gauguin and Van Gogh.”
Rodin eventually disposed of the three paintings in favor of Les Moissonneurs, acquired directly from Schuffenecker, which is now in the Musée Rodin (inv. no. P.07304).