Human Flower Project
Twice Named, Once Copied, Twice Stolen
“Poppy Flowers” (a.k.a. “Vase with Flowers”)
by Vincent Van Gogh, c. 1887
A Van Gogh floral still life known as “Poppy Flowers” and/or “Vase with Flowers” (since some decidedly non-poppy yellow blossoms crowd the few poppies aside here) has been the pride of Cairo’s Mahmoud Khali Museum, and its embarrassment. Saturday, the painting was stolen from the museum for the second time.
According to aolnews “Egypt’s minister of culture announced that the $50 million work of art had been ‘cut from its frame’ while on show…. He added that police were now studying security camera footage and questioning employees.” The investigation could get tough since “according to one security official, interviewed by Agence France-Presse, both the museum’s cameras and its alarms have been out of action for ‘a long time.’”
Several sources say that this work was one of many homages Van Gogh made to Adolphe Monticelli, a prolific flower painter whom Van Gogh admired. Here’s an interesting site, in French, with more details of Van Gogh’s efforts to imitate the elder painter (especially nice hollyhocks).
The painting, reportedly worth $50 million today, was stolen in 1978 and recovered two years later in Kuwait. “However, a duplicate was sold for $43 million a year later, sparking speculation that the returned painting was a fake.” Early Sunday, a story circulated that “Poppy Flowers” had been found and two Italian suspects detained, but that news has now been retracted by Egyptian authorities. The painting is still unaccounted for—and those yellow flowers are still unidentified.