Portrait of Dr. Gachet
1890 Städel Museum
About this artwork
This famous painting depicts Dr. Paul Gachet, a homeopathic physician and amateur artist who cared for Van Gogh during his final months. He is shown seated at a table, head in hand, with sprigs of foxglove, a medicinal plant, beside him.
Did you know?
Dr. Paul Gachet was a homeopathic physician and amateur artist who treated Van Gogh during his last months in Auvers-sur-Oise. Van Gogh was drawn to Gachet's melancholic temperament, seeing him as a kindred spirit. The foxglove plant in the portrait, from which digitalis is derived, was a common remedy for heart conditions, hinting at both Gachet's profession and perhaps Van Gogh's own struggles.
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Portrait of Dr. Gachet
Vincent van Gogh, 1890
