In the 2021 action-thriller movie “Nobody,” the main character, Hutch Mansell (played by Bob Odenkirk), finds himself in the middle of a violent confrontation at a party. Amidst all the chaos, Hutch can’t resist the urge to steal a valuable artwork piece – Van Gogh’s “Bedroom in Arles.”
The artwork that Hutch steals is actually one of three versions painted by Vincent Van Gogh. The first two versions, painted in 1888 and 1889, are almost identical and currently reside in the collections of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the Art Institute of Chicago, respectively. The third version, painted in 1889 and slightly smaller in size, is the one featured in the movie and is part of the permanent collection at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.
So, how can you get your hands on a Van Gogh masterpiece like Hutch did in the movie? The short answer is that it’s nearly impossible for the average person. Most Van Gogh paintings are held in museum or private collections, and the few that do come up for sale at auction fetch millions of dollars.
For example, in 2021, Van Gogh’s “Street Scene in Montmartre” sold at auction for over $16 million. And in 2019, his “Portrait of Dr. Gachet” sold for a staggering $111 million.
But even if you had the money to buy a Van Gogh painting, it’s important to note that the art world takes provenance very seriously. Provenance refers to the ownership history of an artwork, and if there are any doubts or gaps in the provenance of a painting, it can greatly diminish its value and legitimacy.
In the case of Van Gogh’s “Bedroom in Arles,” its provenance is well-documented, as it was sold by the artist’s brother Theo to a fellow artist named Paul Gauguin in 1890. It then passed through several private collections before being acquired by the Musée d’Orsay in 1986.
So, unless you have millions of dollars to spend and a solid provenance for a Van Gogh painting, it’s best to enjoy his masterpieces from afar – just like Hutch should have done in “Nobody.”
You can order yourself canvas prints of the exact “Van Gogh’s Bedroom in Arles” version seen in the movie below. Printed and shipped from USA.
