Focus on The Painter on the Road to Tarascon and analyze the History.
The painting was purchased by the Kaiser-Friedrich Museum, Germany (now the Kulturhistorisches Museum Magdeburg) in 1912. It was one of the first paintings by van Gogh to enter a public collection. It was photographed in color in the 1930s, an uncommon and costly practice at the time.During World War II, the collection of the Kaiser-Friedrich Museum was transported to a salt mine in the nearby town of Stassfurt, in order to protect it from Allied bombing. Later, in April 1945, fires broke out at the mine after American forces reached the site. While reports by Monuments Men noted that the contents of the mine had been "entirely reduced to ashes", part of the collection was recovered after the war. Some believe that the fires may have been arson, in order to disguise the looting of the artworks.The painting is listed as "missing" on the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art's website.
Monuments Men Allied Stassfurt Kulturhistorisches Museum Magdeburg Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art World War II