Van Gogh

VINCENT AND THEOHemdale Home Video$92.95Director Robert Altman, one of the few maverick American filmmakers of the last 25 years, enters the realm of the artist's bio-pic with "Vincent and Theo"; as usual, he presents us with something fresh, unexpected and moving.Artist Vincent Van Gogh has long been the subject of films, ranging from documentaries to dramas like "Lust for Life," starring Kirk Douglas. Mr. Altman's take is decidedly different from much of what's been done before -- stresses the relationship between Vincent and his brother Theo, and this is as it should be.A brave and tortured man, like his brother, Theo had a task that was nearly as daunting as the artist's: He attempted to clear a path for Vincent's radical work in the art world (and the world of finance as well -- their existence involved a continuous state of near-poverty)

Last week's theft and quick recovery of 20 major Van Gogh paintings from a museum in Amsterdam left authorities puzzled as to who was responsible and why they abandoned their booty shortly after the robbery. But the incident also raised other questions that surface every time such a theft takes place.Who would steal unique and world-famous paintings that would be difficult, if not impossible, to sell? How would they get rid of them? Is there some international ring that organizes major art thefts?

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- In one of the largest but briefest art thefts on record, gunmen took 20 major paintings from the Vincent van Gogh National Museum here before dawn yesterday but inexplicably abandoned them in their getaway car 35 minutes later at a nearby railroad station.The paintings, all by the Dutch genius who died a suicide in France 101 years ago, had been carefully selected from the walls of the building devoted to his work in Amsterdam's museum complex.The booty included one of his earliest finished paintings, the final version of "The Potato Eaters" completed in 1885, and one of his last, the nightmarish "Wheatfield With Crows" completed in July 1890, the month of his suicide.

No one knows just when or where a valuable antique o artwork might be discovered. That makes antique hunting exciting. You might even discover something valuable in your own home.For instance, recently the media, both here and abroad, were abuzz with the news of an unrecorded Vincent van Gogh painting found in a home near Milwaukee. The discovery of the 16 1/4 -by-13-inch oil on canvas, entitled "Still Life with Flowers," was made by John Kuhn, a Wisconsin representative of the Leslie Hindman Auctioneer firm of Chicago, presided over by Leslie Hindman, who founded it in 1982.

''Vincent & Theo'' is Robert Altman's long and languid story of the Van Gogh brothers, Vincent and Theo, whose lives were anything but joyous.It is easy enough to walk out of the film in the first hour, but Altman's method becomes more apparent as the film moves along. And the movie, if not always dramatically stirring, does look good.The tough part is staying with it long enough to become involved. ''Vincent & Theo'' is undoubtely helped by the fact that Altman and his camera men try to approximate the primary colors with which Van Gogh dealt.

FULFILLING FANTA-sies is what it's all about. Nobody really needs perfume, let alone the hundreds currently on the market.Woodward & Lothrop: Bijan, Eternity and Chanel fragrances.ClassicsThe most popular fragrances for gifts tend to be the classics, not simply because of their enduring appeal, but because novice fragrance buyers -- especially men -- are more likely to recognize the Chanel name before something new like Realities (by Liz Claiborne).A couple of the oldest favorites are Joy, which was launched in1930, and Chanel No. 5, which debuted in 1921.

Vincent van Gogh's "View of the Asylum and Chapel at St. Remy" from 1889, owned by Elizabeth Taylor, was among many works that went unsold last night at Christie's in London. The sale of Impressionist and modern art was later described by a number of participants in the room as the worst for such art at this house in more than a decade.The van Gogh was the most important painting in the sale, at which 24 of the 64 artworks offered brought a total of $19.9 million. The presale estimate for the van Gogh was $16 million to $20 million.