Johanna Bonger had more than 850 paintings and nearly 1,300 works on paper by her brother-in-law, the then unknown Vincent Van Gogh. She was devastated by the death of her husband Theo, at age 33, from syphilis, after a hellish agony and Vincent had died six months earlier.
Their baby was also called Vincent and the painter had gone to meet him when he was born. It was the only time Johanna saw the artist who had cut off part of his ear while she and Theo were getting engaged.