Hidden Van Gogh self-portrait discovered in Scotland

First modification: 07/14/2022 – 23:38

It is an “incredibly rare” discovery that will be shared with the public later this month. A Scottish museum has discovered a self-portrait by Vincent Van Gogh that is more than a century old on the back of another painting by the Dutch painter.

The discovery was made possible after an X-ray study of Van Gogh’s 1885 painting ‘Portrait of a Peasant Girl’. The self-portrait was discovered on the back of the painting, covered in layers of glue and cardboard that appeared to have been added prior to an exhibition in the early 20th century.

It shows a bearded man sitting with a hat and a scarf around his neck. He clearly shows his left ear, which Van Gogh had cut off in 1888 after a violent argument with Gauguin in Arles, France.

“When we first saw the X-ray, of course we were extremely excited,” said Lesley Stevenson, curator at the National Galleries of Scotland, noting that “these kinds of major discoveries only happen once or twice in a curator’s lifetime.” .

“These moments are incredibly rare,” said Frances Fowle, curator of French art at the Galleries. “We have discovered an unknown work by Vincent Van Gogh, one of the most important and popular artists in the world,” she said. Previously, the museum only had three works by the painter.

Separate the two frames?

Van Gogh (1853-1890) is known to have reused canvases to save money, especially early in his career. He would turn the canvas over and paint on the other side. In 1885 he was living in the Netherlands and his style was evolving, five years after entering the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels.

The self-portrait would have been painted a little later, influenced by his move to Paris in 1886 and his discovery of the Impressionists.

The radiographic study was carried out in preparation for an exhibition that opens on July 30 at the National Gallery of Scotland – part of the National Galleries of Scotland museums – until November 13, entitled ‘A Taste for Impressionism’ , with works by Van Gogh, Degas, Gauguin and Monet.

The self-portrait will be the highlight, reproduced by X-rays.

Experts are studying how to separate the two paintings, after removing the glue and cardboard, an extremely delicate task so as not to risk damaging the ‘Portrait of a Peasant Woman’.

Van Gogh, a troubled painter who suffered from mental illness in his later years and received little recognition in life, has died aged 37 in France after shooting himself in the chest with a revolver.

His oeuvre consists of more than 2,000 paintings, drawings, and sketches. He regularly takes self-portraits, and so far 37 self-portraits are known that reflect the evolution of his art.

In 2021, his famous painting ‘Meules de blé’ or ‘Wheels of Wheat’, painted in Arles in 1888, fetched $35.85 million at a Christie’s auction in New York. A record for the artist.

*With AFP; adapted from its original French version