The National Gallery of Scotland announced that found an unpublished self-portrait of Vincent Van Gogh under another painting by the Dutch artist thanks to an X-ray study.
The work was discovered behind the painting “Portrait of a Peasant Girl” -made in 1885 by Van Gogh-, which was analyzed before an exhibition on impressionism at the museum located in Edinburgh.
The portrait was found on the back of the cloth, covered in layers of glue and cardboard, which had apparently been placed before an exhibition at the beginning of the 20th century. Not having many financial resources at the time of production, Van Gogh is recognized for having reused canvases from his paintings.
“Moments like this are incredibly rare”
“When we first saw the X-ray, of course we were very excited,” said Lesley Stevenson, Senior Curator at the National Gallery of Scotland.
“Moments like this are incredibly rare,” said Frances Fowle, another curator at the institution. “We have discovered an unpublished work by Vincent Van Gogh, one of the most important and best-known artists in the world.”
this self portrait shows a bearded man sitting with a hat and a scarf around his neck. his left ear -that the painter cut himself in 1888- it looks perfectly.
At the exhibition in Edinburgh, from July 30 to November 13, visitors will be able to see the work, reproduced by radiography.
The conservators now have to study how to remove the glue to separate the two paintings without damaging them.