A hidden self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh has been discovered behind one of his paintings, covered in layers of glue and cardboard for over a century.
The image was found when art conservators took an X-ray of Van Gogh’s 1885 painting “Portrait of a Woman (Peasant Head)” before a future exhibition.
They discovered the image hidden in the back of their screen covered by a sheet of cardboard, according to a press release from the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS).
Experts say the artwork revealed was unknown until now.
“Moments like these are incredibly rare,” Frances Fowle, senior curator of French art at NGS, said in the press release on Thursday. “We discovered an unknown work by Vincent van Gogh, one of the most important and popular artists in the world.”
The Dutch master often reused canvases to save money, transforming them to work on the back, NGS said.
The underlying self-portrait is believed to have been made during a key moment in Van Gogh’s career, when he was exposed to the work of the French Impressionists after moving to Paris.
The “utterly convincing” X-ray image shows “a bearded assistant in a brimmed hat with a scarf loosely tied around his throat. He fixes the viewer with an intense gaze, the right side of the face in shadow and the left ear clearly visible,” according to the statement.
While the condition of the actual self-portrait is unknown, if it can be discovered it is expected to help shed new light on the renowned artist.
The process of removing glue and cardboard will require delicate conservation work. Research is ongoing on how this can be done without harming the “Portrait of a Woman (Peasant Head)” canvas.
The painting, which shows a local woman from the southern Dutch town of Nuenen, where the artist lived from December 1883 to November 1885, arrived at the NGS in 1960 as a gift from an Edinburgh lawyer.
It was probably around 1905, when the canvas was on loan for an exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, that the decision was made to glue the canvas to cardboard before framing, according to the press release.
The NGS added that, at the time, “Portrait of a Woman (Peasant Head)” was probably a painting considered more “finished” than Van Gogh’s self-portrait.
The painting changed hands several times until it moved to Scotland in 1951.
The X-ray image can be seen publicly for the first time through a specially created lightbox as it takes center stage at the exhibition “A Taste for Impressionism” between 30 July and 13 November at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh. .
It is not the first time that paintings by famous artists have been discovered under other works.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that an intriguing image of a Madonna and Child had been discovered under the layers of paint in a $40 million Botticelli painting.
And artificial intelligence, advanced imaging technology and 3D printing were used to uncover a nude portrait of a crouching woman hidden under the surface of a Pablo Picasso painting last year.
Source: CNN Brasil
With 6 years of experience, I bring to the table captivating and informative writing in the world news category. My expertise covers a range of industries, including tourism, technology, forex and stocks. From brief social media posts to in-depth articles, I am dedicated to creating compelling content for various platforms.
