A hidden self-portrait by Vincent Van Gogh has been discovered behind one of his paintings, covered by layers of glue and cardboard for more than a century says CNN.
- The image was found when art conservators took an X-ray of Van Gogh’s 1885 “Head of a Peasant Woman” painting ahead of a forthcoming exhibition.
- They discovered the concealed image hidden by a sheet of cardboard at the back of its canvas, according to a press release from the National Galleries of Scotland.
Experts
Experts say the revealed artwork is believed to have been unknown until now. “Moments like this are infrequent,” said Frances Fowle, senior curator of French art at the NGS, in the press release Thursday. “We have discovered an unknown work by Vincent van Gogh, one of the world’s most important and popular artists.” While the condition of the actual self-portrait is unknown, if it can be uncovered, it is expected to help shed new light on the renowned artist.
Process
The process of removing the glue and cardboard will require delicate conservation work. Research is ongoing as to how this can be done without harming the “Head of a Peasant Woman.” The painting, which shows a local woman from the town of Nuenen in the south of the Netherlands, where the artist lived from December 1883 to November 1885, came into the possession of the NGS in 1960 as a gift from an Edinburgh lawyer. It was probably around 1905, when “Head of a Peasant Woman” was lent to an exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum, in Amsterdam, that the decision was made to stick the canvas down on cardboard prior to framing, according to the press release. The NGS added that, at the time, “Head of a Peasant Woman” was likely considered more “finished” than the Van Gogh self-portrait.
The painting changed hands several times until it went to Scotland in 1951.
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Source: CNN
