It’s a great day for art enthusiasts! Experts from the National Galleries of Scotland have just discovered a new self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh.
Hidden from the world for more than a century, the portrait was discovered on the back of another one of Van Gogh’s famous paintings, Head of a Peasant Woman with a White Cap, from 1885. Zo geweldig! 😍
How was the self-portrait discovered?
Experts believe that the self-portrait of the famous Dutch artist was probably created in 1887 when Van Gogh was living in Paris, NRC reports.
However, the painting was covered with a thick layer of glue and cardboard, so the experts could only retrieve it after an X-ray investigation.
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They believe that the layer of glue and cardboard was probably applied to the back of the painting in 1905 during the preparation for an exhibition in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.
The discovery was surprising but not impossible
Apparently, this isn’t the first time that Van Gogh has been proven to work on the back of his paintings. He often did this to save money like a true Dutchie!
READ MORE | A new Vincent van Gogh work has been discovered — and you can now go see it!
Even so, Chief Curator of the National Galleries of Scotland, Lesley Stevenson, was shooketh to the core when she saw the new self-portrait of Van Gogh. “Obviously we were thrilled when we first saw the photo”, Stevenson told the BBC.
When will the self-portrait be exhibited?
The Scottish museum plans to reveal the self-portrait during one of their exhibitions, A Taste for Impressionism, which is in two weeks’ time.
Will you be heading to the exhibition to see the new Van Gogh portrait? Tell us in the comments below! 👇
