On July 14, the museum National Galleries of Scotland found a hidden self-portrait of Van Gogh when they were organizing an upcoming exhibition. They found this portrait during an X-ray of the 1815 painting.
One side of the hidden self-portrait had eroded, leaving only half of it visible. The portrait was under the painting Head of a Peasant Woman.
“Hidden from view for over a century, the self-portrait is on the back of the canvas with Head of a Peasant Woman and is covered by layers of glue and cardboard,” the museum said on Thursday.
According to NPR, experts think that the materials that are covering the just discovered self-portrait were applied in the early 20th century before Van Gogh put it on display.
The museum said that it isn’t clear whether it will be possible to take-out the hidden portrait, but even if they don’t, people will be able to see it using a special lightbox.
“Moments like this are incredibly rare,” said Frances Fowle, who is a senior curator of French art. “We have discovered an unknown work by Vincent Van Gogh, one of the most important and popular artists in the world.”
It is known that Van Gogh sometimes painted over his work, it may be because he needed to reuse materials in order to save money. But, it is unclear.
“When we saw the X-ray for the first time of course we were hugely excited. Such a major discovery happens once, twice in a conservator’s lifetime,” said Lesley Stevenson in a video that was posted by the museum. “To have an image as elusive as it presently is something very, very special.”
The newly discovered self-portrait was not the first hidden painting that Van Gogh made, and it might not be the last.
Source: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658072786561x759462715101882000/Van%20Gogh%20hidden%20self-portrait%20has%20been%20discovered%20in%20Scotland%20using%20X-ray%20_%20NPR.pdf
One side of the hidden self-portrait had eroded, leaving only half of it visible. The portrait was under the painting Head of a Peasant Woman.
“Hidden from view for over a century, the self-portrait is on the back of the canvas with Head of a Peasant Woman and is covered by layers of glue and cardboard,” the museum said on Thursday.
According to NPR, experts think that the materials that are covering the just discovered self-portrait were applied in the early 20th century before Van Gogh put it on display.
The museum said that it isn’t clear whether it will be possible to take-out the hidden portrait, but even if they don’t, people will be able to see it using a special lightbox.
“Moments like this are incredibly rare,” said Frances Fowle, who is a senior curator of French art. “We have discovered an unknown work by Vincent Van Gogh, one of the most important and popular artists in the world.”
It is known that Van Gogh sometimes painted over his work, it may be because he needed to reuse materials in order to save money. But, it is unclear.
“When we saw the X-ray for the first time of course we were hugely excited. Such a major discovery happens once, twice in a conservator’s lifetime,” said Lesley Stevenson in a video that was posted by the museum. “To have an image as elusive as it presently is something very, very special.”
The newly discovered self-portrait was not the first hidden painting that Van Gogh made, and it might not be the last.
Source: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658072786561x759462715101882000/Van%20Gogh%20hidden%20self-portrait%20has%20been%20discovered%20in%20Scotland%20using%20X-ray%20_%20NPR.pdf
