New self-portrait Vincent van Gogh discovered thanks to X-ray | Abroad

The self-portrait was hidden under thick layers of glue and cardboard. In the portrait, the painter is wearing a brimmed hat and a neckerchief that is loosely tied. The right side of his face is shrouded in shadows, his left ear is clearly visible. Van Gogh, who suffered from depression, cut off his left ear in 1888 during a nervous breakdown. According to NRC, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam does not doubt the authenticity of the work.

Museum curator Lesley Stevenson told the BBC that the employees were “shocked” when they suddenly saw Van Gogh staring at them on the X-ray. “This is an important discovery because it adds to what we already know about Van Gogh’s life,” Stevenson told the British news channel.

The portrait was found on the back of the work Head of a Peasant Woman with a White Cap, which Van Gogh painted in 1885 of a woman from Nuenen. That painting has been in the collection of the museum in Edinburgh since 1960. Van Gogh probably painted the self-portrait in Paris in 1887. The painter often used the back of already painted canvases to save money.

The research took place in preparation for the exhibition A Taste for Impressionism, which opens in two weeks. It will now not only show the portrait of the farmer’s wife, but also the X-ray of the self-portrait. After the exhibition, experts will work to restore the self-portrait.

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