Monday, 26 March 2012

Dutch Museum Discovers 'New' Van Gogh Painting

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A painting dismissed for years as the work of an unknown artist has been identified as a piece by Vincent Van Gogh, after x-rays revealed an image of two wrestlers fighting underneath the floral still life. 'Still Life with Meadow Flowers and Roses' has hung in the Kroeller-Mueller Museum in the town of Otterlo, in the eastern Netherlands, since 1974, but doubts over its authorship have dogged the painting for decades.

In one of Vincent van Gogh's letters, he describes a work-in-progress depicting two male wrestlers. But no such painting was known to exist. The discovery of the hidden wrestlers, made possible by recent advances in x-ray technology, now confirms its authenticity.

1 comment(s):

Gareth said...

One fascinating thing about the work of Van Gogh is that he was hypercritical of his work and also hard pushed to afford materials. As such he often painted over work with which he was not happy. It fascinates me to think the so much potentially great art may be lost under his other works. Most of which work is probably much better than the work of his many imitators.