Hidden Van Gogh Self-Portrait Discovered Behind Another Painting

Topline

A previously unknown self-portrait of celebrated Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh has been discovered hiding in plain sight on the back of another painting, the National Galleries of Scotland announced on Thursday, an extraordinary find that is believed to be a first for a U.K. institution.

Key Facts

The self-portrait was found beneath layers of cardboard and glue on the back of another Van Gogh painting called “Head of a Peasant Woman” after it was X-rayed ahead of an upcoming exhibition, the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) said.

It is believed to have hidden in plain sight for more than a century after being covered before an exhibition in the early 1900s and is “almost certainly a previously unknown” self-portrait by Van Gogh, NGS experts said.

Van Gogh was known for reusing canvases to save money and often painted on the reverse side rather than paint over earlier work.

The portrait shows a bearded sitter in a brimmed hat with a neckerchief loosely tied at the throat with his left ear—which Van Gogh famously slashed off later in life—clearly visible.

NGS experts believe the painting is one of Van Gogh’s earlier works and among his first forays into self-portraiture, a style he later became known for.

The self-portrait is still hidden beneath layers of glue and cardboard on the back of “Head of a Peasant Woman” but the X-ray image will be on display to visitors at an upcoming exhibition in Edinburgh.

Key Background

Discoveries like this are “incredibly rare” and happen maybe once or twice in a conservator’s lifetime, said Frances Fowle, senior curator at NGS. They are not unheard of, however, and the newly-discovered Van Gogh self-portrait joins a series of similar works by the Dutch artist found on the backs of other canvases, including five on display at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Advances in science and technology and improved conservation methods have opened up new ways for experts to interrogate artwork without damaging it. As well as helping experts preserve or authenticate artwork, it also enables more of these discoveries to be made. Infrared imaging, for example, has unveiled other work hiding underneath paintings like the Mona Lisa and Botticelli’s “Man of Sorrows.”

What To Watch For

Conservation efforts to remove the self-portrait. NGS experts are not sure what condition the portrait is in or whether it can be safely uncovered. Any attempt to remove the glue and cardboard will “require delicate conservation work” and research is ongoing to figure out how this can be done without harming “Head of a Peasant Woman,” NGS said. Uncovering the hidden painting will help “shed new light” on the artist, NGS added, noting that it was likely made during a formative part of his career.

Tangent

Another major art discovery was announced on Wednesday after three previously unknown sketches by 20th Century artist Amedeo Modigliani were found by curators at an Israeli museum. The works were similarly discovered after X-rays of the artist’s “Nude with a Hat” were taken ahead of an upcoming exhibition.

Further Reading

How art restorers uncover hidden details in artworks (DW)