Thanks Tennessee Nana. Modern history topic ping. Someone actually asked Van Gogh about this, but he didn't seem to hear the question. /rimshot
Posted on 07/15/2022 10:10:09 AM PDT by nickcarraway
X-rays conducted on a Vincent van Gogh painting have revealed a previously unknown self-portrait hidden on the back, according to a BBC report Wednesday. The discovery was made when experts at the National Galleries of Scotland scanned the work ahead of an upcoming exhibition.
On the back of the early work Head of a Peasant Woman (1884), conservators noticed the profile of a bearded man wearing a brimmed hat and a neckerchief beneath the layers of glue and cardboard. Even though only the left side of his face is visible, the sitter maintains an intense, inescapable gaze.
The discovery came as a “shock,” senior conservator Lesley Stevenson told BBC. “This is a significant discovery because it adds to what we already know about Van Gogh’s life.”
London's National Gallery Plans Van Gogh Blowout, Collector Vivian Hewitt Dies at 102, and More: Morning Links for June 23, 2022 The Dutch artist, whose work rose to prominence following his premature death at 37 years old in 1890, never reaped the monetary rewards of his paintings. During his lifetime, van Gogh often reused or used both sides of his canvases to save money. This is not the first time that another work has been uncovered on the back of his paintings from this time period.
Head of a Peasant Woman depicts a local woman from the town Nuenen in the Neatherlands, where the artist lived from December 1883 through November 1885. The self-portrait on the back, however, is thought to have been painted after he moved to Paris in 1886.
Roughly 15 years after his death, the painting was loaned to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam for an exhibition, which experts believe is when the cardboard backing was added to the canvas and framed. Over the course of its lifetime, the painting changed ownership multiple times. It did not come to Scotland until 1951, when it entered the collection of Alexander and Rosalind Maitland. The prominent Edinburgh lawyer subsequently gifted it to the National Gallery of Scotland in 1960.
Conservators are further researching whether it is possible to remove the glue and cardboard without damaging the work.
Visitors to the exhibition “A Taste for Impressionism: Modern French Art from Millet to Matisse,” which is slated to open on July 30, will be able to see the X-ray image in a lightbox.
“Moments like this are incredibly rare,” Frances Fowle, senior curator of French Art at the National Galleries of Scotland told BBC. “We have discovered an unknown work by Vincent van Gogh, one of the most important and popular artists in the world.”
This news follows the discovery of three sketches by Amedeo Modigliani hidden beneath a painting of a nude woman. The sketches were found using X-ray technology while studying the painting ahead of an October exhibition at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia.
i read one very similar to that (The book was very wide- and huge book- mighta been the same, but different format-) it was totally fascinating- his life was something else- reading all the letters to his brother, seeing the works he described in his letters etc- and seeing what he went through and how he struggled was just really fascinating to me- i couldn’t put the book down-
Hell, if I owned it I’d display the self portrait side before the peasant girl side. “Ghost of Van Gogh”
This book really went into the whole life as much as they know. Yes, it used the letters and not only his but ones he received.
Was a huge book, but well worth the read if you read it, which it sounds like maybe it was the same book.
That one eye, peeking at us from the centuries ago.
Well, he could have drawn that in. 🙂
i dont know if it was the same, but it had a massive amount of letters- both too him and from him- i am really missing the book now- somewhere along the line it got lost-
His brother really went the extra mile caring for Him, as did theo’s wife- super nice woman from what i gathered-
Vincent’s writings when he was in the sanitoriums were sad- He knew he was sick, but he carried on through it thankfully- (until he didn’t)- He was truly a tortured soul- his ‘Lust for life” (good movie by the way- Kirk Douglas looked a lot like him) drove him relentlessly to try to caputre beauty- and he did- just wish he coudl have reaped the benefits of his work while he was alive-
I’ll probably get the book your listed to replace my lost one- this is like the 5’th time in the last few years I’ve wanted to reread a book about him- so I’ll break down and get the one you mentioned now-
I don’t know if you have Amazon but there are used copies of it on there for 11 bucks and lower - hardcopy!
I loved Lust for life. Was an excellent movie and Kirk Douglas was at his best in it. I was surprised how much he did look like him, yes.
The Yellow House.
In November and December of 1888, Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin shared a home called “The Yellow House” in southern France. The out-of-luck painters abandon all responsibilities to commit themselves fully to their craft.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXqrKOqVHAk
yeah it was spooky how much he resembled Vincent- lol- he was born for that part lol
thanks for this link=- i hadnt seen it before- about 1/2 way through it- he surely was a tortured soul- paul was too in his own way-
Thanks Tennessee Nana. Modern history topic ping. Someone actually asked Van Gogh about this, but he didn't seem to hear the question. /rimshot
At Eternity’s Gate, a van Gogh biopic with Willem Dafoe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_Eternity%27s_Gate_(film)
Freegards
I love the part where he asks to have Gauguin’s shoes.
“WHO? Maybe it was Doctored.”
Quick!
Someone check Her Majesty’s private collection for a message to Winston Churchill!
LOL.
5.56mm
That looks like a good film- thanks for pointing it out. I don’t like Defoe for this role only because of how he speaks, (i don thhink its right for the part- his parricular way of speakingmis just too “defoe” and ruin sthe character a bit for me) but I think he captured his personality perhaps well judging by the trailer.
I haven’t seen that part yet- gonna finish the rest tonight.
So glad that Theo saw the potential genius of Vincent and helped him all the way like he did. The world would be less well off if he hadn’t. I wish he had lived a bit longer though- but he was .ikely suffering terribly.
No probs, I liked it. It’s very arty with long passages of him meandering through the countryside.
Freegards
I’ll definitely watch it though- i just think the best actor to star as Vincent is Kirk Douglas-
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