Experts at the National Galleries of Scotland made a discovery when they X-rayed a canvas before an exhibition. On the backside of an earlier work called Head of a Peasant Woman, they found a self-portrait of Vincent Van Gogh hidden by several layers of glue and cardboard.
Lesley Stevenson, the senior conservator of the gallery, said she was surprised upon discovering the artist ‘looking out at them.’
“When we saw the X-ray for the first time, of course, we were hugely excited, she said. “This is a significant discovery because it adds to what we already know about Van Gogh’s life.”
The Dutch artist often used previously used canvases to save money, turning them over and painting on the opposite side. Speculations say that someone glued the cardboards to the canvas before framing them.
Peasant Woman appears considered as more ‘finished’ than the self-portrait on the opposite side.
After multiple ownership changes, Evelyn St. Croix Fleming bought the picture in 1923.
After entering the collection of Alexander and Rosalind Maitland, who later gave it to the NGS, it wasn’t until 1951 that it arrived in Scotland.
According to experts at the exhibition, finding the secret self-portrait could be possible to find the hidden self-portrait, to experts at the show, but doing so will need sensitive conservation work.
Vincent Van Gogh’s art did not become popular while he was alive. And his death at the age of 37 in 1890 marked the beginning of his rise to fame. Van Gogh is one of Western art’s most well-known and influential figures.
