Hidden Van Gogh self-portrait discovered
July 16, 2022 9:33 PM Subscribe
But less ear-y than most artists!
posted by aubilenon at 11:06 PM on July 16, 2022 [20 favorites]
posted by aubilenon at 11:06 PM on July 16, 2022 [20 favorites]
Just a side note...the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is really something. I'm following this because the idea of restoring the painting that is hidden underneath another painting is fascinating. Something tells me it will involve more than setting off the sprinklers, a la Pierce Brosnan in the remake of the Thomas Crown Affair...
posted by Chuffy at 11:41 PM on July 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Chuffy at 11:41 PM on July 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
the self-portrait is on the back of the canvas with Head of a Peasant Woman and is covered by layers of glue and cardboard. Our experts believe these materials were applied ahead of an exhibition in the early twentieth century.
This is what I find remarkable. I imagine there will be a layer of paint as well covering the hidden image, or else why would a conservator cover a painting with glue and cardboard (even in the early 20th century)? Or, the hidden painting isn’t really by Van Gogh, which they knew at the time. Anyway, I hope they film the restoration process, I find that immensely fascinating and satisfying to watch.
posted by fregoli at 2:35 AM on July 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
This is what I find remarkable. I imagine there will be a layer of paint as well covering the hidden image, or else why would a conservator cover a painting with glue and cardboard (even in the early 20th century)? Or, the hidden painting isn’t really by Van Gogh, which they knew at the time. Anyway, I hope they film the restoration process, I find that immensely fascinating and satisfying to watch.
posted by fregoli at 2:35 AM on July 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
This was on the Scottish TV news the other day and women involved in the discovery were beside themselves with delight, it was so lovely!
posted by penguin pie at 3:39 AM on July 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by penguin pie at 3:39 AM on July 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
This is fascinating, although I sort of wonder if Van Gogh would have wanted this self-portrait to be discovered?
posted by erattacorrige at 5:25 AM on July 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by erattacorrige at 5:25 AM on July 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
This was a nice read on it - The beauty of the ‘new’ Van Gogh is to point up the work that goes into genius
posted by trig at 6:51 AM on July 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by trig at 6:51 AM on July 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
If he could have sold his self portrait he wouldn't have flipped it over and used the other side for a new painting. If he didn't want it to be seen at all, he would have painted over it with a thick coat of white and just painted on that. More likely starving artist couldn't afford enough paint to cover it nor a pristine canvas so he just used the back of some other painting.
posted by zengargoyle at 6:55 AM on July 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by zengargoyle at 6:55 AM on July 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
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. [...] 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. [ARTnews]
posted by Iris Gambol at 7:04 AM on July 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Iris Gambol at 7:04 AM on July 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
This reminds me of the hidden face in Picasso's The Old Guitarist, which you can actually see in the original at the Art Institute in Chicago.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:18 AM on July 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:18 AM on July 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
Once revealed, the hidden self-portrait will be part of a group of several such self-portraits and other works painted on the back of earlier canvases from the Nuenen period. Five examples are in the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. Others in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut; and the Kunstmuseum Den Haag. "
The galley has had this painting since 1960. I'm a little surprised that it's taken this long to check the thing out.
posted by BWA at 7:33 AM on July 17, 2022
The galley has had this painting since 1960. I'm a little surprised that it's taken this long to check the thing out.
posted by BWA at 7:33 AM on July 17, 2022
It'd be cool to have a roomful of two-sided paintings and just flip them around to suit your taste.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:06 AM on July 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:06 AM on July 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
…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.
This makes it even more mysterious why it was covered in glue. At the time of the loan, the Stedelijk held a large collection of Van Gogh paintings, many of which would eventually end up in the Van Gogh museum. If it was on loan to a reputable museum, why treat it like this? Especially when presumably they already had several other similar paintings where both sides of the canvas had been used by Van Gogh, so they would know how valuable (and yet how common) it was. But maybe I missed a phrase somewhere in one of the linked articles. Interesting stuff!
posted by fregoli at 8:06 AM on July 17, 2022
This makes it even more mysterious why it was covered in glue. At the time of the loan, the Stedelijk held a large collection of Van Gogh paintings, many of which would eventually end up in the Van Gogh museum. If it was on loan to a reputable museum, why treat it like this? Especially when presumably they already had several other similar paintings where both sides of the canvas had been used by Van Gogh, so they would know how valuable (and yet how common) it was. But maybe I missed a phrase somewhere in one of the linked articles. Interesting stuff!
posted by fregoli at 8:06 AM on July 17, 2022
I thought it was cool as a teen seeing a Van Gogh exhibition where the paintings were mounted in such a way that you could walk around and see both sides.
posted by freethefeet at 12:03 PM on July 17, 2022
posted by freethefeet at 12:03 PM on July 17, 2022
The 1905 exhibition of Van Gogh's work was the turning point; before this, Van Gogh was some kind of avante-garde wunderkind that was appreciated by a few. After the Stedelijk retrospective he was canonised, accepted into the mainstream art history. How and why that happened, at that time, I can't tell you. But, from my experience working in art museums, I can tell you that there are always mistakes made during exhibition prep. This 1905 retrospective sounds like a huge exhibition, and people were not as professional back then, so it was probably an honest mistake.
(In fact, they might not even have seen it as a mistake at the time - to the people working there, handling the hundreds of paintings, they probably just wanted to make sure the correct side was shown)
posted by The River Ivel at 2:56 PM on July 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
(In fact, they might not even have seen it as a mistake at the time - to the people working there, handling the hundreds of paintings, they probably just wanted to make sure the correct side was shown)
posted by The River Ivel at 2:56 PM on July 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
it'd be something if, when they finally restore the painting, they find an inscription reading "For Amy."
posted by martin q blank at 8:38 PM on July 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by martin q blank at 8:38 PM on July 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
Yesterday a shirtless guy jogged past me on the lakefront trail and his entire back was a tattoo of Starry Night. I wonder if they'll check the other side of his skin posthumously.
posted by srboisvert at 12:58 PM on July 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by srboisvert at 12:58 PM on July 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
Just watched At Eternity’s Gate last night, and it was a pretty enjoyable, if sad, movie. Worth a watch if you happen upon it…
posted by DaveP at 8:21 AM on July 21, 2022
posted by DaveP at 8:21 AM on July 21, 2022
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