A PREVIOUSLY unknown self-portrait of famed artist Vincent Van Gogh has been discovered by National Galleries of Scotland (NGS).
Believed to be a first for a UK institution, the image was revealed by an x-ray taken when art conservators examined Van Gogh’s Head of a Peasant Woman of 1885 at the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh.
Visitors will now be able to see the amazing x-ray image for the first time through a specially crafted lightbox at the centre of the display.
Hidden from view for over a century, 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.
NGS experts believe these materials were applied ahead of an exhibition in the early twentieth century.
Van Gogh often re-used canvases to save money, but instead of painting over earlier works, he would turn the canvas around and work on the reverse.
It may be possible to uncover the hidden self-portrait, but NGS admits that the process of removing the glue and cardboard will require delicate conservation work.
Research is ongoing as to how that can be done without harming Head of a Peasant Woman.
Until then, the discovery can be admired through an x-ray image.
The self-portrait shows a bearded sitter in a brimmed hat with a neckerchief loosely tied at the throat.
He looks out with a stare, the right side of his face in shadow and his left ear clearly visible.
Professor Frances Fowle, Senior Curator of French Art at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: “Moments like this are incredibly rare.
“We have discovered an unknown work by Vincent van Gogh, one of the most important and popular artists in the world.
“What an incredible gift for Scotland, and one that will forever be in the care of the National Galleries.
“We are very excited to share this thrilling discovery in our big summer exhibition A Taste for Impressionism, where the x-ray image of the self-portrait will be on view for all to see.”
The condition of the underlying self-portrait is not known but, if it can be uncovered, it is expected to help shed new light on the enigmatic artist.
Later in date than the Head of a Peasant Woman, NGS say the hidden painting is likely to have been made when Van Gogh was exposed to the work of the French impressionists after moving to Paris.
The experience had a profound effect on the artist and was a major influence on why he adopted a more colourful and expressive style of painting.
Head of a Peasant Woman entered the NGS collection in 1960, as part of the gift of an Edinburgh lawyer, Alexander Maitland, in memory of his wife Rosalind.
Dating from an early period in Van Gogh’s career, the painting shows a local woman from the town of Nuenen in the south of the Netherlands, where the artist lived from December 1883 to November 1885.
Her facial features, white cap and simple work clothes are sketched in oil, using broad brushstrokes and colours typical of French realist artists such as Jean-François Millet, whom Van Gogh greatly admired.
Probably around 1905, when the Peasant Woman was lent to an exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, the decision was made to stick the canvas down on cardboard prior to framing.
At this date the Peasant Woman was evidently considered more ‘finished’ than the Van Gogh self-portrait.
The painting changed hands several times and in 1923 was acquired by Evelyn St. Croix Fleming, whose son, Ian, became the creator of James Bond.
It was not until 1951 that it came to Scotland, having entered the collection of Alexander and Rosalind Maitland.
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.
