The painting that was thought to be a self-portrait of famous Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh discovered during renovation works in the house of a Flemish couple in Ghent is not real, analysis has shown.
The couple, Hannes and Lore, found the painting, hidden behind the insulation of a wall on the first floor that they were breaking down while renovating their home. While there were initial indications that the work might have been a genuine Van Gogh, research by Ghent University has now shown that this is not the case.
"The paint is too modern, Van Gogh cannot have used it. The results are clear," UGent professor Peter Vandenabeele told VRT, after carrying out a number of measurements to date the paint used in the work. "There are pigments in the paint that date from after 1920. Van Gogh died in 1890. He simply could not have painted it."
"I also hoped this was a genuine article, but science does not lie," he added.
Mystery not yet solved
The researchers measured colours with a spectrometer on various zones of the painting to rule out that some spots had been painted over with modern paint. "But the young pigment of the cyan blue is everywhere. I think it's a shame, but the story cannot be true," his assistant Eva Vermeersch said.
While the couple who discovered the painting are sad to have to disappoint everyone who was rooting for the painting to be real, they are also relieved. "If it had been a real Van Gogh, we would have had to change our lives: we would have to sell our house or turn it into a museum."
However, they will keep the painting to hang in their home. "This is a great story that we will tell for a long time. And the mystery is still not solved: it may not be a real Van Gogh, but we are still very curious about how the work ended up here."
Now, the family will continue renovating its house. "We initially wanted to create a doorway next to the painting. We had put that on hold for a while, but now we can finally start it again."
