Van Gogh self-portrait declared genuine after decades of doubt
- Authenticity of ‘Self Portrait’ was questioned in 1970 because the colour palette differed too much from other works by famed artist
- It was the only known work by van Gogh painted during a psychotic episode in the summer of 1889
A gloomy self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh has been declared genuine after decades of uncertainty, experts identifying it as the only work painted by the Dutch master while he suffered from psychosis.
The Self Portrait (1889) – which shows the artist giving a haunted sideways glance against a swirling blue and yellow background – was confirmed as authentic by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
Questions were first raised about whether the painting – owned by the National Gallery in Oslo, Norway – was genuine as far back as 1970 but the Norwegian museum finally decided to end the doubts only in 2014, sending it to Dutch experts.
Using X-ray analysis of the canvas, studies of the brushwork and references to letters to his brother Theo, experts established it was painted while Van Gogh was in an asylum in Saint-Remy in France in the late summer of 1889.
“The self-portrait that is behind me has been doubted for a very long time,” Louis van Tilborgh, senior researcher at the Van Gogh Museum, said as he showed off the picture.
“It’s a work of art that for all kinds of reasons was by him but nevertheless also had certain aspects that were different from other pictures.