A painting purchased at a garage sale in Minnesota has been identified as an unknown portrait by the renowned Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh, according to a new expert analysis. The artwork, created during Van Gogh’s time at a psychiatric hospital in southern France in 1889, was examined by experts working with the art research firm LMI Group International. They analyzed the canvas weave, paint pigments, and other characteristics to confirm its authenticity.
The painting, which was acquired by an antiques collector in 2016, features the word “Elimar” inscribed in the bottom right corner. It measures 45.7 cm by 41.9 cm (18 inches by 16.5 inches). After four years of research, experts concluded that the portrait was indeed created by Van Gogh.
The oil painting depicts a fisherman with a white beard, smoking a pipe as he mends his net. It is based on a work by Danish artist Michael Ancher and is one of many pieces by Van Gogh in which he reinterprets the work of other artists.
Additionally, researchers discovered a human male hair embedded in the canvas. Although the hair’s DNA could not be fully analyzed due to its degraded condition, it was confirmed to be from a male.
LMI Group, an art research firm, has used a combination of scientific and traditional methods to authenticate a painting they acquired in 2019, which they believe is a previously unknown work by Vincent Van Gogh. The painting, a portrait of a fisherman, was made during Van Gogh’s time at a psychiatric hospital in southern France in 1889. LMI Group’s chairman, Lawrence M. Shindell, stated that their approach integrates science and technology with historical research, connoisseurship, and provenance analysis to authenticate art based on the specific characteristics of each piece.
Despite their extensive research, the painting has not yet been officially attributed to Van Gogh by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which previously declined to authenticate the piece when the previous owner approached them in December 2018. However, LMI remains confident in its authenticity, noting that Van Gogh often lost or gave away works and was not overly concerned with preserving studies or unfinished pieces.
The painting is described as emotionally intense and personal, created during one of the most difficult periods in Van Gogh’s life. It’s believed that the artist, who created around 900 paintings during his life, struggled with bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder, though these conditions were never formally diagnosed. In 2020, research suggested that Van Gogh may have suffered from psychotic episodes due to alcohol withdrawal after he famously cut off part of his ear in 1888.
Van Gogh died by suicide in 1890 at the age of 37.