Discovered during renovation work in an old house in Ghent, an alleged self-portrait by van Gogh has finally been appraised.
Disappointment and relief for a Belgian family: the portrait of Vincent van Gogh that they discovered in their old house on a brick wall is ultimately not authentic.
Experts from Ghent University are clear: the chemical pigments used in the painting did not exist at the time of van Gogh at the end of the 19th century. However, this painting dates from the 1920s.
Eva Vermeersch, researcher at Ghent University: “We saw with this device, Raman spectroscopy, that we actually had a pigment produced in 1928. Since Van Gogh’s death in 1890, it is unlikely that he painted it himself . This therefore already allows us to immediately conclude that it is not van Gogh. We are dealing with a joke or a student or someone who painted it themselves. “
Which still doesn’t solve the mystery. Because we still know nothing about who painted the picture.
It was while carrying out renovation work that the work appeared: a supposed self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh.
Good news all the same for the owners: with this fake van Gogh, they will be able to keep their house. Which would not necessarily have been the case if the painting had been signed by the famous painter.
Hannes Vercamer, owner of the mural: “It’s a bit like waking up from a dream, but it definitely wasn’t a nightmare, it was a good dream. We can now pursue our dream, that’s the good thing. We got a really good story out of it. It’s beautiful, it was cool and we’re moving on.”