Art Archaeology

It probably doesn't come as news to many since it was picked up by the associated world news organizations, but I figured I'd repeat the story here in case you missed it, but last Thursday, researchers from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam declared that a painting, "Still Life with Meadow Flowers and Roses," in the Kröeller-Müeller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands, formerly believed not be a Van Gogh was indeed a work by the painter.

Van Gogh's "Still Life with Meadow Flowers and Roses"

The painting was purchased by the Kröeller-Müeller Museum in 1974, but skeptics pointed said the composition was too busy, the canvas was too large, and the signature was in an unusual location, so the painting was removed from their Van Gogh section and displayed elsewhere.

In 1998, the painting was subjected to X-ray analysis and it was revealed that there was an image below the visible one, but this last year, an even more detailed X-ray was taken and it clearly shows an image of two wrestlers.

After more closely examining the underpainting, experts are now convinced that the strokes and pigments used in the wrestlers match Van Gogh's style.  Experts can place the larger canvas at Van Gogh's time in an Antwerp art academy where he studied in 1886 and the image corresponds to a letter between Vincent and his brother Theo where mention is made of the two wrestler image.  So, for now, the case is closed and the still life has been returned to the museums' Van Gogh section.