British gallery discovers hidden self-portrait by Van Gogh

A gallery in Scotland said on Thursday it was “delighted” to announce the discovery of a previously unknown self-portrait of Vincent Van Gogh with an intact ear hidden behind another painting.

The portrait was found on the back of the canvas of Head of a Peasant Woman, an 1885 work by the Dutch Post-Impressionist, covered with layers of glue and cardboard.

It shows a bearded seated man with a brimmed hat and a scarf tied loosely around his neck. It was completed before Van Gogh cut off his left ear in 1888.

Visitors to the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh will be able to see it as an X-ray through a specially designed light box at a forthcoming exhibition.

In the longer term, curators are working to safely extract it from the overlying canvas without damaging the paintings.

Lesley Stevenson, senior painting conservator at the National Galleries, said they were “thrilled to the core” with the find.

“When we saw the X-ray for the first time, we were obviously very excited,” she said.

“This is a significant discovery because it adds to what we already know about Van Gogh’s life.

“There’s a lot to think about in terms of the next steps, but for us it’s another little nugget to bring us that little bit closer to an incredible artist.”

The curators believe the painting, which was only sold after his death by suicide in 1890, is one of a series of experimental self-portraits.

Five similar works are on display at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, painted before he moved to Paris in 1886.

Van Gogh, who died unknown and penniless at his death, often painted on both sides of a canvas to save money.

The main painting was donated to the gallery by Edinburgh lawyer Alexander Maitland in 1960 and depicts a local woman from a town in the southern Netherlands where the artist lived from 1883 to 1885.

It is believed that the self-portrait faded from public view around 1905, when it was considered the less finished of the two pieces and was pasted with cardboard before framing.

The uncovered work is believed to date from the period when Van Gogh first encountered the work of the French Impressionists. He later adopted the expressive, colorful style that has made his works some of the most famous in the world.

The artist suffered from depression and cut off his ear with a razor just before Christmas 1888 after suffering from what he called “acute mania with generalized delirium”.

After spending some time in an asylum, on July 27, 1890, the 37-year-old Van Gogh shot himself in the chest.

He was able to walk and find medical help, but no one was able to remove the bullet and he died two days later from an untreated infection.

According to his brother Theo, his last words were, “The sadness will last forever.”