I thought he was dead?
After further research, yes, Vincent Van Gogh is in fact dead. But with years of speculation, a painting has finally been clarified as an original Vincent Van Gogh. With help from an X-ray technique, a still depicting a bouquet of flowers, was authenticated, even after much doubt over the years.
The work is titled “Still Life With Meadow Flowers and Roses” has hung in the Kroeller-Muller museum in Otterlo since 1974. It was at first thought to be a Van Gogh but was discredited in 2003 by a BBC report.
During the art market boom in the 1980s and 90s, Vincent Van Gogh paintings were of the most expensive: “Sunflowers” for $39.9 million, “Irises” for $53.9 million, and “Portrait of Dr. Gachet” went for $82.5 million.
The New York Times reported that the Van Gogh painting was covering another painting of two wrestlers fighting and matches a description of an image Van Gogh described to his brother, Theo, in a letter and mentioned is still life as a work in progress.
“The wrestlers are not completely naked; they wear some sort of pants which is characteristic of the Antwerp Academy, which Van Gogh attended,” in 1885-86, said the museum’s spokeswoman, Sylvia Gentenaar. The brush strokes were also confirmed as being undeniably similar to the style of the Dutch painter.
Teio Meedendorp, a researcher at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam said “This painting was a complete match with all the research that has been done over the past 10 years.” He continued, “There was always the possibility of discovering other ‘unknown’ Van Gogh works in future. There are other paintings that haven’t been x-rayed.”
