X-Ray Uncovers Secret Artwork

Conservators at the National Galleries of Scotland have stumbled upon a notable find: a self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh underneath a modest artwork of a peasant woman that he had painted over a century ago. The artwork shows a bearded sitter in a brimmed hat with a neckerchief loosely tied at the throat and is notable for depicting the left ear he notoriously sliced off three years after the portrait of the peasant woman was painted in 1885. Even more remarkable is the fact that the self-portrait may be the earliest Van Gogh ever painted. The previously invisible picture was concealed by layers of glue and cardboard, likely hidden in part due to the thriftiness Van Gogh was forced to abide by due to a lifetime of financial hardship. The sketch was found on the back of the canvas after an X-ray was taken of another of Van Gogh’s works, Head Of A Peasant Woman.