Van Gogh has been spotted in Scotland. No, this isn’t a Loch Ness-like apparition but the manifestation of the likeness of someone with equally mythic status. A self-portrait by the man himself has been found on the back of a small painting called Head of a Peasant Woman. Discovered by an X-ray during a routine conservation and cataloguing process, the portrait, estimated to date from after his move to Paris in 1886, is invisible, having been sealed inside its frame for years.
This self-portrait is hardly some kind of lost masterpiece whose incomplete and inaccessible status will forever be a tantalising mystery of flouted potential. It’s more like a bonus edition of Antiques Roadshow for the art world, individuals and institutions alike, part of the worldwide scavenger hunt for undiscovered Van Goghs in attics, basements and collections. And, of course, it’s a thrill for conservators who will be working painstakingly on clearing gunk away from the image.
