Sometime around 1908, a Norwegian art collector named Christian Nicolai Mustad bought a Vincent van Gogh painting called Sunset at Montmajour. When he was told that the painting was a fake by a French diplomat, he stored it in his attic, most likely embarrassed by his poor purchase. Over 100 years later, the Van Gogh Museum has determined that the painting is actually a Van Gogh and will display the piece as part of their exhibit “Van Gogh at Work,” which ends January 12.
The Van Gogh Museum has been working to determine if the painting is real for the last two years. They finally agreed upon its authenticity today. Museum director Axel Rueger exclaimed, “A discovery of this magnitude has never before occurred in the history of the Van Gogh Museum.”
This announcement goes back on the museum's ruling that the painting was a fake in 1991. Since then, researchers have looked into the painting's materials and style, as well as two letters in which Van Gogh refers to the painting, to determine that the work was in fact painted by the Dutch master in 1888.
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[via Bloomberg]
