The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam announced the discovery of a new painting by the 19th Century artist; a landscape called “Sunset at Montmajour.” Van Gogh died in 1890, and it is estimated that this painting was completed two years prior. The museum’s director, Axel Ruger, said that “Sunset at Montmajour” was from the same time period as the artist’s famous “Sunflowers.” The landscape portrays a scene in Arles, France, an area where the artist worked for a period of time.
Two researchers at the museum, Louis Van Tilborgh and Teio Meedendorp, expressed their understanding that the painting once belonged to Van Gogh’s brother, Theo, and was then sold in 1901.
“A discovery of this magnitude has never before occurred in the history of the Van Gogh Museum,” Ruger said. He also emphasizes that “extensive research” went in to its identification as a Van Gogh painting. It will debut in the museum’s exhibit “Van Gogh at Work” on September 24.
Art enthusiasts and admirers are anxious to hear how this painting was discovered, but they will have to wait until October when the full story is published in The Burlington Magazine and in the museum.
