One of the only two existing photos of Vincent Van Gogh, which it has always been assumed that it represented the famous Dutch painter at 13 years old, turns out to be a portrait of his brother at the age of 15 years, revealed Thursday, the Van Gogh museum of Amsterdam.
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The black and white photo depicts a young man with curly hair and light eyes. She was one of only two portraits known of the painter and figure in many of the biographies. The two brothers were very much the same, but Theo is distinguished from its predecessor by its delicate features, and eyes very clear, like those of the young man on the photograph, highlights the museum in a press release.
Vincent Van Gogh, a painter very reluctant to photographs
Vincent Van Gogh, born in 1853, famous for her self-portraits in oil with vibrant colours, was particularly reluctant to be photographed. He has 19 years on the only other known photograph of him. The photo, taken by photographer brussels Balduin Schwarz, appeared for the first time at an exhibition held in 1957 by a belgian researcher who was identified in a catalogue under the title «Portrait of Vincent Van Gogh (circa 1886)».
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After the doubts that had been expressed regarding the identity of the boy with the tousled hair, the research showed that it is not of Vincent, but of his younger brother, Theo, then aged 15, with which it will be a lot in letters that have become world-famous. This discovery is the result of an in-depth study and original photography, which the museum unveiled Thursday the conclusions.
The great-grand-nephew of Vincent Van Gogh is said to happy that the mystery is solved
«When I learned that it was probably a picture of my great-grandfather Theo and not Vincent – I was surprised, but I am glad that the mystery has been solved,» said Willem Van Gogh, the great-grandson of Theo and advisor to the Van Gogh museum, quoted in the press release.
«Thanks to this discovery, we have lost an illusion and gained a portrait of Theo,» said the director of the Van Gogh museum, Axel Ruger. «In fact, we are again in the situation as before the false identification from 1957 – with a single photograph of the young Vincent Van Gogh, at the age of 19 years», concluded the descendant of the brother of the painter brilliant and tortured.
