A Minnesota garage sale led researchers to discover that a $50 painting was made by the famed Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh. According to CNN, the painting was acquired by an antique collector in 2016.

An Instagram Post from the LMI Group, an art research organization, details that Van Gogh made the painting –attributed to “Elimar” in the bottom right corner – during a “tumultuous” time in the artist’s life.

“Painted during the tumultuous final chapter of van Gogh’s life, “Elimar” is one of the artist’s many ‘translations’ of works by other artists,” the post reads.”LMI’s multidimensional investigation used both scientific and data-driven methods.”

A press release from the group reveals that the painting was made between 1889 and 1890, during Van Gogh’s stay at the Saint Paul Sanitarium (a physiatric facility) in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France.

The oil on canvas painting is a portrait of a fisherman with a white beard smoking a pipe as he repairs his net. This forgotten Van Gogh piece is based on a painting by popular Danish artist Michael Ancher.

The LMI uses data science to discover more about artwork. It has found several similarities in color, technique, and even DNA that reveal the maker of this painting.

“After acquiring the painting, it was discovered that “Elimar” contained a hair partially embedded in the surface at the bottom left corner,” stated the press release. “Methodical DNA analysis verified that the hair belonged to a human male, with the investigating scientists observing that the hair appeared to be red in color.”

The press release said that it took them four years of extensive research to gather enough findings to conclude that Van Gogh did make this work of art.

“In his lifetime, Van Gogh lost many works by giving them away to friends or being neglectful. It is believed that nearly 300 paintings may have been lost, many during van Gogh’s time at Saint-Rémy,” the release reads. ” The discovery of one of these lost works, “Elimar,” is the product of four years of research by LMI Group and a team of art historians, literary historians, provenance experts, materials scientists, and computational experts who forensically analyzed the portrait’s many facets. Each element of this team’s work, when examined together, points to the conclusion that the painting is indeed by the hand of Van Gogh.”

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, still needs to attribute the painting to Van Gogh. CNN reports that “when approached by the previous owner in December 2018, the museum refused to attribute the painting to Van Gogh.”

The LMI Group acquired the painting in 2019 and believes their work proves their claim.

Vincent Van Gogh was 37 when he died and was most known for his “Starry Night,” which depicts his view from an east-facing window in the Saint-Rémy facility on a summer morning before sunrise in June 1889.

The full report and findings can be read here.





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