Sunset at Montmajour
| Sunset at Montmajour | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Vincent van Gogh |
| Year | 1888 |
| Type | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 73.3 cm × 93.3 cm (28.9 in × 36.7 in) |
| Location | Van Gogh Museum |
Sunset at Montmajour is landscape in oils painted by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh in July 1888.[1][2] It was painted while the artist was at Arles and depicts the landscape of the Garrigue with the ruins of Montmajour Abbey in the background.[1][3] The painting is 73.3 cm × 93.3 cm (28.9 in × 36.7 in) and is held at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.[3]
History
The painting was inventoried among Theo van Gogh's collection of his brother's works in 1890[4][5] and was sold in 1901.[5] In 1970, the painting re-emerged as part of the estate of the recently deceased Norwegian industrialist Christian Nicolai Mustad who had been advised by the French ambassador to Sweden that it was not an artwork by Vincent van Gogh.[1] The painting then languished in the attic of a Norwegian home.[6]
Rediscovery and identification
The painting is unsigned and had previously been dismissed by the Van Gogh Museum in the 1990s.[1] With the development of improved investigative techniques,[7] a two-year investigation was launched to determine the painting's authenticity, eventually determining it a true work of Vincent van Gogh in September 2013.[1] It was discovered that the painting was described in one of Vincent van Gogh's letters to Theo, stating he had painted it the previous day, 4 July 1888.[8][3]
It is the first full-size painting by Vincent van Gogh to be discovered since 1928.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f "New Vincent Van Gogh painting identified". BBC News. Retrieved 2013-09-09.
- ^ "Long-lost Van Gogh painting unveiled in Amsterdam". AFP. 9 September 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
- ^ a b c "Newly discovered Van Gogh painting kept in attic for years". The Guardian. Retrieved 2013-09-09.
- ^ The painting bears Theo's inventory number: 180.
- ^ a b "Van Gogh Museum discovers new painting by Vincent van Gogh: Sunset at Montmajour". Van Gogh Museum. 9 September 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
- ^ Memmott, Mark. "'New' Van Gogh Painting Identified; Was In A Norwegian Attic". NPR. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
- ^ Siegal, Nina (9 September 2013). "Museum Identifies New Van Gogh Painting in Amsterdam". New York Times. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
- ^ "Letter 636: To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Thursday, 5 July 1888". Vincent van Gogh: The Letters. Van Gogh Museum. Retrieved 2013-09-09.
Yesterday, at sunset, I was on a stony heath where very small, twisted oaks grow, in the background a ruin on the hill