A painting believed to be a portrait of the Dutch master Vincent van Gogh is gaining attention. If this work is indeed a painting by van Gogh, its value is estimated to approach $15 million (approximately 21.8 billion won).
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 28th (local time), the LMI Group International, an art research organization based in New York, discovered the possibility that a portrait purchased from an antique collector in 2019 might be a work by van Gogh.
The painting in question is an oil on canvas. Characterized by a thick materiality, this piece depicts a fisherman tending nets while sporting a beard and a round hat, with the word "Elimar" inscribed in the lower right corner.
An anonymous antique collector reportedly bought the painting for less than $50 (about 72,000 won) at a garage sale in Minnesota in 2016. The collector was said to have had no awareness that the painting could be a work by van Gogh. It was subsequently sold to LMI in 2019, although the sale price at that time was not disclosed.
LMI has been conducting research on this work with an expense exceeding $30,000 and involving approximately 20 experts, according to the WSJ.
The report states that LMI believes this work was created by van Gogh during his hospitalization at a mental asylum in 1889. LMI also claimed in a 450-page report that van Gogh signed the piece with the name "Elimar" instead of his real name. Additionally, LMI noted that the brush strokes seen in this portrait are similar to those found in van Gogh's 1885 work "Bible and Still Life."
Jennifer Mass, a participant in the research, suggested that the red pigment "PR-50" used in the work was patented in France in 1905-1906, raising the possibility that the piece was created after van Gogh's death in 1890. However, further investigation by the research team confirmed that the PR-50 pigment had already been developed by a chemical company in Saint-Denis, France, in 1883, while van Gogh was still alive.
Moreover, the WSJ reported, "The DNA analysis of the red hair found on the painting revealed that it belonged to a person with red or reddish-brown hair." Van Gogh is well-known for having red hair.
The WSJ stated, "LMI plans to unveil the painting to van Gogh experts worldwide for formal appraisal, although the art world remains cautious about it."