A “new” 1882 Vincent van Gogh drawing has been discovered. “Study for Worn Out” was stacked in a private collection for over a century. The sketch in question went on display for the first time at a museum in Amsterdam on Thursday.
A Dutch family – who had bought the pencil drawing around 1910 – contacted the Van Gogh Museum to authenticate the piece and the experts confirmed that it was indeed a “new work” by Van Gogh.
A senior researcher at the Van Gogh Museum Teio Meedendorp said. “This one has never been seen before anywhere. It’s the first time that this drawing is out in the open. It comes from a Dutch private collection where it has been for a very long time. And this the first time and occasion that the world is able to see it.”
The director of the Van Gogh Museum Emilie Gordenker said, “It’s quite rare for a new work to be attributed to Van Gogh. We’re proud to be able to share this early drawing and its story with our visitors.”
The new drawing will be put on temporary display at the museum until January 2 before returning to the owners.
The “Study for Worn Out”, which depicts an old man sitting in a chair, was one of the early works of the legendary artist. Van Gogh sketched the panting in November 1882 at the infancy of his career.
The drawing shows a bald, elderly labourer from a pensioners’ home dressed in a waistcoat, trousers and boots, sitting on a wooden chair with his head in his hands.
Van Gogh sketched a very similar drawing called “Worn Out”, which the Van Gogh Museum already owns. It is said that the artist preferred it over the newly discovered “Study for Worn Out”.
