The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam said on Monday it has identified a long-lost Vincent Van Gogh painting, the first full-size canvas by the Dutch master discovered since 1928.
“Sunset at Montmajour” a large oil landscape, depicts trees bushes and sky with Van Gogh's familiar thick brush strokes. He described it in a letter to his brother, Theo, saying it was painted on July 4, 1888.
Museum experts said it was authenticated by letters, style and materials used, and they had traced its history, according to the Associated Press news agency.
The painting has been lying for years in the attic of a Norwegian collector who thought the painting was a fraud, after buying it in 1908, AFP news agency reported.
Museum director Axel Rueger described the discovery as a “once in a lifetime experience.”
The newly unveiled Van Gogh will go on display on September 24 with other works by the famous painter.
The Van Gogh Museum was the last of Amsterdam's three major museums to reopen its doors after extensive refurbishments, underlining the Dutch capital's status as a top art destination.
(With AFP and the Associated Press)
