A newly discovered drawing, attributed to Vincent van Gogh, will be going on display at the van Gogh Museum this week.
According to the Amsterdam-based museum, the drawing – titled “Study for Worn Out” – could be dated back to November 1882. The sketch features an elderly man, most likely a work, sitting on a chair. He is hunched and covering his face. Teio Meedendorp, a senior researcher who investigated the work, said the penciling and water-coloring techniques of the sketch match other works of the artist. The damage to the corners of the drawing was also a characteristic of the starch van Gogh often used to stick the pages to his drawing board.
The work was in the possession of an anonymous Dutch collector. The collector had initially approached the museum to verify the veracity of the work. The sketch has now been loaned to the museum until January 2022.
The van Gogh Museum said that the sketch served as the basis for 1882’s final version of “Worn Out” (also owned by the museum). Letters written by van Gogh to his brother and friend suggest as much. The work belonged to the early part of his career when he was based in Hague. The sketch served as a foundation for many other of van Gogh’s works.
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Emilie Gordenker (Director, van Gogh Museum) said in a statement: “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.” She also added that the drawing offered an ’exceptional insight’ into the working process of the Post-Impressionist legend.
