During a calm garage sale in Minnetonka, Minnesota, an occasional purchase turned into an extraordinary revelation. In 2016, an antiques collector took a painting for only $ 50 (around 4,300 rupees), ignoring that it could be a lost masterpiece of Vincent Van Gogh. Almost a decade later, this unpretentious work, now named Eliminateis at the center of a frenzy of the art world, of a potentially value of $ 15 million (approximately Rs 130 crosses).
Eliminate Represents an elderly fisherman with a white beard, a pipe in hand, repairing his net on a desolate beach. Measuring about 18 inches by 16.5 inches, the paint is marked by thick impasto oil features – a characteristic of the Van Gogh technique. The name Eliminate appears inscribed in the lower right corner, possibly identifying the fisherman himself.
After his discovery, the work of art attracted the attention of LMI Group International, an artistic research company based in New York. They have acquired Eliminate In 2019 for an undisclosed sum and launched a four -year meticulous survey on its authenticity. A team of 20 experts, including chemists and art historians, examined the pigments of painting and canvas fibers. Their full 450 -page report revealed that all the pigments except one corresponded to those found in the known works of Van Gogh.
Maxwell L Anderson, LMI Group’s chief of exploitation, told Artnews that the analysis provides new information on the artistic practices of Van Gogh, in particular his tendency to reinterpret the works of other artists. Experts believe Eliminate could have been painted in 1889 during the stay of Van Gogh at the Saint-Paul psychiatric hospital in Saint-Émy-de-Provence, a prolific period during which he created around 150 canvases, especially Starry night And Iris.
However, despite the promising evidence, the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam is not convinced. According to people, the museum recognized the conclusions of the LMI group but maintained its original position of 2019: “Based on our previous opinion on painting in 2019, we maintain our opinion that it is not an authentic painting by Vincent Van Gogh. ” Art authenticator Richard Polsky, who was not involved in research, told Artnews that final authentication would require the approval of a Van Gogh Museum scholarship holder.
For the moment, Eliminate is in a gray area – taken between the possibility of being an invaluable masterpiece and an enigmatic imitation. Whether it is a hidden gem or an extraordinary coincidence, the mystery continues to captivate the world of art.
