• Culture A Dutch art detective claims to have recovered one of the most sacred relics stolen from the Church

An

unpublished self-portrait of Vincent Van Gogh

, with his ear intact, has been found behind another canvas by the Dutch painter, the

National Gallery of Scotland

in Edinburgh has reported.

The work was discovered thanks to

an X-ray study

of the canvas "Portrait of a Peasant Woman", made in 1885 by

Van Gogh

, before an exhibition on Impressionism at the Scottish Museum.

The portrait was found

on the back of the canvas

, covered in layers of glue and cardboard, which appeared to have been placed before an

exhibition in the early 20th century

.

"When we

first saw the X-ray

, of course we were very excited," said Lesley Stevenson, Senior Curator at the

National Gallery of Scotland.

"Moments like these are

incredibly rare

," said Frances Fowle, curator at the National Gallery of Scotland.

"We have discovered an

unpublished work by Vincent Van Gogh

, one of the most important and best-known artists in the world," he added.

Van Gogh

is known for having reused fabrics to

save money

.

This self-portrait shows a seated

bearded man

wearing a hat and a neckerchief.

His left ear

, which the painter cut off in 1888, is perfectly visible.

At the

exhibition in Edinburgh

, from July 30 to November 13, visitors will be able to see the work, reproduced by radiography.

The

conservators

now have to study how to remove the glue

to separate the two paintings without damaging them

.

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

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