Photo supposedly showing Vincent van Gogh as an adult surfaces

Italian art historian and Van Gogh expert Antonio de Robertis believes he discovered the only known photograph showing Vincent van Gogh as an adult. Up until now the only image of what the famous Dutch artist looked like as an adult, came from his self portraits. The photo was taken at the Julian Academy in Paris close to the end of the 19th century, the Independent reports. It shows a group of 34 men and among them "there is present one person who is, in all probability, Vincent van Gogh", according to De Robertis.

De Robertis' belief that this photo actually depicts Van Gogh stems from the likeness between the man in the photo and Van Gogh's self portraits. The fact that Andries Bonger, a friend of Van Gogh and his brother Theo's brother-in-law, also appears in the photo, strengthens his conviction. The photo, which is currently in the possession of the national Institute of Art History in Paris, was taken by Edmond Bernard. He was known to be working in Paris between 1880 and 1890. De Robertis and his research associate Alan Zamboni believed they narrowed down the date the photo was taken to the first two weeks of February 1888. The two French artist also in the photo, Vuillard and Bonger would just have enrolled at the Academy. And Van Gogh was known to have been visiting Paris at the time, according to the newspaper. The photo includes another French artist, Paul Gauguin, who also did not study at the Academy. It is still unclear what Van Gogh and the group of seemingly unrelated men - not all artists, not all studying at the Academy - were doing posing together for the photo.