Two previously unknown Van Gogh sketches discovered

Researchers recently discovered that two drawings in black chalk were drawn by Vincent van Gogh, thereby expanding the legacy of the famous Dutch artist even further, the Van Vlissingen Art Foundation announced in a press release. Both drawings, Montmartre hill with quarry and Montmartre hill, can be seen in the Singer Laren museum from Tuesday.

The drawings date from 1886. Montmartre hill with quarry (31 by 48 centimeters) is part of the Van Vlissingen Art Foundation's collection. Researchers from the Van Gogh Museum studied the drawing and determined, based on subject, style, technique and material use, that it was drawn by Vincent van Gogh. Based on these findings, the researchers could also attribute a previously disregarded sketch to Van Gogh. This sketch - Montmartre hill (32 by 48 centimeters) - is part of the Van Gogh Museum's collection.

"The two drawings are obviously by the same hand, and in style related to the model drawings that Van Gogh made early in 1886 first in Antwerp and then in Paris at Cormon's studio. The drawing materials used are also identical and the subjects can be linked to paintings that Van Gog made on Montmartre in the spring and early summer", Teio Meedendorp, researcher of the Van Gogh Museum, said.

"Within the drawn oeuvre of Van Gogh, these are two striking works that illustrate how much he was still looking for his own style in the period winter/spring 1886. They illustrate a phase in the learning process of the artist, who eventually reinvented himself in Paris, but here still walked the traditional artistic path", Meedendorp said.

The two sketches will be shown in the Impressionism & Beyond. A Wonderful Journey exhibition in the Singer Laren museum from Tuesday. It is an exhibition of French impressionists, post-impressionists and expressionists. The exhibition includes works by artists like Monet, Manet, Renoir, Signac, Matisse, and Picasso.