Hannes and Lore from Ghent made an unusual discovery while renovating their house in the Rabot neighbourhood of Ghent. A painting that looks like a self-portrait of Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh appeared from behind a wall, but is it genuine?
Ghent couple find “Van Gogh” behind a wall: was this the painter’s payment at a brothel?
Colin Clapson
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In 2008, Hannes and Lore bought a house in Ghent's Jozef II-staat. They renovate the house, but it is soon too small for their growing family. They are able to buy their neighbour's house next door and start renovations to turn it into one big house.
Hannes does most of the work himself. At one point, a friend comes to help him demolish a wall on the first floor. All of a sudden, the friend becomes cautious. He believes there is something behind the wall! He calls out to Hannes to come and have a look. Hannes thinks it is a joke, but something resembling a self-portrait of the Dutch painter Van Gogh appears.
"It's a mural painted directly on the plaster. I recognised Van Gogh immediately," laughs Lore. The work was hidden behind insulation and a plaster wall. "We contacted the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, but we got no response".
After some insistence, an expert is willing to look at some photos, but a proper explanation fails to materialise. The fact that the plasterwork is old speaks in favour of the theory. The painting style is rather awkward, which in turn makes it less likely. "But it cannot be completely ruled out that this is a Van Gogh," the expert says.
Hannes and Lore have a theory. "We think Van Gogh was here and that he used the painting to pay for his stay," says Hannes. Lore believes the house was once a brothel. "The neighbourhood was built between 1875 and 1890. We know that Van Gogh was in Antwerp in 1886 and then moved to Paris," says Hannes.
"If it is a Van Gogh, we are rich. The children already have wild dreams. Our eldest daughter wants an orange Porsche, the middle one wants to buy her favourite horse 'Cuddle' and the youngest is going for a complete toy shop. I dream of having the hairdresser visit at home," laughs Lore.
The Protestant community of Horebeke
Vincent Van Gogh not only visited Antwerp, he also stayed in Brussels and in the village of Horebeke, in the Flemish Ardennes district of East Flanders. There was a Protestant community here at the time. A minister there is said to have convinced Van Gogh to devote himself to painting.
The Rabot neighbourhood in Ghent, where Hannes and Lore now live, had a Protestant church at this time. Were there contacts with Horebeke that could explain a visit by Vincent Van Gogh? A list of names of homeowners at the time does not throw up any clear link. "There are no Protestant names among them and no family links to Horebeke," notes specialist Dick Wursten.
Is it a copy?
What does the painting itself reveal? Johan Tahon sees strong similarities to an 1889 self-portrait by Van Gogh. "It seems to be a copy," he says. The timing too is an issue that argues against a genuine Van Gogh. By 1889 the artist was staying in France, a possible visit to Ghent must have occurred earlier. "In my opinion, this is the work of a prankster," he says.
In some cases, Van Gogh made preliminary studies years in advance, that were sometimes a bit sloppy and not always of good quality. So there is still a slight chance that the self-portrait was an earlier try-out by Van Gogh.
Van Gogh visited Ghent in June 1885
Hannes and Lore's theory needs evidence of a visit to Ghent. After a search in the archives of the Van Gogh Museum this does turn up, as notes accompanying a letter Vincent sent to his brother Theo in 1885.
On 26 June 1885, the painter left Paris for the Netherlands. He arrived three days later. During the trip, he made stops in Lille, Ghent and Antwerp. He visited in order to explore Flemish painting. Where exactly he stayed remains unknown. The Rabot district is not mentioned.
Is there another explanation?
Only if a Van Gogh expert comes to the examine the painting can anything conclusive be said. But what if the painting was not by Van Gogh, by who could it be? "The previous occupant of the house was an artistic woman. Maybe she painted it?", Hannes suggests. Unfortunately, the woman has died and so cannot solve the mystery.
Her son is prepared to respond. He says the painting must have been there before 1993. That's when his mother bought the house. He thinks it was painted by students. "Maybe there are still people who remember. We want to know the truth, until then we like to believe that this really is a Van Gogh," Hannes and Lore conclude.
