The suspected Van Gogh painting Elimar was purchased for $50 at a garage sale in Minnesota in 2016 by an antique collector. At the time he submitted the piece to be reviewed by the Van Gogh Museum, which analyzed the painting and denied its authenticity.
Then in 2019 a New York-based art group, LMI Group International, purchased the painting and has been working to authenticate it, recently releasing a 450-page report arguing for the validity of the painting which depicts a man smoking a pipe and mending a fishing net.
The authors of the report believe that Van Gogh painted the piece in 1889 at the same French psychiatric asylum where he created his most famous painting, Starry Night.
I always thought Starry Night looked kind of trippy, so that explains a lot.
Fox 9 Minnesota summarized the report's findings that argue for the authenticity of the painting, saying,
Their reported findings include:
Materials in the painting found to be compatible with 19th-century attribution and an egg-white temporary finish that the artist was known to use as he rolled them, as well as evidence the painting was rolled.
Mathematical similarities between the letters ‘E L I M A R' found in the bottom-right corner of the painting and other free-form letters found in other autograph works by Van Gogh.
DNA analysis of a hair that appeared red confirmed to belong to a human male.
Stylistically distinct elements that align with Van Gogh's oeuvre, such as distinctive marks under the eyes and marks at the corner of the mouth.
Over the course of the past 4 years, LMI Group International has spent approximately $30,000 to put together the report in the hopes that Elimar is in fact the real deal. If it is authenticated, it could be valued at as much as $15 million.
For their sake, I hope the investment was worth it, but if I were the guy who bought it for $50 and was told it was fake, I'd be livid.
The group will present their findings to van Gogh dealers later this month where the painting will get its second chance at being authenticated.
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