Is it a Van Gogh? fingers crossed

By PHATARAWADEE PHATARANAWIK 
THE NATION

 

Thai singer Haruthai “Au” Muangbunsri shows her painting, “Tree in Winter”, which she believes is a Van Gogh masterpiece, at the Science and Technology Ministry yesterday.

 

IS THE landscape painting that singer Haruthai “Au” Muangbunsri bought at a Bangkok antique shop really a long-lost Van Gogh?
 

She’s spent the past three years trying to prove it is, and now, with the backing of the Synchrotron Light Research Institute and Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology, she’s ready to ship it to the Van Gogh Museum in the Netherlands for the final judgement.

 

The Bangkok store was, after all, selling antiques imported from Europe, so you never know.

 

If the landscape, which she’s titled “Tree in Winter”, proves to be a genuine painting by Vincent Van Gogh, it’ll be worth considerably more than the Bt2,000 Haruthai paid for it. It could fetch many millions of dollars at auction.

 

 

Haruthai, a fine-arts graduate of the College Of Fine Arts in Bangkok, has done her own artistic and scientific research in France and the Netherlands. She compared the brushstrokes of her painting to those of the artist as presented online by the Art Project for Van Gogh. She even scrutinised the artist’s letters, archived at the museum in Amsterdam, for mention of the work.

 

More recently Haruthai recruited Synchrotron to examine the painting’s pigments and determine its age. Microscopic study set the age somewhere between the 1700s and 1900s. Van Gogh lived from 1853-1890.

 

 

Dr Sasiphan Khaweerat of Synchrotron, who worked in tandem with Dr Kilian Anheuser of Switzerland’s Fine Arts Expert Institute, said they could establish other aspects as well.

 

“We found that the red paint was made with red earth and madder root [Rubia tinctorum], which is found only in Arles in France, where Van Gogh painted late in life,” Sasiphan said.

 

 

Haruthai also consulted with Associate Professor Pitiwat Somthai of Burapha University.

 

The scientists were unable to give Haruthai anything approaching a definitive answer as to the author of the painting, but her research has convinced her the painting is real and that it originated in 1888, at the peak of Van Gogh’s powers.

 

“We discovered that the original had many colours, but it’s faded to monochrome over the past century. And the pigments were those that Van Gogh used – all made with organic ingredients like red earth, madder root, grape wine and olive oil,” she said.

 

 

In Arles, in France’s Provence region where Haruthai believes Van Gogh painted this piece, she brought locally made paints to test scientifically and found them to match the pigments on her canvas.

 

Haruthai hopes that, regardless of whether she has a real Van Gogh or not, the research will provide a useful model in future, both for Thais and overseas scholars. 

 

“We’ll present our research to the Van Gogh Museum for approval and maybe they’ll exhibit the work. If it’s a genuine Van Gogh, of course, it won’t belong to me anymore, but to the world.”

 

 

 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/art/30346478

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-05-29

a fake in Thailand???   impossible !!!

17 minutes ago, webfact said:

Is it a Van Gogh?

I'm going to go with...no.

19 minutes ago, webfact said:

Is it a Van Gogh?

 

Hang on a minute. Let me call my Jatujak art dealer to check.

photocopy

Stranger things have happened, good on her. At least she wont die wondering.

Ive seen that painting in at least 3 markets in Phuket.

The only thing that puzzles me with her painting is the poorly painted fence, the tree is pretty well painted but it's that fence. Looks like someones trying to copy Van Gogh, maybe a uni student. Nice try, but I really doubt it's a real Van Gogh.

 

By the way I have no experience in the art world and in art class at school all I used to do was make paper mache willies to scare the girls. I do however enjoy carbooting and watching 'Bargain Hunt' and the 'Antiques Roadshow'.

My bet is that it will really be a Rolex 

It is a genuine Van Somchai! 

Looks real to me hahaha

22 minutes ago, Sir Swagman said:

My bet is that it will really be a Rolex 

Surely you mean Lolex??????

Edited May 29, 20188 yr by overherebc

"If it’s a genuine Van Gogh, of course, it won’t belong to me anymore, but to the world.”

if the World pays the asking price.

regards Worgeordie

6 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

I'm going to go with...no.

You never know it maybe

18 minutes ago, Media1 said:

You never know it maybe

Maybe, but I wouldn't count on it

 

I really doubt it's genuine, most of the time you hear of these things, it turns out it isn't real.

 

Except for the final episode of "Only Fools and Horses" that is...

Having just watched the final 2 episodes of season 1 of Elementary, the guy who plays Sherlock would be able to tell her in a flash it's a fake.

8 hours ago, webfact said:

“We discovered that the original had many colours, but it’s faded to monochrome over the past century. And the pigments were those that Van Gogh used – all made with organic ingredients like red earth, madder root, grape wine and olive oil,” she said.

 

What is the significance of the photo in the OP that shows two paintings side by side?

 

 

Is the painting on the left the one owned by Haruthai, the painting that has "faded to monochrome over the past century", and the one on the right a a known genuine  painting of Van Gogh?

If the experts find that one real, I'll go and buy a dozen of them from Thepprasit night market. Profit!

If it is real (zero chance in my opinion), then the art dealer she bought it from will be suing in the usual Thai way very quickly, claiming he/she was defrauded, coerced into selling too cheaply, etc. 

2 hours ago, overherebc said:

Surely you mean Lolex??????

Dyslexia - the best anagram of 'daily sex'

 

Van Gogh or Nok Gogh?

Ps. Use English pronunciation "Goff" to get the most out of this pun... 

Edited May 29, 20188 yr by lamyai3

18 hours ago, mok199 said:

a fake in Thailand???   impossible !!!

It's a genuine ... Somchai Van Gogh... ?

Edited May 29, 20188 yr by StayinThailand2much

I would think easy to verify the approximate age of canvas and correct types of paint used for the period.

 

It could still be a copy done by another artist in the same period.

 

Listen to all these whining nay-sayers already calling that its a fake. Good greif so pathetic in their posts. Typical grumpy old men.

I hope for her sake that it is a genuine Van Gogh. Her life will be forever taken care of financially & remove the burdon from any farang having to support her & her parents & the sick bufalo! 

Well there have been many cases of fake paintings of the old masters and even experts couldn't see that they were fake.

 

There are painters who can make a van Gogh from a quality that even the top-experts can't see  it's  fake. Several of those have been sold to museums.

 

Would be fun if this lady has a real one, you never know.

 

 

It's as genuine as a Thai lady with balls. 

Never heard of another of his paintings fading to monochrome, I think the answer lies there

On 5/29/2018 at 6:36 PM, Puccini said:

 

What is the significance of the photo in the OP that shows two paintings side by side?

 

 

Is the painting on the left the one owned by Haruthai, the painting that has "faded to monochrome over the past century", and the one on the right a a known genuine  painting of Van Gogh?

2 copies, take your pick.. 

If it turns out to be genuine will there be a loud cry of Ear Ear ?

Anyway if it is good luck to her. I don't understand the value placed on these paintings etc beautiful as they may be. I think most of the values are just investment risks by some who have more money than they know what to do with, and no, it's not jealousy it's entirely their choice.

Prefer something original and old in the engineering field like steam engines etc etc. Beam engines that you can see touch hear, now that's worth looking after, real history worth taking care of.

Edit.

I have one old relic at home I enjoy looking after but for Chr-ts sake don't tell her I said that.

Edited May 30, 20188 yr by overherebc

41 minutes ago, overherebc said:

If it turns out to be genuine will there be a loud cry of Ear Ear ?

Anyway if it is good luck to her. I don't understand the value placed on these paintings etc beautiful as they may be. I think most of the values are just investment risks by some who have more money than they know what to do with, and no, it's not jealousy it's entirely their choice.

Prefer something original and old in the engineering field like steam engines etc etc. Beam engines that you can see touch hear, now that's worth looking after, real history worth taking care of.

Edit.

I have one old relic at home I enjoy looking after but for Chr-ts sake don't tell her I said that.

Nope, I won't tell your oldtimer about it. I swear.....