Van Gogh's beautiful Sunflowers are turning… brown

    Van Gogh's legendary Sunflowers on display in Amsterdam are taking on shades of brown, probably due to the same paint used by the painter.

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    Bad news from Amsterdam: Van Gogh has faded! The legendary sunflowers are taking on shades of andante brown, giving rise to an unnatural wilt sui generis. Thus, after 150 years of flowering, Van Gogh's flowers may fade away.





    This is what they say from the Dutch Van Gogh Museum, according to which the most famous paintings of Van Gogh they may gradually lose some of their color. Using a newly experimented technique, they found that the yellow of the sunflowers is slowly turning brown.

    The reason for this would be in the fact that the Flemish painter would have used a light-sensitive yellow paint. So far, the change is not visible to the naked eye, but a "special" X-ray would show, in fact, that the famous yellow is at risk and is turning towards olive-brown.

    “It is very difficult to say how long it takes for a radical change of tonality: it depends on many external factors - explains Frederik Vanmeert, an expert at the University of Antwerp who took part in the research team commissioned by the Van Gogh Museum. Gogh used a very light-sensitive chrome yellow, a type of emerald green and a red called 'lead' in very small areas of the painting, which will become much lighter over time ”.

    However, not all paintings will degrade equally. It seems, in fact, that Van Gogh used two different types of chrome yellow paint and only one of them would be particularly sensitive to light.

    Van Gogh's beautiful Sunflowers are turning… brown

    The discovery is the result of two years of analysis and now the Museum, which houses the largest collection of works by the Dutch master, will have to take action. The lighting had already been reduced a few years ago, precisely to preserve the approximately 200 paintings and 400 drawings on display, while only last year it was discovered that LED lights can accelerate the discoloration in Van Gogh's paintings.


    Now the new study has made it possible to locate, down to the smallest detail, the points where the yellow at risk is found. Marije Vellekoop, director of the museum's research section, confirms that even the slightest color variations are "carefully monitored".


    The changes in the tones of painting over time "are a research topic of great interest", especially in the case of Van Gogh. The artist continued to paint sunflowers almost until his death and, to date, the series can be found in many museums, from that of Amsterdam to New York, from the Kunstmuseum in Bern to the National Gallery in London.


    Read also:

    • Van Gogh's famous room reproduced in full size: for rent for 9 euros (PHOTO)
    • Van Gogh's wonderful paintings recreated on matchboxes (PHOTO)
    • The luminous cycle path inspired by Van Gogh's Starry Night

    Germana Carillo


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