A Never-before-seen Van Gogh Drawing Just Went on Display at This Amsterdam Museum

Jessica Poitevien
·2 min read

More than 130 years after his untimely death, Vincent van Gogh and his work still capture the hearts and minds of art lovers around the world. Now, Van Gogh fans have a "new" piece to admire as one of his never-before-seen drawings recently went on display at the Amsterdam museum named after the artist himself.

Drawn in November 1882, "Study for 'Worn Out'" sat in a private Dutch collection, unsigned and only known to a handful of people until recently, the Associated Press reports. That's when the owner, who has decided to remain anonymous, asked the Van Gogh Museum to determine whether or not the sketch was done by the famous Dutch painter.

Taking note of both the style and materials used to make the drawing — a thick carpenter's pencil and coarse watercolor paper — senior researcher Teio Meedendorp said the piece is similar to Van Gogh's Hague drawings, the AP reports.

A man gives explanations in front of a newly discovered work by Vincent van Gogh "Study for "Worn out" from 1882, displayed at the Van Gogh Museum's in Amsterdam on September 16, 2021.
A man gives explanations in front of a newly discovered work by Vincent van Gogh "Study for "Worn out" from 1882, displayed at the Van Gogh Museum's in Amsterdam on September 16, 2021.

KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images A never-before-seen Vincent van Gogh drawing of an exhausted old man went on display at an Amsterdam museum for the first time. "Study for 'Worn Out'", which van Gogh drew early in his career in 1882, has been hidden away in a Dutch family's private collection for more than a century.

The drawing is also almost identical to a piece the museum already owns, titled "Worn Out." Researchers believe this "new" sketch comes from a time when Van Gogh was working to improve his techniques for painting people and did so through repetitive drawings.

"It was quite clear that they are related," Meedendorp said of the study drawing, according to the AP.

"Study for 'Worn Out,'" which depicts an elderly man sitting hunched over in a chair with his balding head in his hands, went on display on Sept. 17. The drawing will be on loan to Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum now through Jan. 2, 2022.

"It's quite rare for a new work to be attributed to Van Gogh," the museum's director, Emilie Gordenker, said in a statement, according to the AP. "We're proud to be able to share this early drawing and its story with our visitors."

For more information, visit the Van Gogh Museum's official website.

Jessica Poitevien is a Travel + Leisure contributor currently based in South Florida, but she's always on the lookout for her next adventure. Besides traveling, she loves baking, talking to strangers, and taking long walks on the beach. Follow her adventures on Instagram.