By: Weston Ma

When Vincent Van Gogh was short on cash, he started painting on the backside of his canvases. Over the years, however, his paintings have been lost, but another one of his self-portraits was discovered. This one was discovered at the National Galleries of Scotland.

“Moments like this are incredibly rare. We have discovered an unknown work by Vincent van Gogh, one of the most important and popular artists in the world,” said Frances Fowle, senior curator of French art. The painting was discovered when they took an X-Ray of Vincent Van Gogh’s painting, Head of a Peasant Woman, before an exhibit on impressionism.

“Hidden from view for over a century, the self-portrait is on the back of the canvas with Head of a Peasant Woman and is covered by layers of glue and cardboard,” the museum officials said. Experts say that the glue and cardboard were put on in the early 20th century before the portrait was displayed.

“When we saw the X-ray for the first time, of course, we were hugely excited. Such a major discovery happens once, twice in a conservator’s lifetime, to have an image as elusive as it presently is something very, very special,” said Lesley Stevenson, a senior paintings conservator at the museum.

The experts at the museum don’t know if they will be able to remove the materials covering it, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t visible. A part of the new exhibit will be an X-ray image that shows the ghostly painting.

This painting will not be the first or last Vincent Van Gogh piece to be discovered. Before discovering this double-sided painting, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam found another one. Van Gogh drew directly over paintings as well, so we might be able to discover one of those in the future.