What is the story behind the wooden panel of the only Vincent van Gogh painting in Poland?

Our scientists are always up for unusual challenges. They recently participated in interdisciplinary research on the only painting by Vincent van Gogh in Polish museum collections – Country Huts Among Trees. The painting was created in the early 1880s, in the artist's early Dutch period. The research, which was published in the prestigious Journal of Cultural Heritage, allowed for a better understanding of the master's painting techniques and the materials he used at the beginning of his career. The extensive analyses used methods such as infrared, ultraviolet and visible light photography, as well as spectroscopy and microscopy. Thanks to these techniques, it was possible to identify the pigments used and confirm that they correspond to the palette of the painter's early years.

The painting Country Huts Among Trees (F18, JH397) is one of a series of early works by van Gogh created in his Dutch studio in Nuenen. Van Gogh left this studio in 1885, moving first to Antwerp and then to Paris. The paintings left in Nuenen were given to a carpenter in Breda for safekeeping, who, after storing them in his attic for years, considered them abandoned and sold them for a song. Some of these paintings ended up in the hands of the Dutch collector Cornelius Mouven. He decided to put the collection up for sale at the Oldenzeel Gallery in Rotterdam. The gallery protected the canvases from further deterioration by mounting them on wooden panels.

The painting under examination has a characteristic wooden support, the so-called "Oldenzeel panel", which is one of the features confirming its authenticity. The analysis of a small section of wood (2 × 2 mm), performed by Dr. Magdalena Moskal-del Hoyo (from the Palaeobotany and Palaeoenvironment Group at IB PAS), showed that the panel was made of oak (Quercus sp.). Interestingly, radiocarbon dating of the sample indicates a period between 1490 and 1649, i.e. at least 200 years before the painting was painted. This result suggests that the wooden panel came from another, older object, probably from old furniture. The radiography also revealed the presence of two nails in the upper part of the panel, further confirming its earlier use.

See the original article for more details:

del Hoyo-Meléndez J.M., Klisińska-Kopacz A., Kopyciak A., Krupska-Wolas P., Matosz M., Obarzanowski M., Ryguła A., Skóra K., Wilkosz T., Chmielewski F., Chmielewska M., Grochowska-Angelus M., Novljaković K., Tarsińska-Petruk D., Moskal-del Hoyo M., Goslar T., Ambroziak S., Biskupska A., Smolnicka A. 2024. Analysis of materials and artistic techniques in Vincent van Gogh's Country Huts Among Trees. Journal of Cultural Heritage 70: 293–301. DOI

The painting, after research and thorough conservation, can now be seen at the exhibition "Van Gogh. Histories of One Painting", at the Museum of John Paul II and Primate Wyszyński in Warsaw. The exhibition will last until December 8.

Country Huts Among Trees – the only van Gogh painting in Poland.
Photo: courtesy of LANBOZ.

Oak wood cross-section – SEM photo of the panel sample.
Photo: Magdalena Moskal-del Hoyo.

Oak wood longitudinal tangential section – SEM photo of the panel sample.
Photo: Magdalena Moskal-del Hoyo.