Valuable painting 'revealed' after a century.

A valuable painting by the Dutch master Vincent Van Gogh, titled Le Moulin d'Alphonse Daudet à Fontvieille, has been put on display again after 100 years.

Le Moulin d'Alphonse Daudet à Fontvieille is a landscape painting depicting a vineyard in front of a windmill with a broken blade. This windmill previously appeared in the poetry collection Letters from My Windmill (Lettres de Mon Moulin) by the famous French writer Alphonse Daudet.

The landscape painting Le Moulin d'Alphonse, painted by Van Gogh in 1888.

Valuable painting discovered thanks to two numbers.

Van Gogh painted this picture, measuring 30.2cm x 49cm, in 1888, shortly after arriving in Arles, in southern France. He used paper to paint because he wanted to save on canvas so he could paint with his friend, the painter Paul Gauguin, whom he often invited to his home. Windmills and vineyards were among his favorite subjects.

Now, after more than 100 years of being "hidden," this painting is being exhibited at TEFAF Maastricht – the world's most prestigious art fair – after crucial evidence emerged confirming its authenticity as a work by Van Gogh. The evidence is presented in the form of two handwritten numbers scrawled in a hidden corner behind the painting. These include the number "5" and another undisclosed number. They had been overlooked until now.

Thanks to those two numbers, experts were able to identify the painting as a work by Van Gogh, after studying two separate lists of the artist's works, compiled by his sister-in-law, Johanna. Johanna created this list months after Van Gogh's death, out of deep interest in her brother-in-law's art. She was the one who added those two numbers to the back of the painting.

Art dealer James Roundell says that the number 5 refers to a list Johanna compiled in 1902, while the other number corresponds to a list compiled in 1912.

“I am delighted to be able to publicly announce a Van Gogh painting that we were previously unaware of, thanks to evidence from the lists compiled by Johanna. Johanna did this work with mixed feelings about her brother-in-law. She tried to build a legacy for Van Gogh, while also burning many of the artist's paintings, because at that time, his work had no place in the market.”

Dutch painter Van Gogh

Potentially priced at $10 million.

Van Gogh arrived in Arles in 1888, after a tiring period battling illness. He wrote to his sister, complaining: "During the winter, my work was unsuccessful and my health deteriorated."

Upon arriving, he was astonished by the vibrant scenery. In his letters to his sister and friends, he described sunsets tinged with pale orange, fields overflowing with green... In Arles, Van Gogh developed and became a highly talented painter. Here, he produced some of his most exquisite works.

Roundell and another art dealer, Simon Dickinson, are collaborating with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam (Netherlands) to research Le Moulin d'Alphonse.

They also put Le Moulin d'Alphonse's estimated price at $10 million, after researching La moisson en Provence, which Sotheby's auctioned 10 years ago for $10.3 million. La moisson en Provence was painted by Van Gogh using watercolors and gouache, in the same year he painted Le Moulin d'Alphonse.

Experts hope that Le Moulin d'Alphonse will fetch a price comparable to La moisson en Provence, as the two paintings share similar characteristics, including painting techniques, the time of creation, and both depict rural themes.

Mr. Roundell was formerly in charge of Impressionist and Modern Art at Christie's auction house, which has sold many masterpieces, including Van Gogh's *Sunflowers*, which set a record when it fetched $39.9 million in 1987.

According to thethaovanhoa.vn