SOUTH KOREA: South Korean man unveils what he claims is an original Van Gogh painting

Record ID: 522405

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA: South Korean man unveils what he claims is an original Van Gogh painting
  • Date: 28th July 2007
  • Summary: (L!3) SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (JULY 19, 2007) (REUTERS) ART CRITIC CHOI BYUNGSIK WALKING INTO ART GALLERY (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) CHOI BYUNGSIK PH.D., KYUNG HEE UNIVERSITY'S COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS PROFESSOR AND ART CRITIC SAYING: "In the case of a Van Gogh, there are Van Gogh experts and scholars around the world such as at the Vincent van Gogh Museum. It has to be examined by them in order to discuss its authenticity." CHOI WALKING AROUND ART GALLERY (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) PROFESSOR CHOI SAYING: "It is impossible to judge some kinds of genres and arts which are done in certain material, to judge whether they are forgeries or not. Forgery can appear anytime and appear from unexpected places."
  • Embargoed: 12th August 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVAEOF7GIW3UEJ7EDLT2VOB7JHZ4
  • Story Text: A South Korean man has unveiled what he claims is an original Vincent van Gogh tempera work. The title of 59-year-old Sur Byung-soo's work is "Landscape with Carriage and Train in the Background."
    It is known that Van Gogh had painted an artwork by this name, which strongly resembles Sur's painting, just a month before his death in June, 1890.
    The oil painting version of "Landscape with Carriage and Train in the Background" is currently in the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Russia, but Sur says Van Gogh's original had been painted in tempera and that the one he possessed was indeed done in tempera -- a kind of water-colour paint.
    Sur claims that his painting is the original and the one in the Pushkin Museum is a reproduction.
    "Tempera is a kind of watercolour and was used by Van Gogh with his own style. It is known to be almost impossible to reproduce a tempera painting," Sur maintains.
    Sur said he asked for an examination of his painting by various Van Gogh specialists and experts all over the world, especially from Japan and the Netherlands. Although the answers he got back were positive, he said he was threatened by many and had to go through insulting situations. Many questioned his possession, asking how could Van Gogh's original work be in South Korea.
    "My father got it from a foreigner and he told me to take good care of this. That was all he said to me. But I didn't pay much attention to it for a long time," said Sur.
    His father used to work in the legislative office and received the painting from a foreign lady as a gift. He almost abandoned it until he found a picture of the keepsake in an art book and sensed it was something valuable.
    A local artist, Kim Seung Boo, invited by Sur, explained how the Pushkin Museum's oil painting differs from Sur's tempera painting. He pointed out the window, the carriage wheel and the crouching man are the major differences between the two paintings.
    "Comparing the two, this painting has one more window -- that is one difference," said Kim.
    However a local art critic was cautious in announcing the authenticity.
    "In the case of a Van Gogh, there are Van Gogh experts and scholars around the world such as at the Vincent van Gogh Museum. It has to be examined by them in order to discuss its authenticity," said Choi Byungsik Ph. D., Kyung Hee University's College of Fine Arts professor and an art critic.
    According to him, the owner needs to get his painting verified in person by Van Gogh experts.
    Sur's way, mostly showing experts photographs of his painting, is not enough.
    "It is impossible to judge some kinds of genres and arts which are done in certain material, to judge whether they are forgeries or not. Forgery can appear anytime and appear from unexpected places," added Choi, saying forgery is possible for all kinds of art work, and tempera painting is not an exception.
    The owner of the controversial artwork says he does not care much about the fortune he could possibly earn by selling it.
    He just hopes that he will one day people will acknowledge that an original Van Gogh painting has been found in South Korea.
    Four to five of Van Gogh's tempera works were known to be in existence somewhere in the world, but none have ever officially been found.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register