Van Gogh Photo Claims Remain Unverified as Museum Rejects Likenesses

Vincent van Gogh, celebrated for his numerous self-portraits, had a strong aversion to photography and is said to have never posed for a photo as an adult. The sole verified image of him as a youth captures him at 19 in 1873, during his tenure at an art dealership in The Hague. An image once believed to be Vincent was later recognized as his brother Theo, also from 1873. A photograph, allegedly of Brussels clergymen from around 1886, has not been verified by the Van Gogh Museum, as its location points to Canada, where Van Gogh never resided. An 1887 melainotype showing six men drinking was found, possibly including Vincent, Paul Gauguin, and Émile Bernard, but the museum's photo expert dismissed it as not resembling Van Gogh, and he never referenced the event in his letters. This photo did not reach its $136,000 auction price. Recently, Italian art historian Antonio De Robertis suggested Vincent is in an 1888 photo of 34 men at the Académie Julian in Paris, alongside Édouard Vuillard, Pierre Bonnard, and Andries Bonger, but this identification remains unverified. Without confirmed photographs, Van Gogh's adult appearance is primarily known through 34 self-portraits and 4 drawings.