X-ray reveals a hidden self-portrait by Vincent Van Gogh

A previously unknown Vincent Van Gogh self-portrait has been discovered hidden on the back of another painting. When the canvas was X-rayed prior to an exhibition, experts at the National Galleries of Scotland discovered it. Layers of glue and cardboard covered the hidden self-portrait on the back of an earlier work called Head of a Peasant Woman.

Lesley Stevenson, senior conservator at the gallery, said she was "shocked" to find the artist "looking out at us." "Of course, we were overjoyed when we saw the X-ray for the first time," she explained.

"This is a significant discovery because it adds to our understanding of Van Gogh's life." To save money, the Dutch artist frequently re-used canvases, flipping them over and working on the other side. His work did not sell during his lifetime, and his fame came only after his death at the age of 37 in 1890.

Van Gogh rose to prominence as one of the most well-known and influential figures in Western art history. The National Gallery of Scotland (NGS) acquired Head of a Peasant Woman in 1960 as part of a gift from a prominent Edinburgh lawyer. It depicts a local woman from Nuenen, a town in southern Netherlands where the artist lived from December 1883 to November 1885.