The authenticity of the Van Gogh painting will certainly be determined by a DNA test

Cologne (Germany) - A single hair may determine whether an art collector from Cologne is the owner of a painting by the Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh worth several tens of millions of euros. In an effort to unravel one of the mysteries of the art world, experts will examine a reddish human hair hidden beneath layers of paint and compare DNA samples with those from living relatives of Van Gogh.
      The painting "Still Life with Peonies" was considered lost for decades until it resurfaced in 1977 in the attic of a house in Belgium. The work was purchased by the father of the Cologne collector Markus Roubrocks and bequeathed to him.
      The painting, featuring colorful peonies in a vase sitting on a wooden floor, ignites debates among art experts about its authorship. Roubrocks claims it is a painting by Vincent Van Gogh, created in the spring of 1889, about a year before he committed suicide. His assertion was independently supported by two experts in their assessments. However, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam disputes this, claiming the brushstrokes are different from those of the world-renowned painter. Representatives of the museum labeled the painting an excellent forgery.
      The hair, which will now determine whether Van Gogh is the author of the painting or not, was found by a restorer who was cleaning the artwork. "It must be from the creator of the painting; otherwise, it couldn't be so deep within the layers of paint," she told the German newspaper Bild.