Van Gogh Museum: new Van Gogh identified

A painting titled "Sunset at Montmajour" is seen in this handout photo received from The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam on Sept 9, 2013. The French landscape painting stored in an attic and kept from public view for a century because it was considered a fake is the work of Dutch master Vincent Van Gogh, a museum said on Monday citing new research. "Sunset at Montmajour", which shows twisted holly oaks and a distant ruin bathed in the light of the setting sun, was painted in 1888 when Van Gogh was living in Arles, in the south of France. The work, owned by a private collector, will go on show at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam later this month for a year. [Photo/Agencies]

AMSTERDAM - The Van Gogh Museum says it has identified a long-lost Vincent Van Gogh painting, the first full-size canvas by the Dutch master discovered since 1928.

"Sunset at Montmajour" depicts trees, bushes and sky with Van Gogh's familiar thick brush strokes. He described it in a letter to his brother, Theo, saying it was painted on July 4, 1888. Museum experts said it was authenticated by letters, style and materials used, and they had traced its history.

Museum director Axel Rueger described the discovery as a "once in a lifetime experience." The museum has not said who owns the canvas.

The famously troubled Van Gogh died of a self-inflicted gun wound in 1890, having only sold one painting.