In this image thought to be taken by photographer Jules Antoine, it has been suggested that Vincent van Gogh is seen here, in conversation with Paul Gauguin, Emile Bernard and Félix Jobbé-Duval. André Antoine stands between the artists.
This recently discovered 1887 melainotype is what some experts believe to be a photo of Vincent van Gogh, in fact the only photo of him as an adult. Van Gogh hated photography and supposedly refused to sit for any photo portraits throughout his life. The only two known photos of him are taken at ages 13 and 19.
Though the idea that it is indeed van Gogh in the picture is controversial — van Gogh museum in Amsterdam says that it can’t be the artist due to his acknowledged hatred of photo portraits and “because it simply does not look like him” — nevertheless, others disagree. The photo generated enough interest to be sold at auction this past weekend. Though the sale price hasn't been made public, an estimate was between $136,000 and $170,000.
See a close-up of the man thought to be van Gogh in the photograph and read more on this story at Colossal.