When Vincent van Gogh painted outdoor landscapes , he was sometimes beset by stash of pesky insect . “ I must have picked up a adept hundred flies and more off the four canvas that you ’ll be bring , " the artist save in an 1885 letter to his chum , Theo . now and again he missed a few , judging from a tiny hopper that conservators late discovered embedded in one of van Gogh ’s most notable paintings .
As theAssociated Press reports , the hopper was identify at the Nelson - Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City , Missouri , where art expert were researching the museum ’s Gallic painting collection for an on-line catalog . Among their graphics is van Gogh’sOlive Trees , which he createdin 1889 as part of a larger series .
Conservator Mary Schafer was examiningOlive Treeswhen she take note an louse near the painting ’s lower foreground , suspended in thick layer of pigment . Since it ca n’t be come across with the defenseless heart , the creepy - crawly addition had gone unnoticed for nearly 120 age .
Schaefer was n’t necessarily surprised to spy the hopper , since experts sometimes regain bits of plant or insects in landscape painting painting . “ But in this case , we were funny if the hopper could be used to identify the particular season in which this work was paint , ” Schaefersaid in a program line .
University of Kansas paleontologist and entomologist Michael Engel studied the grasshopper , and note that its thorax and abdomen were both missing . He also detect that it had n’t stir up the key , which betoken that it landed lifeless on the canvass instead of die a slow , sticky death .
Ultimately , the grasshopper did n’t relent enough cue to nail whenOlive Treeswas created . That said , it ’s still proof that even the best - studied art can at times yield surprise .
[ h / tAssociated Press ]
