Investigation shows that there was damage as a result of the theft. Restorer Marjan de Visser notes that this mainly concerns the old varnish. There are a few scratches through all the layers, and in one place you can even see the linen in the primer. The research also shows new discoveries. It was most likely painted by Van Gogh on linen nailed to a frame. At an even later stage it was pasted onto a panel. Van Gogh originally started the work as a Winter Garden in 1883, but it eventually became a Spring Garden in 1884.
Behind the Scenes shows the front and back of the Spring Garden. Visitors can view the work in the museum in the condition it was returned to after the theft, with the scratches on the work still visible.
In 2020, the Lentetuin was stolen from Museum Singer Laren, which at the time had it on loan from the Groninger Museum. To great delight, thanks to the efforts of art detective Arthur Brand, the work of art resurfaced in 2023 – in an IKEA bag. The unique copy in which the work was returned has now also become a museum piece and can be seen in the exhibition.
Behind the Scenes was set up on the occasion of the celebration of 150 years of the Groninger Museum. The museum was founded more than a century and a half ago in a room of the Groningen provincial government building. At that time this was still a small collection with all kinds of ‘rarities’. It is no longer a small room, the collection now consists of more than 60,000 pieces and more than 200,000 people visit the museum every year.
