A British couple may have unearthed a long-lost portrait of Vincent Van Gogh after buying it off the internet for just £1,500.
The pastel drawing is believed to be the only full-length portrait of the genius artist in existence and could be worth millions if authenticated.
It is thought to have been painted by a female artist who lived next door to him during his time in Paris.
The picture was simply described on an auction website as 'portrait of a man', but after extensive research, Michael and Mandy Cruickshank believe the work - painted in the 1880s - is of the legendary Dutch impressionist.
The painting was found in Versailles where it was last seen in public in 1892.
The couple, from Louth in Lincolnshire, became suspicious by the artist's crumpled hat, similar to one he sketched, and they believed it is the artist in the prime of his artistic career.
And their view is backed up by several art experts.
A detailed examination by facial recognition experts at the University of Dundee gave the work a four out of six on the chances of it being Van Gogh.
Caroline Erolin, a lecturer in medical and forensic art, said: 'We have scale for matching up likenesses running from no support to powerful support. We rated the painting as having support which is just below strong support which is second highest.
'We compared the painting with a well known self portrait, two other portraits and a photo of Van Gogh from the period. We were hampered slightly because it was a pastel drawing which is less clear, but there is a good case for it being Van Gogh.'
There a number of clues that painting may be of Van Gogh.
On the wall in the pastel, the words 'L'Incompris', meaning the misunderstood, are scrawled. Van Gogh was famous for writing on his own walls, according to experts.
The artist, Jeanne Donnadieu, wrote her address - 17 Rue Victor Massi - on the back of the original painting, seen in an exhibition in 1892.
The Cruickshanks discovered that the road's name had been changed in 1887.
