USA - When a man bought an old oil painting at a garage sale and paid just under 50 euros for it, he didn't know the true value of the picture: it was a painting by Vincent van Gogh (†37), estimated to be worth over 14.4 million euros!

Hard to believe, but true: the painting was discovered by an antiques collector at a flea market in Minnesota a few years ago.

According to Art News, the painting was created in the same year as his most famous work "The StarryNight" in a psychiatric clinic in the south of France .

The New York-based art research company LMI Group acquired the artwork from the antiques collector in 2019 for an undisclosed sum.

The work depicts a fisherman smoking a pipe. The laugh lines that van Gogh gave the man are a typical feature of the artist's work.

A single red hair was even found in the painting - the hair color of the painter, who died in 1890.

The word "Elimar" is also written on the back of the frame, which is probably the name of the fisherman.

To verify its authenticity, a team of around 20 experts - including restorers, scientists and historians - analyzed the painting.

The specialists also matched the red color used for the painting to a color mark that was common in the region at the end of the 19th century.

In order for the painting to be officially recognized as authentic, it must now be approvedby the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam . If this happens, the painting will be valued at around 14.4 million euros.