{"id":66,"date":"2021-03-24T19:01:52","date_gmt":"2021-03-24T19:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/copiesfakesforgeries\/?page_id=66"},"modified":"2021-05-28T19:51:38","modified_gmt":"2021-05-28T19:51:38","slug":"forgery-detection","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/copiesfakesforgeries\/forgery-detection\/","title":{"rendered":"Determining Authenticity & Detecting Forgeries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are two main scenarios in which a work of art\u2019s authenticity is questioned: 1) when there is a newly surfaced work of art outside the supposed artists\u2019 catalogue raisonn\u00e9; and 2) when evidence emerges that makes an authenticated work suspected to be a copy, fake, or forgery. An investigation into the authenticity of a work of art may result in either an addition to or removal from an artist\u2019s oeuvre, affecting the value of the work in the art market and potentially altering art historians\u2019 understanding of history\u2014the business of art authentication has high stakes. Three different processes may be undertaken when attempting to validate authenticity or expose a forgery: examination by a connoisseur, investigation into provenance, and\/or forensics testing.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Connoisseurship<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Connoisseurship is a type of expertise in a particular subject, most of the time regarding art. Connoisseurship depends on stylistic analysis. Oftentimes, the expert is trained for years studying the artist\u2019s technique\u2014for instance, the brushwork and paint application\u2014to gain an understanding of the artist’s working methods and an ability to attribute works of art to a specific artist. A connoisseur uses their eyes and gut feeling to determine the authenticity of a work. Like everybody else, connoisseurs seek to make sense of a work of art and form patterns using their prior confrontations with an artist\u2019s oeuvre.\u00a0
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“The connoisseur of art must be able to appreciate what is simply beautiful, but the common run of people is satisfied with ornament” \u2013Johann Wolfgang von Goethe<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Giovanni Morelli (1816\u20131891). Taxonomy of artists by ear shape. In Kunstkritische Studien \u00fcber italienische Malerei. I. Die Galerien Borghese und Doria Panfili in Rom. <\/em>Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus, 1890. 99.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Caroline Scarola<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Source: <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Castelnuovo, Enrico, Jaynie Anderson, Stephen B. Little, Christine M. E. Guth, S. N. Chaturvedi, Anna Tummers. “Connoisseurship<\/a>.” Grove Art Online<\/em>, 9 November 2018.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For more information, see “Connoisseurship” section of the bibliography<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Provenance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Provenance is the term used to refer to the ownership background of movable art. This background includes the locations and the owners of a work of art from the moment it was made. However, most provenances are not complete and accurate: the more substantial and authentic they are, the more constructive and crucial they become in studying works of art. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To evaluate and understand an object, it is critical to research its provenance. The information derived from the records dictates the authenticity of the object, but evidence can be forged. When connoisseurship reaches its limit in determining the authenticity, study of provenance provides more precision. The research methods are the studies of physical records which include inventories, wills, appraisals and financial documents, records of sales, correspondence, and photographic or other visual evidence. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When records indicating the provenance are lacking, suspicions are raised to challenge the authenticity of a work of art. In numerous cases, it is either the lack of information or the abundance of background that reveals the inauthentic works. The most basic application to detect forgeries through provenance is to study the accordance of the physical evidence of the object and its recorded history. This is why archival information is more favorable as they are considered authentic. However, this practice of deeming archival documents with an object being authentic can be wrong as it is possible that the documents are forged. In this sense, the study of provenance reaches its limitation in deciding the authenticity and detecting forgeries. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Kouros<\/em>, Greek, c. 530 B.C.E., or modern forgery. Marble. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum.\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Howie Ga<\/em>o<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Source: <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reed, Victoria. \u201cProvenance<\/a>.\u201d Grove Art Online<\/em>. 26 May 2016.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Forensics Testing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As the most expensive and time-consuming of the three processes of authentication (requires outside professionals, expensive resources, and often export to a lab), forensics testing is typically the last-resort for art galleries, museums, buyers, or historians. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Forensic testing of art may include non-invasive or invasive processes. Non-invasive methods enable close examination of the surface (via visible or ultraviolet light) and beneath the surface (via x-ray or infrared light) of a work of art. Each light source utilized reveals something new about the condition of the work of art which can be compared to what is expected of an authentic work.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n