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When there is handwriting on a painting, it provides an additional opportunity to prove it is the work of the artist.
The most common writings are the date, the location, the title, and the name of the sitter (if it is a portrait, or if friends or family appear in the composition.)
Kroyer names
In the painting above, Kroyer has inscribed the names of everyone who was around the table.
In the painting below, Sergei Tchepik has written his name, year of birth, the title in both Russian and French, the dimensions, and the date on the back of the painting.
Tchepik
We analyze all handwriting very carefully. Here is what we had to say about three words attributed to the famous French post-impressionist Paul Signac:
Signac
The inscription refers to "chaumieres", which are traditional thatched roof houses (i.e., vernacular architecture). Incarville is a village in Normandy. The inscription reads "chaumieres a Incarville." Examples of authentic Signac handwriting from the records held at the Getty Museum are shown below.
1887
12 Jan. 1888
1897
The first four letters are fluent enough, but after that the writer fumbles. The final word is almost childlike in its confusion.
The "r" changes from a peaked "r" in the first word, to a flat "r" in "Incarville".
The "v" and the "i" in Incarville are a mess, and the double "l's" point in different directions.
The inscription looks like it was written by someone unfamiliar with French, and who was not writing with normal cursive confidence. The Signac letters are written with a consistent right slope, while the subject inscription is incoherent, but mostly vertical. One "i" is vertical, andanother is angled left at 45 degrees.
It is clear that Signac does not usually loop his "e". The subject inscription has fully looped "e's".
The subordinate "m" appears several times in both Signac notes and is very consistent: a pronounced first stroke, matched by two tight following points in the loop, similar to a zig-zag. Compare this with the "m" in "chaumieres". It is wider, has one round loop, and one pointed loop.
Signac's subordinate "n" is likewise sharply pointed, unlike the "n' in the watercolor inscription.
The Signac subordinate "a" is tight, sharp, sometimes open and sometimes closed. The subject inscription has round, labored "a's". The effect is childlike.
The only subordinate "h" in Signac's formal note has a characteristic hook on the final stroke, missing from the "h" in "Chaumieres".
In sum, there is virtually no similarity between Signac's handwriting and the inscription on the watercolor.
Handwriting analysis is one of many forensic methods we use in the course of authenticating and appraising paintings and other works of art.
If you have a painting, a drawing, or some other work of art that needs to be authenticated, please contact us at info@artexpertswebsite.com or 1-386-676-0160 and we will help you. |
