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Monet
A signature is rarely sufficient for a
painting to be authenticated.
The reason is that it is very easy to add a signature to
a painting. It takes very little work to copy a
signature, as compared to the effort and talent required
to execute an entire painting. Adding signatures to
unsigned paintings, or removing the signature of a
modest artist and replacing it with a prestigious name,
is one of the easiest things to do. It is one of the
most common forms of forgery and it has been done for a
couple hundred years and continues to be done today. One
of the reasons there were so many Rembrandt paintings in
the past, over 1,000 of them at one point, is that every
painting which looked ever so slightly like a Rembrandt
would be signed by forgers. Now we are down to about 250
Rembrandts. We have lost some 750 Rembrandts in the last
100 years, which isabout one every six weeks.
Picasso
So while it is good and useful to have a signature and
it is nice to have a signed painting, one cannot go by
the signature when it comes to authenticating a
painting.
Today, so-called artists, who would not have qualified to
empty Leonardo's chamber pot, hurry to sign the ugliest
garbage they produce. It was not always like this, and
interestingly, many of the greatest masters never signed
their paintings, which is why we sometimes have
attribution problems. Of Michelangelo, the greatest
artist of all times, we only know one signed work, a
sculpture. He never signed anything else.
Basically, as the centuries went by, signing became more
and more common. When you look back at art history,
signatures are rare all the way through the 1500s and
become progressively more abundant as you reach the
early 1800s. By 1850, they become standard for all
professional artists on all their finished works. By
1925, professionals sign most everything. After 1950,
everyone signs everything.
If there is a signature or a monogram, it has to be
deciphered, and it has to be checked.
- The first thing we do is to go to
the signature dictionaries, and we have one of the
largest collections of signature and monogram
dictionaries. We check if the signature appears to
match one of the recorded signatures of the artist.
Signatures changes over time, and therefore one needs
copies of several signatures by any artist, if
possible, to see how he signed at different times in
his life.
- If the signature appears to be a
good match, we take a picture of it, put it in an
overhead projector, and blow it up on a white wall so
that it is about 6 feet wide. We then do the same with
a recorded authentic signature, and we compare them.
This allows us to see exactly how the signatures were
produced and executed, how the letters were drawn, from
what end they were started, when and where the pen or
brush was lifted, and how pressure was applied, etc.
This macro examination makes it plainly clear if the
signature was painfully copied, is hesitant or was
swiftly or confidently executed, and how it was
technically and mechanically produced. Minute details,
invisible on the tiny signature on the painting, are
magnified to one foot high letters.
- If we have access to the painting
physically, we examine the signature under Ultra
Violet light to see if it is contemporary with the
painting. Paints applied at different times fluoresce
differently under Ultra Violet light. In the past few
decades, good forgers have started to cover their
signatures with a special varnish which prevents
fluorescence, so the Ultra Violet examination only
reveals older forged signatures or those of amateur
forgers. Fortunately, Infrared and X-ray photography
have come to the rescue. Both can detect authentic
signatures that are indistinguishable to the naked
eye, or can reveal fake signatures that were added
years after the completion of a painting. If we need
these forensic photographs, we will let you know where
to get them in your area or country.
- As a painting ages, cracks begin to
develop in the paint and naturally these cracks will
go through the signature like they go through the rest
of the paint. Varnish discoloration also progresses
with time, together with the deposit of dirt on the
surface. We check if the signature seems to have been
equally affected by the passing of time, in terms of
cracks and of discoloration, like the rest of the
painting. Of course, a good forger will also use a
paint craqueling solution, therefore we check if the
discoloration and dirt deposits within the paint
cracks are the same as in the signature cracks.
Using one or more of these
examination methods and forensic tests, it is generally
possible to determine with great certainty if a
signature or monogram is authentic.
Mary Cassatt
Toulouse-Lautrec
While a signature is rarely sufficient for
authenticating a painting, a forged signature does not
mean that a painting is a forgery. The reason is that
many signatures were added to authentic paintings,
including Rembrandts, because the owner felt it would
be easier to sell, or because a signature would add
prestige. From time to time we bump into this
situation; the painting is authentic, but the signature
is not.
For all these reasons, signatures must be checked, but
results must be carefully placed in the correct context.
A signature is only one element, and not a determining
one, in the process of authentication. |
