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Detecting Art Forgeries
Art Forgery
Artwork is a subjective object mostly bought and paid for depending on a client's aesthetic taste. Genuine art pieces from centuries past, however, become coveted items for avid art collectors and museum curators alike. Because of the high price some collectors are willing to go to possess authentic works of art, the forgery of supposed authentic artwork has become a habit for masters and amateur artists alike. Art forgeries have spanned centuries; before the common use of technology and other techniques utilized by field experts, masters and amateur painters and sculptors have escaped unnoticed. These forgers have managed to sell their works of art easily enough -- that is, until art detectives came into the scene. But how does one ultimately tell a piece's authenticity in all of its likeness to a genuine article?
A forged artwork -- or a forgery in general -- is an object that is peddled to unsuspecting or wary customers as a genuine piece originating from a genuine source. A forged van Gogh or a forged Rembrandt is a work that supposedly comes from either artist, though the notion is untrue. Forgery is "the intentional misrepresentation of a (supposed) artifact, work of art or not, as far as its issuing from a specified source is concerned" (Wreen, 1983). What can possibly be worth millions of dollars might just be a forger's attempt to swindle and gain monetary...
A person like Martin Kemp has the background expertise in detecting Leonardo da Vinci forgeries and authentic works. In fact, his expert opinion "can help [a] painting become part of [the] world's cultural heritage" or can "cause [a] painting to be tossed into the trash" (Grann, 2010). Like Thomas Hoving and Bernard Berenson -- also art historians and experts of note -- Kemp supplies Peter Paul Bir? And Nicholas Eastaugh are also tasked with distinguishing forgery from genuine artwork, and both experts in the field have used innovative techniques as well as gut instinct and experience as ways to determine the artwork's authenticity. Kemp himself is so renowned for his skill in da Vinci works that even he has to guard himself against con men that look to forge his signature (Grann, 2010).
What all of these men have in common is the fact that they put not only their instincts to the test, they also use the vast amount of forensic technology and chemistry in order to determine an artwork's authentication. Using methods that have been tried and tested true for various fields -- criminology, scientific research, etc. -- Kemp, Bir?, and Eastaugh have found innovative ways in which to…
Resources
Fleming, S. (1980). Detecting art forgeries. Physics Today, 33(4), 34. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Grann, D. (2010). THE MARK OF A MASTERPIECE. New Yorker, 86(20), 50. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Spinney, L. (2009). Interview: the art detectives. New Scientist, 202(2705), 26-27. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Wreen, M. (1983). GOODMAN ON FORGERY. Philosophical Quarterly, 33(133), 340-353. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
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