Painting authentication

Painting authentication

Painting authentication is not a standard procedure for every work of art, however it is usually the case for works whose provenance is not fully documented. In essence, the authenticity of a work of art is crucial to its market value.

Authentication can be a costly process, therefore it is appropriate to establish in the first step whether a painting, drawing or alternative  object is an adequate candidate for extensive professional analysis and a comprehensive art historical survey.

Due to the low artistic level of some art forgeries, the first consultation  (visual evaluation) by one of our experts often reveals such undisputed flaws, leading to the dismissal of the purported piece.

The appraisal, or the determination of the authenticity of the painting (expert opinion), is a process involving the work of several experts. This may include various types of material research and is always tailored to the specific case.

The cost of a consultation and a basic assessment of the artwork, usually with high-resolution photo documentation, is around CZK 2,000 – 5,000. Furthermore, an extensive interdisciplinary assessment is priced between 55.000 – 65.000 CZK.

The cost of the assessment is the same whether the final outcome is a positive or negative. Thus, original or fake. However, if it is already proven during the process of the assessment that it is clearly a fake, no further research methods are carried out.

Most commonly used methods by our team of qualified experts:

• Art historical and stylistic analysis
• Conservation research using imaging methods (X-ray, IR Reflectography and UV Fluorescence)
• Stratigraphy of paint layers on samples
• SEM- EDX Scanning Electron Microscopy with Microprobe
• Raman Spectrometry
• Radiocarbon Dating, Carbon 14
• XRF – X-ray Fluorescence Analysis
• LDI- TOF Mass Spectrometry