What Should I Look for to Distinguish Genuine Antique Paintings For Sale?
Many people have old paintings at home which are treasured possession which they have owned for years. Maybe you found a work of art lying in your attic or garage, that hasn’t been seen for years or it’s a painting you have inherited. Or you are getting into antiquing and found a beautiful antique painting for sale at a thrift store, garage sale or antique shop that you are interested in. Whatever the circumstance, you want to know more about your old painting and you want to know if it is a genuine antique painting or just a print.
So how do you find out about your old painting? Well you need to know right off the bat that the vast majority of these paintings have very little market value. But don’t be discouraged because there are lots of forgotten or lost works of art painted by well known artists that are just waiting to be re-discovered.
A thorough check of the painting yourself will give you some good clues. The back of a painting tells you as much or more about it than the front especially as to whether it’s genuine or a reproduction. Here are some things to look for on the back.
The canvas the painting was painted on was typically white to begin with. But the back to the canvas should have darkened over time. It should also show some rub marks consistent with it having been moved around for the last 100 years or so. If the canvas is unmarked and white this should be a big clue that you are looking at a reproduction. When the canvas is viewed from the front where it is wrapped around the wooden frame or stretcher should also be soiled with dirt or bits of paint, from rubbing against walls or being in storage somewhere if it is genuinely old.
Another good sign of age is if the edges of the canvas are nailed to the stretcher frame in the back in an irregular way. The true artist’s handiwork was always on the other side. Also if the nails that were used have rusty heads and are square headed these are very good signs of it being really old, genuine and probably original. Along the same lines if the wire used to hang the picture is a bit rusty and dark that is another sign of age.
Check out the front of the painting and look to see if the painting on the front carries over and around the edge of the stretcher frame towards maybe even onto the back. This is due to the fact that the artist didn’t know exactly where he was going to put the frame when he was painting the picture so he painted it larger than he needed to which now shows on the edge and back.
Often there were things written on the back of the canvas by the artist, an heir or a previous owner. This was sometimes due to the artist designating the client, or maybe the location or it could even be an inscription to the one it was being given to. Sometimes these were painted over to prevent the painting from being traced. This was often done when the painting was stolen or being sent to an auction. Maybe even a family member did it being ashamed that their prized family possession was being auctioned to pay debits.
All these things are signs that the painting is probably genuine though there are some very clever forgers and reproduction artist out there today so it is buyer be wear. If you have questions it is always best to get an expert opinion on the painting before you spend a lot of money on it.
|
Yes! I Want Antiquing Secrets Send Me My Free “10 SECRETS MOST ANTIQUE COLLECTORS WON’T SHARE” Email Course Today! You Will Receive the First Lesson in Your Inbox Immediately. 100% Spam Free! I Value Your Email Privacy. |
