Fake or Fortune S04 E02 Renoir

18 million 500,000 19 the art world where paintings change hands for fortunes selling at 95 million but for every known Masterpiece there may be another still waiting to be discovered well that's it well that's it isn't it that is it that is our painting International art dealer Philip mold and I have teamed up to hunt for lost works by great artists we use oldfashioned detective work and state-of-the-arts science to get to the truth science can enable us to see beyond the human eye isn't that incredible the problem is not every painting is quite what it seems I paid about £100,000 for it that is a lot if it's a fake it's a journey that can end in Joy isn't that great or bitter disappointment they are declaring that your painting be sees and then destroyed in this episode could a painting hanging in a Welsh Castle be a work by the impressionist Master Pierre AUST Renoir two powerful art houses can't agree the Rivalry between the two great houses is now out in the open and I have to say it's ugly our investigation takes us to an impressionist playground on the banks of the river sen we could be adding another paragraph to art history to jeni in search of Claude Monet's art collection we need concrete evidence that it was here somewhere in this house and to Berlin to see what state-of-the-art science can reveal but will we find enough evidence to convince the art world's toughest judges this painting is genuine I can't cope with this roller [Music] coaster in this investigation we're on our way to pem Brookshire we've received a call for help from the owners of a pain painting with a mysterious past it hangs in one of the finest stately homes in Wales Pickton castle built at the end of the 13th century it was home to the Phillips Family for 800 years now the castle is open to the public and it's maintained by a charitable trust Nikki Phillips is one of the trustees great to see you Nikki hi how you doing she's an artist in her own right famed for her official portraits of the royal family I first met Nikki when I followed her at work painting war hero Simon Weston after BBC viewers had voted him the public figure most deserving to Grace the walls of the National Portrait Gallery some years ago Nikki was painting a portrait of her late Aunt Gwen when she was told a tantalizing Story how a picture came into the family collection that was said to be by one of the world's most celebrated artists Pierre AUST Renoir wow quite a flash of color in here isn't it it's lovely just take us back over how it came into the family it was bought by my great-grandfather Lord Milford and he was very interested in the Impressionists and he bought this picture along with a fair few others and I was told by my great aunt Gwen that she was taken to Monet's Studio by her parents where they were sold it as a Renoir because um as I think it's well documented Monet and Renoir used to paint together and then at the end of the day they would sometimes swap their pictures who did they actually buy it from in the studio I'm told that blanch Monet was there at the time I don't stepter Mon's stepdaughter I don't know whether they actually bought it there and then um or whether it went subsequently through a dealer I'm not sure I can see why this painting would have caught sir Lawrence's eye it's an engaging scene but is it a genuine Renoir he's one of the world's most famous artists whose Works can sell for millions of pounds born in 1841 renir became one of the leading Lights of the impressionist movement he said he never went a day without painting and through a career spanning six decades he created over 4,000 canvases but is this painting one of them not all experts have been convinced it's authentic so how did it first come to be doubted when the roof of this place needed doing in the 60s there was a sale of the other Impressionists that were in here there's a Monet and a sizzly and a pisaro and this one had to be left out because it it's not signed so this one turned out to be the the lame duck of the group and and for 50 years or more has has been considered to be a wrong picture a problematic picture not for the family because we all know the story what would this painting be worth if it was by R well if it could be proved conclusively 2 to 300,000 yes well that would help hugely with the roof and all the other bits that are fall falling down falling off there's a lot at stake here pikon Castle may look magnificent but beneath the surface the cracks are showing and funds are needed to maintain the building so imagine Nikki's Delight when a leading art World Authority the berim Jour Gallery included the painting as genuine in a recently published catalog listing all of renoir's works but there's a problem another powerful art World Authority doesn't agree this is by Renoir it was sent last year to Christies and they said that it was going to have to go past the Wildenstein Institute and they're doing their own catalog rese and they simply said they didn't want to include it and I'm told the uh auction houses will go with the Wildenstein decision I mean it's an extraordinary State of Affairs because a picture that should be worth2 to £300,000 now can't be sold as a redwell despite the fact that it's in a catalog Raaz of 2007 because another Publishing House Authority say it's not so the investigation begins one of the problems is there's no documentary evidence to back up Aunt Gwen's story that the picture is a genuine Renoir a troll through the castle archives is not proving helpful well this is a Christie's inventory of Picton Castle from 1995 and it mentions the painting attributed to a Renoir so not by orust Renoir then we've got soube dated 20 3 again attributed to Pi Renoir cannot confirm authenticity regarding the Renoir painting Renoir and inverted commas the then Authority on the artist concluded that the painting was a copy so there's quite a lot of Doubt here I have to say I really like this painting everything about it feels right I mean this is what those early Impressionists were up to it's it's about light it's about color it's about feeling it's about it's about life on the move the more I spend time with it the more I feel comfortable this has to be by renoa but that's just my opinion we need to find hard evidence that Renoir painted our picture so I'm sending it to the highly respected cour hold Institute in London for forensic analysis in past tough cases we called on the services of a Viva burnstock one of the world's leading authorities in the scientific study of art armed with cuttingedge technology she can reveal Clues hidden within the canvas so give me your first reaction well it's a it's it's a it's a nice light-hearted sketch painted at speed and perhaps even in one go um from start to finish out of doors and that's not untypical of the type of works that the Impressionists were doing and their approach to subjects it's absolutely characteristically like an impressionist sketch and it actually looks like it's been done with quite a narrow range of pigments but of course I I would need to look more closely at them to to know what they are using the microscope and other techniques a Viva needs time to undertake a thorough technical analysis of the painting a series of tests which will determine how it was painted and with what pigments her research could provide vital evidence to prove whether our painting is by the master Renoir or another hand we're meeting with our specialist art researcher Dr bendor groer to assess the evidence well here's a photo of the man at the center of our mystery Pierre AUST Renoir and very fine he looks too surely the way to go forward on this is to have a really good look at the picture itself shall we start with the back of the painting and if we look here we have an unfortunately damaged but nonetheless rather important stock number uh which seems to match up with some information in the Renoir catalog reson stock number buram 26863 now berim Jour published an exhaustive catalog rese in 2007 of renar's works it's five volumes I've got one volume here and it records 4,654 paintings including one of them which is ours there it is and the thing is Bim Jour is an important name they were major art dealers in the impress movement at the time of Renoir I mean their Authority should carry cloud and in fact the authors of this catalog reson who are called G Patrice and Michelle doville are the descendants of the Burnham J Brothers this is Gast on Burnham Jour with Claude M this is Jos beram with San and I love this photo this is Renoir painting Jos Burnham Jon's wife and in fact Renoir painted a number of portraits of the Burnham Jon family and given the closeness of their relationship not just as friends but also as dealer and artist they will have ACR a wealth of documentary evidence about Ren's paintings and if you look at what's in the catalog reson about our painting it's incredibly detailed so Ash Bim so bought by Bim J on the 10th of February 1937 AB Blan mon that means from blanch Monet for 40,000 Franks and then vonu sold on the 21st of April to tooth and that means Arthur tooth the well-known reputable English art dealer now with a rich provenance like that that should be more than enough to prove the authenticity of this picture but it isn't because the other International art Authority in this particular story The wilstein Institute there it is on the right are compiling their own catalog of renoir's works and they will not accept our painting as genuine and the thing is the big International auction houses need a stamp of approval from the Wildenstein Institute because if they don't get that neither will they accept aruno as genuine and they won't sell it as such so we've got a picture here which has fallen into some sort of bizarre art World Turf War accepted by one Authority but rejected by the other but as we found again and again the art world can be a law unto itself and unfortunately we've got to play by the rules we've got to find sufficient evidence to satisfy the Wildenstein Institute first to the scene of the crime I've come to France with Nikki traveling along the river s in search of evidence to support an Gwen's story that Renoir painted this work alongside mon Renoir and money met as students in the 1860s and became lifelong friends as young men they began experimenting with light and color working side by side often painting the same views they developed a new style of painting that would bring about a revolution in art impressionism was born from their work together you go beyond the bridge just a little bit further I'm taking Nikki to the place where her picture is meant to have been painted a suburb of Paris which was once the Impressionists playground arante I want to share an exciting Discovery with her in 1874 the year that the impressionist movement first officially began Renoir and Monet embarked on a series of pictures together painting the same scene pretty well where we are now probably more in their B atellier their Studio boat so this is the Bonet and that's the Rena both unquestionably the same scene but mon is about about much more demonstrative clear brush strokes and then renir on the other hand he he Blends his paint it's much softer feathery and have you noticed that one is on the side like yours oh I like that that is good news isn't it and like yours it's a sketch I think and you know and appears to be unfinished not quite resolved he hasn't quite got there doesn't deserve a signature yet and and my guess is if we're going to prove yours as by Renoir it's going to be an unfinished work a bit like this this is progress renois said he never signed his sketches which could explain why Nicki's painting doesn't bear his name but there are others we can look at I mean painted pretty well from the same spot different mood this time I'm holding the money you've got the Renoir isn't that fascinating that is literally the same scene I think Renoir might have learned something from his friend here cuz these brush Strokes are much Bolder than usual and Mony could have painted those couldn't he you know you're talking like an artist now now it was thought when they finished these works that that period of working in tandem with each other painting the same scene ceased they went their different ways not so I can show you something rather thrilling here is Amon and here is your renell so look at that isn't that fantastic now these are unquestionably the same scene like the pictures the pairs of pictures that we've been looking at up till now that is the same evening as even the man in the boat I always thought there had to be a pair to this picture if a Gwen's story was correct and here it is I mean it must be and if we can get your picture accepted not only does it mean that we've got another renw but unknown to the art world out there there's another pair of pictures by these founding figures of impressionism painting side bide the same scene we could be adding another paragraph to our history when you put it like that that is very exciting isn't it [Music] wow if Aunt Gwen's story holds true renoa gave his painting to Monet who eventually took it to his home in jeni Monet moved here in 1883 and created these glorious Gardens which have captivated generations of visitors ever since in 1936 11 years after Monet's death Aunt Gwen said she came here with her father sir Lawrence here they met blanch Monet who was custodian of Monet's house and Studio [Music] we're following in Aunt Gwen's footsteps to try and find evidence that our painting was once hanging here among Mon's art collection oh this is wonderful just beautiful isn't it imagine when all the pictures on this wall were genuine monies obviously these are copies it would have been breathtaking wouldn't it and in imagine Aunt Gwen walking in here when she was 21 yes she came here with her parents and said it was just the most exciting thing you know Studio of the great man in those days it must have been incredible and she spoke to blanch um and I guess our picture was probably sitting in the corner somewhere and they spotted it well BL money there's a picture of her here when she was 17 blanch money was related to to mon in in a slightly complicated way in that her mother married Monet so she was his stepdaughter but she also then married Monet's son Jean so she was at the same time Mon's stepdaughter and his daughter-in-law immersed in the family and also she was an artist a successful artist actually uh she wasn't a dabbler it was something she took very seriously her work was exhibited and she painted alongside money can you imagine what that must have felt like of course he at the height of his success and his Fame at this point imagine having the opportunity blanch was devoted to money for the last 12 years of his life she lived here and cared for him enabling the Aging artist to complete his last great works after Monet's death in 1926 blanch remained at juven to look after his home and extensive art collection there are accounts from visitors who marveled at the many works by Monet and his fellow artists that hung here and I've been searching for any mention of Nikki's Renoir there's a reference to the art collection in this book here written by Ry gimple who was an art dealer let me just read this extract he says we returned all three of us to the house he'd come here with some friends passing through the kitchen decorated with pretty blue tiles of a delectable cleanliness into the dining room covered with Japanese prins hung on walls of a unique yellow painted by Claude Monet for the first time I went to the first floor into the bedroom with its walls covered with canvases by the artist gifted friends wonderful there are admirable renois yeah like that bit especially two small horizontal ones a woman and child on the grass with a hen to their right and another of the same size of a woman on a sofa at the head of his bed a nuded by Renoir very fine the two Renoir were given to Monet well that verifies her story doesn't it a Gwen's story it certainly does this is so tantalizing because it's getting us closer but what it doesn't have is a description of a Gwen's painting here at jany and that's what we need concrete evidence that it was here somewhere in this house we need to find out if there is any record of Monet's art collection so we've asked to meet with art historian Clare Joyce who was married to blane's nephew for over 40 years she's written and lectured on life at juven so I'm hoping she has some answers CLA hello Fiona nice to meet you this is Micky Phillips who's painting we're investigating we're trying to find out any details we can about what collection was here when Monet died in 1926 did he leave a will first of all no because you know Michelle was the only son left mon I had two son je who died in 1914 and so Michelle was was the only child left so everything went to Mich and so everything went to him was an inventory done after his death of everything here at juven this is not known at all so no will no inventry that you know of this is it's not looking good not looking great there must be someone who knew about exactly what was here at Jen monad like every French man or any French woman a lawyer which called a noty who keeps the record of what you own and you keep the the same noty all your lifelong normally so if there is any record left uh for Mon it's at not's place so that's what we need to do then try and find the notary or the office of the notary while funa hunts for proof the painting was in Monet's art collection I'm in Paris on another lead I I've come to the Muse dors home to one of the world's greatest collections of impressionist art there are prize renois on display but I'm here to see other Treasures that are hidden away from view precious relics that could prove crucial evidence in our investigation this is one of the Holy Grails of impressionism this is renell actual paint box the pigments colors and the palette that are used to Mi his paints to create those wonderful paintings I mean the palette is so fascinating because that's that's the first stage in the thinking process this is where he he tries out the paints and there's one particular stroke a lovely sort of shiny yellow which maybe in my imagination but I feel it can only be a stroke by by Renoir it's that soft quick glancing blow that he does with a sable brush but there's something even more exciting and this is a list in Reno's own hand hand that comes from the archives of Duran who were one of renoir's first dealers now it's produced in about 1877 in other words quite close to the date of when our picture could have been done and it lists the actual ingredients the pigments colors that Renoir uses in his pictures at that date now this is invaluable evidence if we find these ingredients in our picture then it's going to help enormously if not it could be a problem back in London at The coural Institute library bendor is on the hunt for any evidence to support Aunt Gwen's story that the painting came from Monet's art collection he's trying to find a record of the sale of the picture from the dealer Arthur tooth to Sir Lawrence this might give us proof of where it came from he's got some news for Nikki hello Nikki hi I had a little look in the L of Arthur tooth which are split all over the world they're in California and the Tate Gallery in London and if I start off with this one here I can show you there's a purchase Ledger from Burnham Jour in April 1937 and it shows that the tooth Gallery paid 85,000 French Franks for a painting by Renoir called ban D toy 1875 which is has to be the same one your picture that picture now we come to the interesting thing because we then go to the sales part of The Ledger here we can see that the same painting basson dentai by Renoir was sold on the 1st of June 1937 to Great Grandpa S Lawrence Phillips oh my God also I like this fact that they've got here for the provance it says in Brackets from the collection of Claude money which backs up my great aunt story backs up the family story yes um what might not be such good news um is when you find out uh the price here that your great grandpa paid for the painting and he paid £1,250 for it so we've got quite a nice little markup from poor old blanch money um getting her 40,000 Franks no which is about £380 to uh your great grandpa paying £1,250 for it wildly of the odds probably for something that's not signed well you could that's that's about the price of two average houses in 1937 my God okay well I'm sure Arthur tooth would have been able to justify the price CU very EAS oh I'm sure and um just so there's absolutely no doubt at all that we're dealing with your picture there is in fact a little photo here from uh the tooth archives they have also had a photographic Ledger and of course we can be absolutely sure that it's your picture because there it is so with the name underneath with the name underneath Yes sold to Laurence Phillips well that's absolutely wonderful please don't say but well there's no butt at this stage no because we've got an established paper trail on the provar going all the way back to burnam Jour the people who write the Renoir catalog rese so everything they say that the picture came from blanch money seems to all be corroborated by the paper trail the documentary evidence is stacking up but what can the science tell us armed with renoir's list of pigments I've come to Berlin we've sent the picture here to undergo some Cutting Edge analysis [Music] AV viiva has invited me to the Brooker Corporation who manufactures state-of-the-art scientific instruments this place smacks of Q's Den in James Bond the machines they produce here are designed to identify the makeup of anything from explosives to drugs to diseases even works of art they've agreed to scan our painting using a brand new piece of Kit which will tell us whether the pigments used are right for Renoir or [Music] wrong I know we're in the presence of an Extraordinary Machine I'm really pleased to be here it's the first time that I've had a chance to see this amazing machine in action there's only very few of these instruments in the world and everyone in my field is queuing up to use it with the the scan complete it's time to see our painting in a completely new light where every individual ingredient the artist used is mapped out I've never seen a painting look quite like this it's absolutely amazing and what I'm doing here is looking at images of the distribution of different elements in the painting and those elements correspond to pigments I've brought up barium titanium and zinc and they seem to correspond to Restorations to the painting you can see damages to the edges and a tear menend in the middle which have been retouched so we can see the scars of its past which I find really comforting because that's exactly the sort of History I would expect a picture of the 1870s to have yes that's encouraging but I need to cross check Reno's list of pigments from the 1870s with those present in our picture he said he painted with a red pigment called Vermilion but has the scanner protected it what I've done here is I can select Mercury which is one of the major elements in vilon Mercury sulfide pigment and here's a map of where the Vermilion is used in the painting The MKS of the boats for example and the reflection of water which is of course consistent with what renoa said positive progress next on renoir's list is cobalt blue one of the ways of checking that here is to click on the elemental Cobalt map there we are which corresponds to all all the areas of blue well it certainly is the main blue pigment that he used for this picture that's another one on his list of pigments that he used yes it's interesting also to note that it's said that uh later on in the 1880s he dropped using Cobalt glue in favor of ultramarine pigment but it's still important though isn't it because that was the color that he was using in the 1870s the very decade that we think our picture was painted so far so good but there's one more pigment I hope the scanner has ected because Rena only used it at very specific times in his career what I really want to know about is does the bating have Chrome yellow because that's of course the very material that we know through documentary evidence that are used but abandoned in the late 1870s okay we can look at the chromium map and there is indeed Chrome in the painting but what I should point out is that Chrome is present also in vidiian the chromium oxide green that's used a lot in the picture for the boat and uh the reflection under the boat and elements of the midr but the light green which I thought was a mixture of cobalt blue and a yellow pigment we can now see contains a lot of chromium so I can be quite sure that the yellow that's mixed with the blue is Chrome yellow which was exactly what I was praying for that completes it that shows that all the materials that this picture is made of were the ones that we know Renoir was using in the [Music] 1870s bendor is on the hunt for the inventory of Monet's art collection which under French law should have been made on his death in 1926 by his family lawyer or notary now it's taken a little bit of digging uh but I have managed to find out who Mon's notary was there was a chap called M bodre he is of course long since dead however his office still exists or his successor office that's the good news the bad news is they've sent me this email and it says first of all I assure you that our office was in charge of M Claude Mon's estate the inventory of the paintings was established by our colleague from the town of Onis they told me that the said deed was destroyed during the war and that there is no Trace left so that is not good news however all is not lost I found another lead which Fiona may be able to follow up I'm in Paris with Nikki hot on the trail of bendor lead he thinks he's located another record of Mon's art collection if our painting is in it it's job done Nikki this search for an inventory of Mon's art collection has been driving me crazy the reason I brought you here is because of something discovered in this book this is from the museum moton which is the Monet Museum here in Paris this is a chapter about Mon's art collection at juven and this quote is what caught our attention the inventory drawn up by Duron Ruel on Monet's death gives a precise account of it so here is an inventory of Monet's art collection that's amazing V ruell who were art dealers in impressionist work at the time particularly in Monet and Renoir they clearly Drew up an inventory your painting I believe should be in it oh thank God and the reason I brought you here is this building contains the Durant Ruel archives and I think the answer to our Quest could lie in there oh please you ready yes come on let's go it's a rare privilege to get access to this precious record of Monet's art collection very few people have ever seen it I have got such butterflies I'm not surprised this is from J Welles archive and in here is Jon ruel's inventory of Mon's art collection after his death be very very careful with these pages so this is it at De clae mon now here it lists the paintings now you can see all these are by Claude money obvious we're looking for Renoir amazing these are all by Claude money God I wish I could do this much work I really do I know prolific these are all again by Claude mon water lies wow God fascinating we're up to 132 now so far we've only seen listed works by Monet himself but what about the many paintings he owned by his fellow artists including Renoir here are some other names kyot V bisaro man seniac sergeant again Claude man so Renoir is not here I know I know okay here we go here we go Runo okay laba I think it is yes 1881 okay that's not yours rir fam oror another the rir woman family fost Labs a woman and child on the grass if our painting is listed among these rirs owned by Monet then a picture with no value could be worth £300,000 rir portray of Madame mon run again a nude of a young girl Runo again portrait of Madame mon standing Vagner be a portrait of Vagner k there's no run here no run there oh God Nikki your painting is not here don't I oh God your painting is not here I can't cope with this roller coaster let me just okay let me just double check I'm just going to double check money money money again kbo whe money it's not there is it it's not here I'm sorry cuz I I did I thought this could be it so did I what a nightmare it is a nightmare oh God could this be the reason why our painting has not been included in the Wildenstein catalog with our hopes dashed the team are regrouping to try and find a way forward it feels like we've hit a serious setback I mean I looked through the inventory of mony's art collection and our painting is not there and yet everything we have learned about our painting tells us it should be there well the good news is it's not the end of the road for us because the Claude money inventory is incomplete there are in fact six pictures by remoir now hanging in museums around the world which we know from other sources used to hang at jeny and they are missing from the Claude Monet infantry So these paintings are missing our painting could be missing too well I'm I'm very much hoping it could be and I have a theory as to why what if our picture wasn't part of CLA Monet's collection but what if it was part of L Monet's collection we know she had her own art collection we know that Claude Monet gave her paintings of his own which he later sold and intriguingly in the Renoir catalog reson there are two pictures which have have Branch's name in the provenance one of them is this picture here on the left rata at artoy which is now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington and the other picture is of course our painting So if the painting is blanes and not Claude Mones then of course it wouldn't appear on the inventory of his collection why would it yeah it's a neat idea but I have to say without any documentary evidence it's not going to cut it with the Wildenstein Institute and I wonder if they are entertaining a rather more Sinister idea about this painting Could you um B that book there because we know that blash was she was an artist in her own right she was a very keen artist she painted alongside Monet this is her with him here she often painted the same views as money and I've got here a diary written by Renee gampel who was an art dealer who knew Monet and blanch visited Jen often and there's a entry in here which gives you pause for thought he's recalling a conversation with Duron ruell another art dealer very well known to Monet and he says I asked yuron ruell if she signed them what he meant was does blanch sign her paintings there we are he replied that she did but that we'd better be on our guard although her canvases aren't yet passing from mon they certainly will so is the suggestion from the willstein then Nikki's picture is a blanch Monet painting that has been attributed later on to renma well there's no evidence to suggest that's the case I don't believe it is the case but I'm wondering if that's what the Wildenstein Institute is thinking I'm afraid I I don't subscribe to this at all I mean I've been looking into blon's work and there is no way that her work could be confused for a renir of the 1870s which is when we're looking at now look at this picture here for example this is one of hers up close the paint is so different it's thick it's almost Tri there's a feeling of heaviness now look at ours there's a feeling of lightness a feathery touch this is not surely not the same artist but if the will Wildenstein Institute are even considering that this picture is by blanch mon then we've got to find the evidence now to blow that idea out of the water if we're to prove our painting isn't by Blan we need more evidence so I'm heading back to the cour hold Institute we've exhausted all lines of inquiry except one which I've asked Viva to help us with the painting has been relined it's had another piece of fabric glued on the back to strengthen it not unusual for old pictures but this could be hiding potential Clues on the original canvas using a special camera aiva Hope's infrared radiation will penetrate through the relining to reveal anything that might help our case so far I can't see anything I didn't want to get your hopes up but it's not looking very promising well I didn't know about you Nikki but I can see something very faint there yes there are a few marks a bit across the middle there isn't there yeah doesn't look terribly definitive no joy so far all we can see is a faint smudge on the original canvas there's one other technique I can think of we can actually Shine the Light through from behind the picture transmitted infrared and sometimes because the ground isn't there to stop the threed radiation to reflect it we might give this technique a better chance of seeing something no pressure of Eva but we're running out of places to look for Clues well I can see clear as a bell what looks like oh some oh my God yes there Square by square an infrared image appears on the screen but what have we uncovered it's a really wonderful letters there's some letters coming up it's extraordinary isn't it it's so good it's a stamp yes it is the letters are are as clear as a belt AR canas it's a the canvas stamp this is incredibly exciting isn't it I mean isn't this just exactly what we're looking for we'll see a Viva takes some time to research the stamp she's got some news for us so what have you been able to establish okay so firstly this is the whole image in transmitted infrared light so you can see the stamp that's quite big actually is right under the boat it's under the the the Mast of the of the boat and if we flip it around you can see that we can read it is indeed a stenciled um manufacturer stamp the forge captier who was very famous artist suppliers and it's six rivi 6 Paris everything we need short of an email address so what so this is astonishing so you you've got here the exact name and address of the supplier it's remarkable and what's interesting is that this address is quite specific to a particular date for lege caponier um they changed their stamp and thanks to a former postdoctoral fellow here at the courth hold pascala brush there's a data Bas of stamps which you can see here um from different time periods I wonder if you can see which one is the closest to what we've seen yes that one looks very close it's a dead riger it's exactly the same it is indeed and what do we know about that label at that time well this is a label which was only specifically used um between the dates of 1871 and 1879 where they're at this specific address in Paris what is our pict 1874 if it's by Rena which I think this helps us to conclude even more I mean it's a wonderful piece of evidence it is amazing certainly the right date range but furthermore this in fact is a stamp that is on the back of a painting in the Muse dors uh by renell from the same supplier from 1873 sign r i don't believe it so we can say we can now tie together that particular supplier with was painting now we've got a a sort of stamp of approval that that puts us bang in the date we want to be yes and connected with renoa progress that's incredible that is absolutely amazing it's really exciting it's a really exciting Discovery oh my God so anyway who else could have done it if it wasn't him well I mean I agree with you I mean it's it's it's it's absurd to suppose that Blan Monet could have done it she would have been what about 9 years old at the time that's ridiculous you'd have to be quite cynical to believe that so blanch couldn't have painted our picture but I want to be sure renw is still firmly in the frame so I've asked for another opinion anthia Callen is one of the world's leading experts on impressionism for over four decades she's written and lectured on impressionist techniques and has particular expertise in renoa if anthia gives our painting her blessing then it will greatly strengthen our case but if she finds a problem we could be in trouble despite the Serene appearance of this painting we've had some Choy water with it what do you make of it you know there are I think difficulties with it the proportions of the picture the proportions of the object in the picture are awkward in places in particular the larger boat on the right here which is our kind of key focus in the composition is rather large in relation to the little boats in the background so there's this very sudden jump from foreground to background and the little figure there is also rather too large for the size of the Sailing Boat and because it's so thinly painted it's has a a real feel of being unresolved unfinished but that may be intentional I mean I wouldn't necessarily assume that this is anything more than a study a preparatory study perhaps but more likely um an exercise where the artist is learning how to paint on plan a outside in the landscape so actually very difficult to do bany you are an established renoa expert if you were on the Wildenstein committee and you were presented with this cold how would you respond well I would think that it's not a great painting but I would never nevertheless think it was a Renoir few because it looked like it wasn't going to go that way for a minute so you think it is a Renoir but it's a rather poor Renoir yes Renoir did produce a lot of second rate paintings in addition to being a genius and do you think that's the Crux of the problem with this painting then because we are grappling with trying to understand why uh berjen have listed it in their catalog rese but the Wildenstein want to include it in their catalog critique do you think that's what the problem is well it does have a convincing pedigree and quite frankly I don't see any reason to doubt the burnheim J attribution but they have so why do you speculate that they've turned it down rivalry do you think that's what it comes out to I think it probably does yes that's a pretty poor reason isn't it have you come across this before in the art world no rivalry in the art world the disagreement between these two great art houses is something we've got to confront so I'm heading back to Paris I'm on my way to the berim Jour Gallery once one of renoir's most trusted dealers their descendants have carried on the family Legacy taking three decades of painstaking research to produce their five volume Renoir catalog resume I'm Keen to know how they'll react when I tell them the wienstein Institute has rejected a painting but they've listed as genuine I'm here to meet G Patrice dooville one of the authors of the Renoir catalog reson and a descendant of berim jern now this is one of the grandest of the French art houses and generally they don't Grant interviews they keep their secrets close very unusually he has said he'll see me but he won't let us film the meeting these art houses they do not like any questions about their systems and process and certainly not about their catalog resonate so it could be quite a prickly meeting the meeting goes on for a tenth hour before I emerge a little wiser as to what's going on and it doesn't bode well for Nikki's painting well the French are the masters of diplomatic small talk but not in that meeting I mean the doville really dropped their guard and when I ask them why would the Wildenstein Institute not accept a painting that is in the buram catalog Mr doil said they'd be thrilled to turn it downi they'd be thrilled to turn it down so there was a real bitterness there and the Rivalry between the two great houses of Wildenstein and burnam Jour is now out in the open and I have to say it's ugly at a nearby cafe I'm taking a moment to reflect on what was quite a meeting I think the one thing that came out loud and clear from that meeting with G Patrice dooville and his daughter is pride pride in the heritage of bur Jour pride in their catalog reson they have no doubt that Nikki's painting is authentic it's here in their catalog but what they also did and I cannot tell you how rare this is is they showed us their Ledger and that is their Ledger from 1937 and it details when they bought this painting from blanch o mon on that date and it has a picture of the painting as well these art houses never let people see their Ledges but they have let us see this because that is how passionate they are about this painting and that it is genuine in their minds it shouldn't even be questioned it's in their catalog rese and that's the end of the story back in London Nikki has been busy at work in her Studio we need to interrupt her because gee Patrice dooville said something that's been troubling me what he told me could place our entire investigation in Jeopardy we're heading to see Nikki for a Frank and honest chat hi there hello it was quite a tricky meeting with berim J the good news is that they have absolutely no doubt about your painting what they said to me and this is why I wanted to talk to you today was that by us making this program and publicizing the fact that there is a difference of opinion between the w sign Institute and berim Jour as the authentic of your painting we would make it harder for you to sell it oh my God and that we might be damaging your painting by by publicizing this this dispute if you like what about the root of trying to persuade the Wildenstein that it is what we think it is or hope it is that has always been from the start what we were going to try and do but we felt we had to to be upfront with you and say this is what they're saying yeah of course and and therefore do we carry on it's very difficult for me to say immediately I'd have to consult the other trustees um I think at the end of the day we've we've got this painting which um has no value as it is at the moment I mean what burnam Jan are saying about you know by publicizing the the difficulty around this painting we are damaging it your painting is already damaged because you've tried to sell it and you can't yeah it's not a pleasant situation and I think the only thing that we can really positively do is just point out clearly all the facts as objectively as we can and let the art World decide I hate the thought that it's caught up in the middle this because I've always absolutely genuinely felt this picture was real it fits with our family's story and um just by looking at it actually uh that day on the S you know seeing the place it was painted I really felt part of what he was trying try to do and I don't like the thought that some qul is getting in the way of that it it's very depressing that side of it Nikki has consulted with the pikon castle trustees to decide the way forward after careful consideration they've agreed to submit the painting to the Wildenstein Institute for [Music] reappraisal the picture has been sent to Paris so that it can be examined once again by their Renoir committee Nikki is on her way to deliver our dossier of new evidence I'm incredibly nervous because there is a lot at stake the castle really depends on this I so want it to to go the right way it's very very important for us we've done all that we can but is it enough to change the minds of the Wildenstein Institute we have one agonizing week to wait at last we have a decision from the Renoir committee Nikki is on her way to meet us and we're all about to discover whether the Wildenstein Institute have accepted the painting as a genuine work by Pierre August Renoir to my absolute satisfaction we've proved that this picture is by renoa and we've established that there is a companion painting to it just as Aunt Gwen said that is by Monet his friend we've established that the pigments in it are the same as those that he used in the 1870s by renoir's own account we found a hidden stamp on the back that proves that the canvas comes from his supplier in the 1870s and we've got an unbroken paper trail that goes right back to BL Mone in artwell terms that is more than enough evidence surely Now The wilstein Institute must accept this I think we've made a compelling case of this painting but it is caught between the pride and tradition of these two grand houses of berim jern and Wildenstein and I'm worried it's not going to survive that Clash of Titans what I sincerely hope is that with our investigation the painting is allowed to speak for itself and the [Music] shine hi Nikki hi oh my God this is it oh I've just been so nervous I can't tell you well this is the moment we're going to find out if if our investigation and all the hard work has paid off and and just remind us what's at stake here pH well with what we now know if the Wildenstein Institute agreed to accept this picture I could see a major deal auction house now selling it for in excess of of £300,000 wow I mean this means a lot to to you and to pikon doesn't it huge it's really huge this the house needs it very badly I've got the verdict here our paris-based researcher rang through to the Wildenstein Institute and spoke to them and she has written down what they said so we haven't seen this either are you ready yes the Renoir committee at the Wildenstein Institute will not accept the painting as authentic nor will they include the work in their catalog critique of runwell there are three reasons for this decision there is no evidence to support the provenance of of the painting there's no documentation to prove the work is by Renoir the painting is not signed the painting is weak even if the work is unfinished it does not fit with renoir's style God nck I don't know what to say I don't either I just find that absolutely extraordinary the dossier was so complete we had a perfect case I agree it feels to me like they've been looking at a different picture I I just can't see where they're coming from I I just feel so I just feel so bad for you Nikki what are you going to do now well I'll have to take the verdict back to the trust and um look into what Avenues there are if any that we could take but I guess meanwhile this picture will continue to hang on the walls of pikon yes it will absolutely it will I love it it's still a Renoir to me and to the family actually we all have always known it to be that and I still think it is and I don't care what these people say frankly whilst Nikki can hold on to the fact that the painting is still listed as genuine in the burnheim jern catalog rais without the backing of the Wildenstein Institute it will not be accepted for sale by the major International auction houses I think the decision by the Wildenstein Institute defies or logic and I believe the only thing that would have satisfied them and persuaded them to change their mind was if had magically found a letter from Renoir saying my dear Claude as in Monet I give you this painting as I don't know thanks for my stay with you at alante I mean honestly I think that's the only thing that would have done it and as as you know that kind of documentation is vanishingly rare I'm I'm genuinely disappointed with the Wildenstein Institute you know who's the loser of course Nikki is the loser so is of course renoa I mean cuz this was an important little painting documenting the beginning of impressionism it still is but these are the rules of the Art Market and unfortunately this time we've lost hopefully next time we'll win we ask e Wildenstein to comment on Mr doi's remarks that the Wildenstein Institute would be thrilled to turn down a painting which was in the berim catalog Mr Wildenstein said if the opinions in each work catalog and article differ from one to the next This concerns only the authors themselves these differing opinions which are inherent to all research allow for mutually respectful scientific discussion and a better understanding of the artist in [Music] question [Music]

Channel: mightwenotbehappy

Views: 488,058

Keywords: FAKE OR FORTUNE, Fiona Bruce (TV Personality), BBC One (TV Network), PHILLIP MOULD, Episode, Season, Full, Watch, Season Episode

Id: 0VwW8qndXQ8

Length: 58min 0sec (3480 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 19 2015