How to Spot Antique Oil Paintings that are mass produced in China
Antique and Vintage oil paintings can be quite the investments, but the oil painting market is also filled with forgeries. Whether you’re a collector, an art enthusiast, or just someone looking to buy an antique painting, knowing how to distinguish real from fake can save you from costly mistakes. It's a huge pet peeve of me seeing these pieces being sold by vintage and antique dealers as "vintage" or "antique" or being implied that they are, when they've been produced last week.
Here’s a guide to spotting mass produced newly made "antique oil paintings"
1. Examine the Materials
For a Painting on panel:
The wood of an original antique painting is often darkened due to oxidisation. The cut lines are often uneven and hand carved. The panel on mass produced reproductions are ofter machine cut and painted on the back. If they are not painted dark or black, the fake paintings are often completely covered with paper to hide the panel.
Example of a paper covered back.
For a Painting on Canvas:
The canvas an antique painting is typically darkened and oxidised. Fake "antique paintings" will be tea stained of made to look darker with paint. They sometimes forget to apply this under the stretcher of the wood. The stretcher will also be darkened with stain or paint instead of the wood being naturally darkened with age.
Frames:
The fake "antique" gold frames are not made out of the common used materials like wood and gesso and gold leaf. These frames are made out of gold resin material. They have a light and plasticky feel to them.
Check for Craquelure
Craquelure, the network of fine cracks in the paint, naturally forms over decades or centuries. However, some forgers try to replicate it using chemical treatments or artificial cracking methods. Authentic craquelure follows the natural movement of the paint and canvas, while fake cracks may look too uniform or superficial.
Artificial Aging Techniques
(Above painting has been artificial darkened to age it. Even the rope has been stained to make it look old)
Forgeries often use artificial aging techniques such as:
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Tea or coffee stains to mimic patina.
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Crackling varnish applied to imitate craquelure.
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Smoke or dirt rubbed on the canvas to simulate age.
Fake Labels:
On the back of fake antique oil paintings there are often labels to make them look more authentic. The most commonly used ones are:
"Biggs and Sons" Carvers and Gilders
" Roe Bros"
Edit: I have a question from Roy: "You talk of fake labels. But how do you recognise the difference between a fake label and a real one? Especially with ROE BROS AND BIGGS AND SONS??
My Response: Great question Roy - Some (not all) of the framers that the fake labels have names that did actually exist at some point. But it's important to keep in mind, these framers active in 18th/19th Century were all very small family run businesses. Think of them like your local dry cleaner or seamstress. These small framers did not produce at scale. Certainly not in the large scale that Biggs and Sons has in the market. If you ever find a Biggs & Sons, it is likely to 1 in 100,000 if not 1 in a million that it did actually from that framer 150 years ago. If a piece has this label, be very skeptical and look at the whole picture from also the other points mentioned.
Above painting has been artificial darkened to age it. Even the rope has been stained to make it look old.
Signature:
Some mass produced paintings are signed but it doesn't make them authentic. They have fictitious artist names like C. Chapper, R. Wilson or for example G. Roy.
Production of these oil paintings
These mass produced oil paintings can be hand painted but they are painted on large scale in a factory by low paid labourers, mostly in China. I believe these are made with a type of stencil. So technically these are "hand painted" but are not made with an artist that has an artistic vision in mind. These paintings just don't bring that soul into your home what you get with an original antique oil painting.
The Topic Matter
I have come across many newly made antique and vintage oil paintings and what they have in common is also that they are too sweet and too perfect. These fakes really have a certain "look"
Spotting a fake "antique oil painting" requires a keen eye and knowledge of materials, and techniques. Usually a combination of multiple of these attributes. By examining the canvas, brushwork, craquelure you can better protect yourself from purchasing a counterfeit piece. If you don't mind the age and are fine with buying a mass produced painting, it's still good to know so that you don't overpay since I still see them showing up for sale for over an 100 dollars and sometimes even more then a thousand dollar. These pieces are unfortunately not even vintage and have no actual value other then being decorative. When you want to sell them in the future it will be hard to get any of your investment back.
When in doubt, seek expert authentication before making a significant investment, or buy from a trusted antique dealer that knows what they are selling :)
Happy collecting!
Great question Roy – Some (not all) of the framers that the fake labels have names that did actually exist at some point. But it’s important to keep in mind, these framers active in 18th/19th Century were all very small family run businesses. Think of them like your local dry cleaner or seamstress. These small framers did not produce at scale. Certainly not in the large scale that Biggs and Sons has in the market. If you ever find a Biggs & Sons, it is likely to 1 in 100,000 if not 1 in a million that it did actually from that framer 150 years ago. If it looks suspicious, be very skeptical and look at the whole picture from also the other points mentioned.
You talk of fake labels. But how do you recognise the diffenrece between a fake label and a real one? Especially with ROE BROS AND BIGGS AND SONS?