Setting the Scene: The Adoption of Forensic Analysis in the Attribution of an Artwork and the Role of Connoisseurship

In this chapter the role of the connoisseur or art expert in the attribution of a painting or other work of art is described and the difficulties that are faced in assigning unknown and often controversial pieces can be measured by the difference of opinion that is generated in this process. The need for caution, whilst paramount, needs to be backed by an objective judgement based upon a forensic holistic appreciation of the evidence that can be assimilated for an artwork: this can take the form of historical information, documentary papers, scientific analysis, techniques of production, period and stylistic attributes, which must all be evaluated and not discarded without an adequate interpretation being afforded. Whereas in some cases this has been rigorously applied in the modern era this has not always been so and there are cases where clever fakes and forgeries, as well as innocent copies, have deceived even the expert eye of a connoisseur. This has led to some regrettable decisions in attribution being made, especially where scientific evidence was not available or perhaps even ignored, which can take much to rescind and rectify. In this chapter we shall also consider the various terminology and categories that have been adopted for the classification of an artwork from an “original autograph” (where the artist concerned has made a 100% contribution to the painting) to an “After X”, which is a copy made perhaps many years later by an admirer with no input at all from the original artist and there are several grades in between which are sometimes difficult to quantify.