Pro Tips: How to Spot an Antique Painting?

Posted on 23rd March 2020

in Antique Paintings

by Alan

Great works of arts are pleasing to the eyes. They showcase the ingenuity of the artist and hold so much value. Investing in such works can be rewarding once you know how to spot real antique paintings. It is also important to know how much a painting is worth before investing in it. There are appraisers that can always help with this but first you need to know how to spot real and valuable paintings.

Authentic Paintings and Reproductions

Original fine art paintings are the real deal. They are the ones with the value. Unfortunately, there are reproduction and fakes in the market and being able to distinguish between authentic paintings and fakes is a good place to start. The following tips will help you in that regard:

Inspect oil paintings closely for textured surfaces. Bumps or paint waves indicate authenticity while flat surfaces indicate fake

For watercolor paintings, the paper should appear rough around major strokes. If it is uniformly smooth, it is probably fake

For canvas paintings, perfectly even edges indicate that the paintings may be fake.

Check for artist signature and observe it closely

Check the back of any painting to see any sign of ageing. If the back of a purportedly old painting has no sign of ageing, it is probably fake

Check the mounting method of the painting. If it is an authentic old painting, it should have nails or empty nail holes around the frame. A supposedly old painting with staples as mounting method and no nail holes is more likely a reproduction.

Spotting High Value Art Paintings

An original painting will be very valuable but there are some that will be more valuable than others. Some of the antique paintings you should be on the lookout for are:

Paintings created by renowned artists with their original signatures on it

Paintings that are limited, rare and signed

Paintings that are the right size (not too small and not too large)

Paintings with high quality frames.

Fine art paintings can be very valuable. You need to spot original ones and purchase wisely.