Fake or Fortune? – Series 10
Cases include a Ben Nicholson mural painted directly onto a house wall, a Modigliani drawing, a disputed Sisley and a Flemish religious painting. Conservation and the physical relationship between an artwork and its setting become unusually important.
Episodes
Ben Nicholson
Fiona and Philip investigate an abstract mural painted directly onto a bedroom wall in a former home of sculptor Fred Murray. A neighbour claimed that Ben Nicholson created it, but unusual stylistic features raise the possibility that Murray also contributed. The owners must decide whether to risk removing the fragile work before extending their house.
Modigliani
A delicate drawing of a mother and child, inherited through the Sitwell family, is examined as a possible work by Amedeo Modigliani. The paper, perforations, handwriting and dedication all appear consistent with the artist, while research links the sketch to a 1919 London exhibition organized with Modigliani’s dealer Léopold Zborowski.
Sisley
An American couple asks the team to investigate a river landscape believed to depict Moret-sur-Loing by Alfred Sisley. Its technique impresses specialists and appears closely related to accepted works, but the official Sisley committee remains unconvinced, leaving an enormous difference between its potential value and its worth as merely “in the style of” the artist.
Flemish Old Master
A large depiction of the Lamentation of Christ hanging in a Catholic church in Port Glasgow may be the work of a Northern Renaissance master. Technical analysis and research narrow the possibilities to artists associated with Michiel Coxie, before expert examination points toward a member of Coxie’s own family and workshop.