Could this be real? Could it be stolen? Where would I even start? Monet

Okay so I was contacted about this painting. I don't know why I was contacted but I find it interesting enough to find out more about it. It isn't the first time a person has contacted me with an item of considerable worth the others were completely legit but I passed on them because I didn't think we could find buyers. For some reason a small group of people seem to have gotten the impression that Kasper's is in someway related to Heritage. Of course we are not and when asked I have stated that we are in no way related and we are completely independent. I don't know how that rumor got started but hey I am not complaining. LOL.

The owner says it has been in their family for generations and they are interested in selling it now. They do not know if it is real. It has never been authenticated. It has no paperwork or documents that they know of. Now without some serious authentication I wouldn't touch it with a 10ft pole and even if it is the real deal I am sure there are going to be some questions like where did it come from?

I am not saying that it is stolen but I would sure want to make sure it wasn't before I said sure bring it on over. LOL. I really wouldn't even know where to start with this item. I would guess I need to find an art expert of some sort. If it is indeed legit then I would also probably need to hire an army of 24 hour armed security to protect it. I am highly suspicious of it but as I said I am interested enough to try and find out more. Here are the pictures. What do you guys think? I am no art expert. Is there a scam here somewhere? I am not naive enough to fall for just anything so I am being very cautious here. Also if it does seem intriguing enough to move to the next step how would I go about having an expert authenticate it or is that even possible? I do not have this item in my possession and honestly I am not sure I would want it in my possession all of these pictures were taken by the current owner.

 

WOWZER.
Well, my 2 cents... make that 1...
The signature looks a little off from most examples... the Cl, the t...
Plus, okay.. it's weaves crashing around/through an arch? Not a really Monet-ish thing...
But dang. It's old, it's very pretty.
WOWZER.
Call in the experts!

EDIT
I did find some Monet 'rocks' and 'waves', though.

 

I'll give you $100.00 for it, and let me worry about it

 

Gila,

The T looks good to me (as well as the D)

https://www.artsignaturedictionary.com/artist/claude.monet

 

Waves at the Manneporte

 

And I did find some waves/rocks (see EDIT above)...

OOOOOH, Mr. Fun! What do you think?

 

Gila, Check out the image called "Waves at the Manneporte"

He did a few paintings while there according to this site.

http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/438823

 

the bigger the artist the better the fakes......

The owner has had it in the family for generations....& never been authenticated...

Red flags......run the other way.

 

And would he have done the same one twice ????

 

EEEEEK!

 

No idea but I did find this.

"Monet visited several times between 1883 and 1886, most productively in the fall and winter of 1885-86, when he managed to produce some 75 paintings. This show has four, three of them of The Manneporte. In his paintings the limestone is not white, but comprised of heavy dots of orange, yellow, blue, gray and peach. Some artists in this show paint The Manneporte from a distance, or use it as a backdrop for objects or people on a foreground beach. Not Monet; he got up close and personal, hiking right up to the bottom of the arch through a cliff tunnel at low tide with a gaggle of local kids in tow lugging his half-dozen unfinished canvasses. Maupassant wrote this description of Monet’s process: all the canvasses showed “the same subject at different times of the day and with different effects. He picked them up and put them aside by turns according to changes in the sky and shadows.” He then would finish the paintings in his studio, where his imagination could take over, producing the colorful, brilliant paintings we see in this show."

http://www.newmainetimes.org/articles/2012/07/11/dilettante-normandy-coast-portland-museum-art/

 

My question is ... why in the world would they not contact Sothebys or the like if its legitimate ? Check the stolen art registry , it may be a ww2 " souvenier " ! To my untrained eye , the colors look wrong . But wouldn't it be wonderful if it is real and a lost masterpiece ?

 

Actually, if you had bother to read the info on the link I provided....

Monet spent most of February 1883 at Étretat, a fishing village and resort on the Normandy coast. He painted twenty views of the beach and the three extraordinary rock formations in the area: the Porte d'Aval, the Porte d'Amont, and the Manneporte. The sunlight that strikes the Manneporte has a dematerializing effect that permitted the artist to interpret the cliff almost exclusively in terms of color and luminosity. Most nineteenth century visitors were attracted to the rock as a natural wonder. Monet instead concentrated on his own changing perception of it at different times of day.

There are also other examples in other museums.

Do I think this is real? No freakin clue. I just did some google searching and came up with this info.

 

I doubt it's Monet. It seems to me nowhere near good enough.

Here's a real Monet of the Manneport:
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/438823

If they want to try to get it authenticated, it will be a long, expensive, and uphill battle... and they will probably have to deal with the Wildensteins, who published the Monet catalogue raisonne and who seem demonstrably loath to amend it.

 

MOS

There is at least 6 examples according to this link

http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437119

 

I already posted that one..........

 

Hmmmm? This all truly makes it even more interesting. I don't know why they didn't contact Sotherby's or Christie's but I know that Heritage has surpassed them both in the last few years and if this person like the other thinks we are part of Heritage then that may very well explain why they contacted me. I had a lady a couple of weeks ago that was as legit as they get and she still wants me to consign her 60K Hermes purse. I can't shake her no matter what I tell her. Why does she not call Sotherby's? Who knows? People are crazy. LOL!

 

You are flyin' in some rarified air, Robin. DANG!

EDIT
I made a pun... robin... flyin'... air!

 

(everything's bigger in Texas)

 

LOL! Well I am glad I could start an exciting debate here tonight. You guys are all great!