Need Some Advice...

Just got this painting last March 2017. Currently we are still on authentication process with the VGM. Any advise if I need to get second opinion or just waiting for VGM to come back with the result. Before that, could anyone give some opinion about the painting ?






Thank you.

 

The pictures of the painting didn't show. Here is how to post them:
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/posting-a-thread-and-uploading-pictures.15990/#post-222168
The experts of the van Gogh Museum are very knowledgeable, I don't know if we could add something to their opinion. But pictures are always welcome, and who knows.

 

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Done. Thank you.

 

Have you contacted Christie's? They'll have a record. Show them the label. It might help to narrow the search.

 

you should read this........

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-dutch-vangogh-idUSTRE61N48120100224

 

oooooopsy...

 

Hello Komokwa,

Thanks for the info and I got this one as well :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Moulin_de_la_Galette_(Van_Gogh_series)



And in different angle and 3 different time as well :

 

Hello Moreotherstuff,

Thanks for your advice, I have asked christie's since last month, but haven't come back with result yet.

 

All three windmills were in Montmartre, Paris.
I don't know if your painting is real, but I do know van Gogh, like many artists, put the same figures in different paintings. The current popularity of his paintings also makes van Gogh a perfect subject for fakers.

The first label is of course Christie's.

The second label is from the Koninklijke Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten (Royal Academy of Fine Arts) in Antwerp, of an exhibition in the winter of 1885-86.

The last label is from Frans Buffa, one of the most famous art dealers in The Netherlands, from 1790-1951.
I found some information on Frans Buffa in Dutch on this site, the museum had an exhibition dedicated to Frans Buffa:
http://www.singerlaren.nl/kunsthandel-buffa-schoonheid-te-koop

Rough translation of the most relevant part:
The Italian print dealer Francesco Buffa settled in Amsterdam in 1790 and laid the foundation for a gallery that put its mark on the taste of the Dutch public for more than 150 years. It was here that collectors from The Netherlands and abroad put their collections together.

The Antwerp exhibition could be very interesting. Van Gogh studied at this Academy, if I remember correctly he was kicked out. It is now called Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten
Vincent's brother Theo was an art dealer. He took care of Vincent for most of his life and sold the one painting that was ever sold during his lifetime.
If this picture is the real deal, there should be a mention of it in a list of the Antwerp exhibition and possibly in the extensive correspondence between Vincent and Theo.

 

Did some more reading on the Antwerp connection:
Van Gogh did a course in sketching in Antwerp in 1886. He applied for the oil painting course, but after a 2 week trial period he was told to practice more sketching before applying for a painting course again. After a total of three weeks at the academy, van Gogh decided these people were too arrogant for his liking, and he left.
It is therefore unlikely that a painting by him would have been selected for an exhibition at this prestigious academy. Besides, the exhibition on the label was opened in 1885.

Here is some info, there are english language options:
http://www.vangoghsatelierpraktijk.nl/2011/04/van-gogh-op-les/
http://www.vangoghroute.nl/belgie/antwerpen/kunstacademie/

 

If a fake, a very convincing one. Seems to hit several points for authenticity ...... perhaps too many. As Any Jewelry noted above, there should be a record of this painting if authentic.

 

Andri has already contacted the van Gogh Museum. I think that is the best place, they are the experts and have the most information. They also have the correspondence between Vincent and Theo.

But just one thing, which others may have noticed too:
What bothered me from the start was the prominent position of the signature. I have never seen that on a van Gogh painting. Van Gogh did such a good job of signing in an unobtrusive way, that if you google van Gogh paintings, you usually can't even find the signature. It is as if someone is trying too hard to convince us.
The signatures on van Gogh's Paris paintings were mostly (maybe all?) done in reddish brown, a colour he also signed a lot of his Arles paintings with. That reddish brown colour is used in the painting, for instance on two figures near the top of the stairs, so why use black for the signature?

 

why do 2 of the labels look to be in good shape....except for the corners.....?

 

In this letter to Theo, Vincent mentions Francois Buffa publishers, but in connection with a print:
http://vangoghletters.org/vg/letters/let732/letter.html

The letter was written during his later period and he refers to the publisher as Francois, not Frans (as I would expect had he known the firm in Amsterdam).

Still, there was a connection, however tenuous, between the Van Goghs and Buffa.

Also, as an art dealership Buffa continued until 1951, so who knows what paintings passed through that firm's hands even decades after Vincent's death.

This article states that at least one Van Gogh passed through:
http://www.iconclass.nl/rkdenglish/...on-the-international-and-national-art-markets

 

and that should be that.....no ?

 

Where did you acquire this painting? And did the person selling it to you sell it as a Van Gogh?

 

and how is he doing about this now ??

 

@Rainzone , Andri hasn't posted anything since 2017, so we have no idea.

 

The Christie's label is obviously to me a fake. The way it's dented, shows that someone went around it and "aged" it, ripping off bits, with probably the thumb nail. I used to age maps and clues for my kids treasure hunts, and if I was in a bit of a hurry, and didn't "age" then right, that's what they turned out to look like. LOL!
And I agree with AJ. This signature looks like someone overdid it in an effort to make it obvious that this is a "Vincent" shouting at you.
But who knows.

 

And then there is the Antwerp 'connection' which never happened in that way. That means the Antwerp label can't be right either.