Is this a real antique painting on board or some kind of really good fake?

I think it's quite lovely, unusual with the "outline" of the lace(?) around her head. Very pretty indeed. I'd probably not take the frame off either, I didn't think about what if it were glued to a newer backing board? You found a good one!

 

An interesting thrift shop find.

Debora

 

In the first photo, (the full front view), it looks like there is a slight wrinkle in the top left corner. If so, it would suggest it is a painting on canvas, not on the board. In a brief search of his works, I have not found examples of him painting on board.

This Gorbitz painting has a similar frame:


https://www.invaluable.com/auction-...53-portrait-du-roi-charles-x-168-c-54a0d33919

 

I give up.

 

Only my opinion but I would remove nails and gently see if backing board will come away easily.Its seems a very amateurish job on the back as I think I see a match stick inserted between frame and backing board.But be very gentle and remove match stick first and see if there's any movement of board.Agree with 2ManyBooks it appears to be a canvas painting.

 

Yeah I will do that and report. I saw the match stick too. Nice touch I thought lol

 

I have no explanation for this, nor for the light wrinkle in the canvas of the OP's painting, other than to think these could be new factory portrait paintings. Yes, now that ai see the wrinkle, it's not glued down and I would open it up.

 

Yeah same thinking I had. Nowadays there is tech to fake this. But it was cover heavy in dust and old wood frame and why would anyone spent that much money to fake an obscure unknown painting ‍♂️. So I bought it first thinking if this was a fake it’s good enough fake to buy it lol

 

Note that the one with the same frame (that I linked to) was passed at auction.

And check this out:

https://www.niceartgallery.com/Johan-Gorbitz/Womans-Portrait-oil-painting.html

 

It’s amazing people today can paint something like this for only 200$ and remain unnamed artist. Meanwhile minimum wage is 15-22$ an hour in ny. ‍♂️

 

Fascinating.

Debora

 

It's not difficult to cover a painting in dust, and I just don't think those frames are old. I know it seems "bizarre" that a copy would be made of a somewhat obscure artist's work, but I think that's what these could be. Buyers don't suspect that a "less than famous" artist's work could be a copy.

 

But is the niceart picture a repro? Or is it an image of an original picture they could copy if someone wanted them to?

Compare, randomly
https://www.niceartgallery.com/Mihaly-Munkacsy/Park-in-Colpach-1886.html
and
https://www.wikiart.org/en/mihaly-munkacsy/park-in-colpach-1886

 

.
edited to respond below...

Not sure what you want me to compare here, they are the exact same original photo of exact same painting. It is the painting that can be copied for you, reproduced for your living room wall!

 

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-...53-portrait-du-roi-charles-x-168-c-54a0d33919
The frame on this and the angle / position of the figure makes it suspect for me.

 

Mihaly Munkacsy Paintings
(1844-1900)

 

I have no reason to think that these Munkacsy paintings are anything but reproductions sold through niceartgallery dot com and possibly other galleries, because the paintings being produced are 1800s and long out of copyright, in the same manner that a patent or a song goes for many decades being in copyright and then at some point is released to the general public to use and reproduce without the need to pay royalties to the original artist. Pretty sure that's how it is still done in the United States.

 

niceartgallery. Might be a scam. The sample original and their made painting picture are identical same image. They are not even using actual copy painting in their product advertising. I am sure if you actually order from them the end product is kinda crappy. Legal filed patent is 20yr. Art and song copy rights is 100yr. You don’t need the rights to make a reproduction copy painting.

 

The niceartgallery's "Showcase" shows side by side comparisons of the originals and examples of their work (if, in this age of deception, you believe what they say):
https://www.niceartgallery.com/showcase.html

They are not the only company offering hand painted copies. We have encountered other examples that appear to be supplied from Chinese sources.

If @Kaiserpoo's painting is a copy/reproduction, there should be an original somewhere. I have not been able to find it through google and bing image searches. It may not have made it into a museum collection, and so may be more difficult to locate.

I have found several other paintings with similar (though not identical) frames, identified as from the 1840s. (But then, frames can be reproduced, too)

https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/-Ritratto-del-Marchese-Augusto-de-Galles/90E0D4C77CACCB2B (also attributed to Gorbitz) This, presumably the original, is described as a pastel on paper. But niceartgallery has it available as an oil painting.

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/attributed-to-james-reid-lambdin-portrait-103-c-20a40c787b

https://www.proantic.com/en/1119598-portrait-de-femme-noble-xixe-siecle.html

The question of whether it is a recent copy or an 1840s painting may be answered by opening it up and looking at the condition of the back of the canvas. There may even be helpful notations on the back. (Just speculating - one reason for using a solid backing board would be to hide such evidence on the back of a painting.)