Natalia Ignatova: Experts will be less likely to make mistakes when there is a large database of reference Museum items
ARTinvestment.RU   14 января 2020

AI interview with N. S. Ignatova, research officer GRC them. academician I. E. Grabar, a leading expert on Russian painting of the XIX century and the world's best expert on Aivazovsky, opens a series of interviews with leading experts of Russian art-рынка

Natalia Ignatova said ARTinvestment.RU how exactly is the expertise of Russian art, why do we need large-scale state program on study of the reference Museum of things and why in the early twentieth century there was a huge number of copies "of Boyaryshnya at the threshold of" Konstantin Makovsky.

ARTinvestment.RU: Art-рынок each time comes to excitement when the paintings change the attribution in one direction or another. Today — unknown artist, tomorrow — "Savior of the world", Leonardo, and Vice versa. Expertise is such a precarious thing?

Natalia Ignatova: When not confirmed what-то Museum piece, this is normal. First work accepted at the Museum with the authorship, which it claims to be, and the next generation of employees may have doubts. For a Museum collection, if the provenance of the picture is uninformative or absent, a valid situation, when during what-то time work is considered a work of what-либо outstanding master — such as Rembrandt, then the next generation of professionals begins to lean to the idea that this is the school of Rembrandt, and later, discovering what-то new information, return to the idea that it's all-таки Rembrandt.

But that examination was the most accurate to draw conclusions about the authenticity of things, need a large database of carefully researched reference works of the artist. Only by studying the standard can understand the pattern of work of a particular author, and his logic. The creation of such a broad base will lead to a qualitative leap: errors in the examination will be much less. But this requires a special state program, which will include all funds of Russian museums, as reference works mostly are exactly there.

Incidentally, the examination division of the all-Russian art scientific-реставрационного center. academician I. E. Grabar appeared in 1965 in connection with the purchases things from private collections, to protect museums from the income of fakes. Our Department was headed by the restorers, and they set up a challenge to the traditional iconographic and stylistic analysis add in-depth tof Agnico-технологические study painting. Things studied through the microscope using x-rays, UV and IR-диапазоне radiation, analyzed the texture of the paint layer and its chemical composition is necessarily carried out art research (stylistic analysis of the work, the biography of the artist, finding information about him and his works in the old literature). Thus was gathered a large data set for each individual product.

Today, a huge base that continues to grow. But these days, unfortunately, to get the thing from the Museum to our center to study virtually impossible, very expensive. Therefore, without a conscious state policy in this area can not do.

AI: And which Russian artists have such a base?

N. I. In the Center Grabar, where I work almost half a century, there is a lovely base for Russian artists of the XVIII century, Tropinin, Aivazovsky, Perov, Polenov, Shishkin, Savrasovu, family, Makovsky, Korovin, Kustodiev and others.

Soviet times, our employees participated in the treatment of some of the exhibitions in the Tretyakov gallery, the Museum explored the things that were going across the country. At first I studied the flawless things, analyzed the features and patterns of painting techniques, and then, based on these data, watched the rest of the work. And what-то things were rejected. It is a model of how to build a base and what is now, unfortunately, do not. I remember the Director of a small Museum offended when authorship Perov in their picture has not been confirmed, and said that for them it will still be pervym. In this Museum there was only one painting, and they still tours led.

AI: You are the best expert on Aivazovsky, saw many of his works. Always do research goes into quiet mode, or there are unexpected turns?

N. I.: I Recently brought for examination two small processing Aivazovsky, only 10 × 26 see, I didn't expect to find that-то amazing. On the back of one was the inscription: "I. K. Aivazovsky / the First arrival of A. A. Badurova in 1882 on the ship "Elbrus", whodaman unto the South Bay". Aleksei Alekseyevich Peshchurov — a well-known person, a Russian naval commander, Vice-адмирал, commander of the black sea fleet from 1882 to 1890. After examination, I ascertained that it Aivazovsky.

unexpectedly, at the end of the examination, revealed the publication of these small paintings — and restored the history of their creation and refined Dating. In the magazine "world illustration" in 1891 in the album of F. I. Bulgakov, "a New picture of Professor I. K. Aivazovsky" was found painting "the Fleet in sight of Sevastopol", placed in a unique frame, made most likely special order. It have built six of the medallions with sea views — and among them was those pictures that gave me for examination.

large-Scale painting "the Fleet in sight of Sevastopol" was commissioned from the artist for Bashurova. Then I was able to find: it is located in the Tyumen Museum. Naturally, I sent them all the information.

Little of the work was sold at Sotheby's auction. Employees of the auction house said I know where there are two similar things, but never showed.

AI: In the mass consciousness Aivazovsky, along with Shishkin, — is one of the most counterfeited Russian artists. It's true?

N. I.: I can't say I've met a lot of his false works, but copies — Yes, a lot. The fact that the Russian Academy of arts training were based on the students copying the paintings of famous masters — so was the way of the program. Aivazovsky in Feodosia was school, where he also had students from copying your stuff. I've got several groups of copies — the same story in three-четырех options. When on the market there are such works, as a rule, it is not a conscious forgery or crime, but simply incorrect attribution. In addition, Aivazovsky always enjoyed great success during his lifetime, and after death, was more popular Kuindzhi.

Aivazovsky's Paintings hung in all the homes of the wealthy, where they, too, could replicate the artists. But to understand where Aivazovsky,and the copies need to conduct complex research. The artist is a kind of preparatory drawing, a set of techniques, a kind of x-ray image of the paint layer. He did not tell the disciples that the rock should write a stiff brush. When comparing doubles these differences are clearly visible in the movements of the brush, and in temperament, it's all individual and can not be faked. Perfect copy I've ever seen, and it is hoped that I will not meet.

Have stories and artists particularly popular with copyists. The fact that in the late nineteenth century, the magazine "Niva", began to publish color oleography works of famous authors and, of course, was done an infinite number of copies. These "Albums "Fields"" the color was reproduced paintings by Aivazovsky, Clover, Bogolyubov, Beggrow, Konstantin Makovsky, Repin.

Thus, "a moonlit night in the Caucasus" by Aivazovsky and "Boyaryshnya at the threshold of" Konstantin Makovsky come across very often, but I have these "Maidens" about five was definitely in one of the "Lunar nights in the Caucasus" has been added to the quotation from the paintings of L. Lagorio and has been signed "Lagorio". With Shishkin same as with Aivazovsky: it is necessary to do an x-ray, remove the invoice, to conduct complex research. Shishkin's your very expressive handwriting, and if there is a base, it can be easily distinguished. Every artist has its own personality, it just need to know.

AI: have you Changed in the twenty-first century, the Russian art market?

N. I.: Significant things — with large, known, published in old periodicals, with known provenance — is almost there. Flow has decreased, the quality of things has changed.

But sometimes there are interesting trends. For example, apparently in connection with large-scale solo exhibition in the Tretyakov gallery, I began to actively bring to the examination pattern with the assumption of authorship Vasily Polenov. The famous artist also had many pupils who copied it sometimes comes confusion, but you can understand. Polenov attentive to techniques of painting and consciously chose the materials, it is possible to trace, in what period of canvases on what worked, on what grounds, what the preparatory phase.

AI: Masterpieces in the market over time no longer becomes, therefore, of particular importance today is restoration, which can increase the price and depreciate it. What are the problems in this area you see?

N. I. In Russia, there is still quite a dark sphere — private restoration. I like-то brought Aivazovsky, seventy percent washed away and rewritten. And of course, no restoration of the passport. It was very hard to understand if it's a real job. It should not be, is necessary to resolve what-то way. When I had questions for the painting brought at auction Sotheby's, I wrote them — and I immediately sent a restoration of the passport, which was a detailed description of what the restorer got the thing made, what materials were used.

In Russia a strong restorative school, but we have these things all-таки to do officially and in the process of restoration of restoration be sure to keep the passport.

AI: is it possible to bribe the examiner to give a false conclusion?

N. I. Can only answer for myself: it's not taken. Another thing is thatexperts are sometimes wrong.

Incidentally, the view that, in 1990,-х the market was flooded with fakes, is not quite true. Judging by the number of paintings is given for examination, forgeries were a small number.

the Questions asked Maria Ghanians, especially for AI