The sculpture "Head with horns" that was considered the work of Gauguin, changed the attribution
ARTinvestment.RU   30 января 2020

Status of sculpture from the Getty Museum in December 2019 was changed to "the work of an unknown artist"

In a statement, the Museum, published ARTnews, said that the decision to change the attribution of the work "was based on scientific studies conducted in recent years by specialists from the Getty Museum and other experts". Separately in the statement noted that although the Museum "is no longer ascribes this work of art Paul Gauguin, it was clearly known to the artist from photographs and have played a role in his creative development." A comprehensive study of the sculptures are still ongoing.

none of Gauguin's "Head with horns" visited temporary exhibitions in major world museums including the Tate Modern in London and the Metropolitan-музей and the Museum of modern art in new-Йорке.

According to described in Le Figaro, the Museum acquired the sculpture in 2002 in the gallery of Wildenstein in new-Йорке, paying for it about $3-5 million In press-релизе, devoted to the purchase of this work, the Museum calls "Head with horns" is a rare, inspired by the art of Polynesia a self-portrait. Until 1997, when it appeared on the market, the "Head" was considered a lost work by Gauguin, is known only from two photographs in the artist's diary, which he kept during the first trip to Tahiti.

the Change of attribution proves once again that even the most attractive and detailed provenance can not guarantee the authenticity of a work of art: the last point can supply only specialists. More important for the market and anyone interested in the issues of determining the authenticity, the open position of the Museum regarding the incident. Full research results are expected in 2021 or 2022.

the Material was prepared by Maria Kuznetsova AI

Sources: lefigaro.fr, artnews.com, getty.edu