Detecting Forgery of an Oil Painting by Ivan Aivazovsky

Historical and antique oil paintings have been plagued with the threat of forgeries for a long time. The nature of art lends itself to forgery because a skilled and determined forger can mimic the techniques and styles of an artist to a level where even an expert can be duped. This research includes an examination and analysis of an oil painting signed with the name of the Russian painter, Ivan Aivazovsky, to detect if it is an original or just a professionally forged replica of the painting. The researcher used the following techniques: visual inspection by comparing the painting style and brush strokes of the painting to other paintings created by the same painter, and by studying the signature on this painting compared to the ones on other paintings for Ivan Aivazovsky. An anachronistic technique was also used to detect forgery of the painting, and this technique involved employing both XRD and EDAX. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) was used to identify the binder of the ground layer and the varnish layer. The paint layer was examined using a microscope and the images were recorded on both black-and-white and color films. Microscopic examination was used in studying the different forms of decay found on the painting to detect if they were deliberately made for forgery purposes. The cohesion of the paint layers and the impact of ethyl alcohol on it, were also studied. The results of the study proved that the painting was not painted by the famous Russian painter Ivan Aivazovsky and that the signature is forged by a professional, skillful forger. The forger's attempt to give the painting an antique look was extreme and illogical; this was the first indication that the painting is forged. The forger also made the mistake of using pigments which were manufactured and used more than 30 years after the death of the Russian painter. The date of the painting under study is from 1950 to 1960, which is more than 50 years after the original painter's death.