Reviewed as of 28 September 2026.
Authenticity, attribution and provenance are not synonyms. A piece may have well-documented provenance and a disputed attribution; it may also appear materially consistent and lack sufficient history.
Vocabulary
- by: direct attribution to the artist;
- attributed to: authorship proposed with uncertainty;
- workshop of: produced within the master's working environment;
- circle of: related to close followers;
- school of: broader geographical or stylistic affinity;
- after: derived from an earlier composition.
Auction houses, catalogues and specialists may use slightly different meanings. Read their definitions.
Signature
A signature may be original, added later, copied, or authentic without the whole work being so. It should be studied together with the materials, documentation and style.
Certificate
Ask who issued it, on what authority, which work was examined, which archives were consulted and whether the issuer takes on any obligation. A certificate is only as sound as its issuer and method.
Catalogue raisonné and committees
Inclusion can carry a lot of weight, but catalogues have a scope, a date and criteria. Absence may be due to an incomplete edition or missing information. Do not turn inclusion or exclusion into a universal rule.
Technical examination
Pigments, support, X-rays, reflectography, dendrochronology and other tests can rule out inconsistencies or reveal how a work was made. They rarely identify a particular hand on their own. Science answers material questions; attribution brings together history, documentation and expert judgement.
Conflicting opinions
Record who gave an opinion, when, with what access and for what reasons. A negative opinion is not automatically a court finding of forgery, nor does it prove fraud by the seller.
Before you buy
Make sure the attribution in the contract matches the catalogue. Keep documentation, images and warranties. If authorship is essential, agree what happens if a named authority rejects it.
Doubts after the purchase
Do not alter the work. Keep the evidence, ask for an independent review, notify the seller in writing and check the contractual deadlines. Avoid public accusations until you have sufficient grounds.
On the open conversation
Attribution requires expertise specific to the artist, period and technique. No checklist replaces an examination of the piece and its file.
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