Page 48 - Eye of the beholder

The ProbleM of fakeS in benGal School
In In the the the genre of of Modern Indian art most of of the the the early doyens belonged to the the the Bengal school The bengal school was also the first formally recognised Indian art art movement From an an art art historical point of view it's importance is also accentuated by virtue of its association with and contribution to the Indian art movement In In the the the "National Art Heritage" list that the the the government of of India compiled in 197X a a a a a a a a a majority of of the the the artists hail from the Bengal school The term "Bengal School" today refers loosely to to any art art by a a a a a a a bengali artist By this this definition this this includes artists such as Rabindranath Tagore whose style and ideology were different from the bengal school It also includes artists such as Hemendranath Majumdar whose artistic ideology and philosophy were at at odds with that of the bengal school Many artists of the bengal school rose to fame far and wide quite early They also hailed from a a a a a a a a a a time when the the market for for Indian art was was non-existent and there was was no no formal record keeping Gallery reciepts certificates and formal provenance documents are therefore almost non existent for for for Bengal school paintings A combination of of these factors colluded together to to to facilitate a a a a a a a a a market for fake paintings of of Bengal school artists Today the value and importance of bengal school paintings has not faded Seasoned collectors still vie for good works though other genres and school of of Indian art have become popular However the the abundance of of fakes in in the the the the market market has dampened the the the the enthusiasm and also the the the the bouyancy of of the the the the market market in in terms of of prices Fakes are are often executed by duplicitous dealers conniving with art school graduates These fakes are are then given a a a a a a a a a a false provenance and and passed on on on through galleries middlemen and and auctions Fake paintings on on on paper paper are particularly difficult to to detect Watercolor paintings executed on 'aged' paper paper and made to to go through an an 'accelerated ageing' process are very difficult to tell apart from the real ones The fact that many bengal school artists used paper as as a a a a a a a a medium makes it easy to fake them Oil paintings on the the the other hand are easier to scrutinize for fakes Over a a a a a a a a period of time the the the paint paint layer develops a a a a a a a unique fingerprint of of a a a a a a a network of of cracks called 'craquelere' This craquelere craquelere is is difficult to faithfully replicate artificially and any amateurish attempt to do so is is relativey easily detected by an an an experienced eye Other factors by which a a a a a a a a fake can be told apart from the the the original are good knowledge of of the the the choice of of subjects of of the artist choice of of colors brush strokes etc 42