{"id":88,"date":"2025-04-28T12:04:32","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T19:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/?p=88"},"modified":"2025-05-05T07:23:24","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T14:23:24","slug":"a-lovers-ode-to-vincent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/2025\/04\/28\/a-lovers-ode-to-vincent\/","title":{"rendered":"A Lover’s Ode to Vincent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I am Valerie Venta, and this is my confession…<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Portrait of Vincent Van Gogh, Photograph, 1853, Vincent Van Gogh Museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dear reader, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’d like to introduce myself formally. I am Valerie Venta, and I created a fake painting attributed to Vincent Van Gogh. I don’t know if my story will be told, but when love and obsession overtake an artist, they must create and create. He was the whole reason I ever slipped my way into the art world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When love and art intersect <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I’m French and had always indulged in art, but I got more serious as I became older. When I first got out of university, I was creating works centered around impressionism but with a more abstract perspective. People had grown tired of it, and I rarely received recognition for my work. I became tired of painting and needed a change. That is when I moved to New York and got hired at the auction house in 1985. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Growing Obsession <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My move to New York created something in me I’d never known. I started researching and seeing everything and anything Vincent Van Gogh. I have always been intrigued by Vincent Van Gogh. His palette, brushstrokes, and emotions seem to lift off the canvas and flow into my veins. The first painting I saw was “Irises” while working at an auction house. I was shocked at the $53.9 M it was sold for, but my motive was never about money. I aimed to give light to Vincent Van Gogh’s work when he was staying at the Hague. During his time at the Hague he mainly focused on landscapes, but had a series of prints or working class people, as well as a couple still lifes and paintings. Prints aren’t as valued compared to Vincent’s paintings. So translating a print to a painting would shed light on Vincent’s less notable works and what is often overlooked by the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Steps to Authentication <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I needed to defend my painting, so I would try and go undetected. I had many factors ahead of my journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Vincent had created a series of prints of working-class people that were intended to be turned into a magazine. He never got the chance to fully complete the magazine, but his focus on the working class is prominent throughout his work. The Orphan Man print was created in 1882, and there are about 3 different editions of the print. I wanted to focus my portrait on this man and turn Van Gogh\u2019s print into a painting. Recreating an already known piece by Vincent can support my fake painting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating the false Provenance <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The Hague School<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Vincent started to get commissioned to create landscapes during the early years of his stay at the Hague. He greatly admired other artists at the Hague, like Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Millet. I wanted to draw more inspiration from the landscape that Vincent was surrounded by through the people he admired.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Millet, Oil on Canvas, 1851<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Millet, The Sower, 1851, <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Millet, Bust of Man with Beard, 1850<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

H.P. Bremmer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

H.P. Bremmer was the main collector of Van Gogh’s works, and his collection was then passed down to his descendant Floris Bremmer. Floris sold the collection to a German collector Georg Sch\u00e4fer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Germany<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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After the collection was passed on to Floris, some pieces were sold into private collections. One of the pieces that had fallen into the cracks was The Orphan Man. The painting wasn’t too appealing due to the muddy and dark tones. It wouldn’t be automatically identified with a Van Gogh unless you knew about his time at the Hague. As the painting wasn’t the most appealing one of the descendants from the private collection had given the painting as an anonymous donation to a local library<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The more time the painting is in the Library, the more time it will be building a new part of its provenance. Until one day, when someone recognizes it has similar subject matter to Vincent’s paintings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Print to Painting <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are also a multitude of techniques that experts are looking for when authenticating a Van Gogh. I have to incorporate roughness of technique, brush strokes, paint-edged lines, etc, into this creation. It is already well known that Van Gogh had a style in impasto, but adding his range of techniques will make it harder for the experts to determine that it is a fake. Using the print as the underdrawing in the painting will also pass tests, since I have the proper materials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Orphan Man, Standing, 1882, crayon lithograph scraping on tan wove paper, sheet: 54.1 x 38.2 cm, National Gallery of Art.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The subject matter, materials, techniques, and provenance will combine to make my plan successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Muddy Color Palette<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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During the 1880’s Vincent was staying at the Hague, and this is where he was learning to paint and to use oil as a medium. This gives me the perfect timeframe since he was learning to paint and was still developing his style. This gave me incentive since it would be seen as a rare painting in the art world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early Vincent Van Gogh Paintings <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I greatly admired the use of complementary colors that reinforce one another, creating a grey-brown tone. This was often associated with \u201cearthy tones\u201d and \u201cmud tones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bobbin Winder, 1885, oil on canvas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Still Life with Cabbage and Clogs, 1881, oil on canvas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Vincent Van Gogh, The Potato Eaters, 1885, oil on canvas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Translation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On August 5, 1882, Vincent had sent a letter to his brother Theo describing what colors he was using in his paintings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This furthers my knowledge of the paints he was using and the scientific investigations that include carbon dating. I found an auction house that was selling oil paints from the 1880s in the Netherlands, which ensures that whatever was being used in the Netherlands has the proper amount of carbon to pass testing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Van Gogh Letters 253<\/em>. 253 (254, 222): To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Saturday, 5 August 1882. – Vincent van Gogh Letters. (1990). https:\/\/vangoghletters.org\/vg\/letters\/let253\/letter.html<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orphan Man, 1882, Oil on Canvas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Using multiple techniques of impasto, careful consideration of mark making, and consciousness of color, I started creating little studies of various Van Gogh portraits to prepare myself for his notable distinctions when creating a Van Gogh portrait. My provenance was in place, and I was preparing to send the painting to the library in Germany. Everything was coming to life, and before my eyes, I had created a fake of a Van Gogh painting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Works Citied <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Anderson, Sonja. Someone Bought This Painting at a Garage Sale for $50. Experts Say It\u2019s a Lost Van Gogh Worth $15 Million | Smithsonian<\/em>, 20 Jan. 2025, <\/strong>www.smithsonianmag.com\/smart-news\/someone-bought-this-painting-at-a-garage-sale-for-50-experts-say-its-a-lost-van-gogh-worth-15-million-180985942\/<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brodskaia, N. V. (Natal\u2019ia V. (2018). Impressionism and post-impressionism<\/em> (1st ed.). Parkstone International. (pg.347-396). <\/strong>https:\/\/viewer-ebscohost-com.libproxy.nau.edu\/EbscoViewerService\/ebook\/<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

C. R. Johnson et al., “Image processing for artist identification,” in IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 37-48, July 2008, doi: 10.1109\/MSP.2008.923513.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Del Hoyo-Mel\u00e9ndez, Julio M., et al. \u201cAnalysis of materials and artistic techniques in Vincent van Gogh\u2019s country huts among trees.\u201d Journal of Cultural Heritage<\/em>, vol. 70, Nov. 2024, pp. 293\u2013301, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.culher.2024.10.002.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LMI Group International, Inc. \u201cElimar Report.\u201d Elimar Report: Data Science in Service of the Arts & Cultural Heritage<\/em>, 2025, www.lmigroupintl.com\/pdf\/elimar-report.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Millet, J. F. (n.d.). Bust of a man with a Beard<\/em>. The Art Institute of Chicago. https:\/\/www.artic.edu\/artworks\/113727\/bust-of-a-man-with-a-beard<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shapiro, B. A. (2013). The art forger: A novel<\/em>. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tromp, H. (2010). A real Van Gogh: how the art world struggles with truth<\/em> (1st ed.). Amsterdam University Press.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Gogh Letters 253<\/em><\/strong>. 253 (254, 222): To Theo van Gogh. The Hague, Saturday, 5 August 1882. – Vincent van Gogh Letters. (1990). https:\/\/vangoghletters.org\/vg\/letters\/let253\/letter.html<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Gogh Museum<\/em><\/strong>, www.vangoghmuseum.nl\/en\/search?q=orphan%2Bman. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vincent van Gogh | Orphan Man, Standing (1882) | Artsy<\/em><\/strong>, www.artsy.net\/artwork\/vincent-van-gogh-orphan-man-standing. Accessed 10 Mar.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890), The Hague, November-December 1881, oil on paper on panel,<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

34 cm x55 cm, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent Van Gogh Foundation)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Type of Paint Did Van Gogh Use? Van Gogh Museum. Accessed March 12, 2023. <\/strong>https:\/\/www.vangoghmuseum.nl\/en\/art-and-stories\/vincent-van-gogh-faq\/what-type-of-paint-did-van-gogh-use<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am Valerie Venta, and this is my confession…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"[]"},"categories":[5],"tags":[9],"class_list":["post-88","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forgery","tag-completed"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1531,"href":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions\/1531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}