Digging Deeply

What an interesting and popular series Fake or Fortune has turned out to be. The BBC show (BBC1, Sunday evenings, 7pm) has told some fascinating stories about the art world. We have learned a lot about how the art world works and have been entertained at the same time.

The first programme informed us about research into a painting that was claimed to be by Monet. Presenter Fiona Bruce and art expert Philip Mould visited Paris to investigate the picture's history. The found what seemed to be conclusive evidence that the picture was genuine, linking its previous owner with a dealer's label on the back of the picture. However, the people responsible for authenticating genuine Monets flatly refused to accept the evidence. The picture's owner and the presenters were all hugely disappointed at the news.

In the second programme, a painting by American artist, Winslow Homer, found near a tip in Ireland was due to be auctioned in New York. The investigators established the history of the painting but shortly before the auction the original owners got in touch to claim it back. The painting was withdrawn from the sale and a long-running legal battle continues to decide who really owns the picture and what is to be done with it.

Last Sunday, the investigation set out to find whether a picture thought to be by Van Baburen, a pupil of Jan Vermeer, was genuine or a forgery. The picture had been donated to the Courtauld Institute in the 1960s and their team had mixed views as to the artist. Some experts were pretty sure that it had been painted by Van Meegeren, a prolific forger during the first half of the 20th Century. After much to-ing and fro-ing between London and Amsterdam, the scientific evidence proved that it was a forgery. However, this may have increased its value as there are many keen collectors of Van Meegeren's work, despite its dubious status.

If we were to make one criticism it would be that the programmes are filled out a bit to fit the one hour slot. This is not uncommon with documentaries these days as producers seem to want to fill their allocated broadcast times with only as much as they can get away with. Vince fondly remembers the early Horizon programmes that were packed with facts and information, an entirely different style to today's stretched out documentaries.

The final program in the series is next Sunday but you may be able to catch up on earlier episodes on the BBC iPlayer.

Vicky And Vince,

Love Your Art.