Maison De Wailly, 57 rue La Boétie, Paris 8e

The Wildenstein Institute was a French art institute that published ''

catalogues raisonnés Catalog or catalogue may refer to: *Cataloging **'emmy on the 'og **in science and technology ***Library catalog, a catalog of books and other media ****Union catalog, a combined library catalog describing the collections of a number of libraries ...

'' and scholarly inventories.

History

The Institute was founded in 1970 by

Daniel Wildenstein Daniel Leopold Wildenstein (11 September 1917 – 23 October 2001) was a French art dealer, historian and owner-breeder of thoroughbred race horses. He was the third member of the family to preside over Wildenstein & Co., one of the most succes ...

as the ''Fondation Wildenstein'', and it was renamed the Wildenstein Institute in 1990. It was an offshoot of the art dealing company ( Wildenstein & Co.) owned by the Wildenstein family for five generations. Until 2017, it housed the historic documents and photographic archives assembled by Nathan Wildenstein (the company founder) and his son Georges, which have been added to by subsequent generations. Daniel Wildenstein established the

Wildenstein Index Number A Wildenstein Index Number refers to an item in a numerical system published in catalogues by Daniel Wildenstein, a scholar of Impressionism, who published catalogues raisonnés of artists such as Claude Monet, Édouard Manet and Paul Gauguin thro ...

used by the Institute to identify paintings. It published catalogues raisonnés and scholarly inventories of impressionists such as Monet, and other modern artists such as Gauguin. It described itself as a center for research in art history. It was headed by Guy Wildenstein. In 2017, the Wildenstein Institute gifted its entire archive and the rights to all of its publications to the Wildenstein Plattner Institute, Inc., a non-profit art research foundation based in the U.S. and founded by Guy Wildenstein and the Hasso Plattner Foundation.

Controversy

In 2011, a police raid discovered and seized 30 paintings valued at tens of millions of pounds from the Institute's Paris headquarters (see: Guy Wildenstein#Criticism). The Institute published a

Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...

''catalogue raisonné,'' which is regarded as the definitive, scholarly compendium of Monet paintings. Acceptance of a Monet by the Institute significantly increased the commercial value of a painting. The Institute controversially refused to authenticate '' Bords de la Seine à Argenteuil'' after an investigation by

Fiona Bruce Fiona Elizabeth Bruce (born 25 April 1964) is a British journalist, newsreader, and television presenter. She joined the BBC as a researcher for '' Panorama'' in 1989, and has since become the first female newsreader on the ''BBC News at Ten' ...

(a journalist) and

Philip Mould Philip Jonathan Clifford Mould (born March 1960) is an English art dealer, London gallery owner, art historian, writer and broadcaster. He has made a number of major art discoveries, including works of Thomas Gainsborough, Anthony Van Dyck and ...

(an art dealer and historian) in the BBC television programme ''

Fake or Fortune? ''Fake or Fortune?'' is a BBC One documentary television series which examines the provenance and attribution of notable artworks. Since the first series aired in 2011, ''Fake or Fortune?'' has drawn audiences of up to 5 million viewers in t ...

'', which first aired on 19 June 2011. The Institute has since been featured again on the programme, variously accepting and rejecting the team's efforts. Another controversial finding featured on ''Fake or Fortune?,'' first aired July 2015, involved a painting purported to be by

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "R ...

held at

Picton Castle Picton Castle ( cy, Castell Pictwn) is a medieval castle near Haverfordwest in the community of Uzmaston, Boulston and Slebech, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Originally built at the end of the 13th century by a Flemish knight, it later came into the ha ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The

Bernheim-Jeune Bernheim-Jeune gallery is one of the oldest art galleries in Paris. Opened on Rue Laffitte in 1863 by Alexandre Bernheim (1839-1915), friend of Delacroix, Corot and Courbet, it changed location a few times before settling on Avenue Matignon. Th ...

is one of several sources that established provenance for the "Picton Renoir." The BBC investigators unearthed several lines of authenticity, including additional levels of provenance with photographic records of sale and forensically matching pigments and canvas to Renoir. The Bernheim-Jeune geune Gallery had approved the painting as genuine and have included it in Renoir's ''

catalogue raisonné A ''catalogue raisonné'' (or critical catalogue) is a comprehensive, annotated listing of all the known artworks by an artist either in a particular medium or all media. The works are described in such a way that they may be reliably identified ...

''. The Wildenstein Institute declined to accept the painting citing insufficient evidence. After meeting ''in camera'' with Guy-Patrice Dauberville of Bernheim-Jeune, host

quoted Dauberville as saying, " he Wildenstein institutewould be thrilled to turn it down." She said the rivalry between the Wildenstein Institute and Bernheim-Jeune was "now out in the open" and she described it as "ugly".

Notes

External links

Wildenstein Plattner Institute websiteWildenstein & Co. website
{{Coord, 48.8731, 2.3127, display=title Art history Photo archives in France 1970 establishments in France