' (''Banks of the Seine at Argenteuil'') is an oil painting by an unknown artist. The painting is a landscape depicting the

River Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributari ...

Argenteuil Argenteuil () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Argenteuil is a sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise department, the seat of the arrondissement of Argenteuil. Argenteuil is the sec ...

in France. It is owned by Englishman David Joel. In 2011 ''Bords de la Seine à Argenteuil'' was featured on the British TV 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 ...

'', in an attempt to establish it as an authentic painting by

Claude 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 ...

. After thorough research into the provenance of the painting, as well as forensic evidence and the opinions of many experts in the field, the painting was deemed to be almost certainly authentic. However, the painting has been rejected from inclusion in the catalogue raisonné by the Wildenstein Institute due to the opinion of

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 succ ...

, who examined the work only once before his death.

''Fake or Fortune?'' investigation

History

The title ' along with the date, 1875, appears on the frame, and there is a painted signature purportedly of Claude Monet. The painting was sold by

Georges Petit Georges Petit (11 March 1856 – 12 May 1920) was a French art dealer, a key figure in the Paris art world and an important promoter and cultivator of Impressionist artists. Early career Petit was the son of François Petit, who founded the f ...

in 1918 to the Khalil Palace in Cairo, where it stayed until 1953. The painting was acquired by art historian David Joel in 1992 for £40,000. The painting had previously been offered for sale at auction, but failed to reach its £500,000 reserve. The painting was included by the

Artizon Museum Artizon Museum , until 2018 , is an art museum in Tokyo, Japan. The museum was founded in 1952 by the founder of Bridgestone Tire Co., Ishibashi Shojiro (his family name means stone bridge). The museum's collections include Impressionists, Po ...

(then the Bridgestone Museum of Art) in "Monet: a Retrospective" in 1994. In the years since he purchased it, Joel has attempted to establish it as an authentic Monet. The widely accepted authority on Monet's work is the catalogue raisonné published by the Wildenstein Institute in Paris.

Investigation

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 (an art dealer and historian) investigated the painting in the first episode of the first series of the TV programme ''

'', first aired on 19 June 2011. Previous to this investigation, the Wildenstein Institute had examined the painting once, after the death of

, not accepting it as genuine. The programme had the picture scanned, the paints analysed, and the brushwork and signature examined by experts. The programme argued that the painting was genuine, an opinion shared by a number of experts. However the Wildenstein Institute did not accept their arguments, and maintains that the painting is a fake, based predominantly on the

connoisseurship A connoisseur (French traditional, pre-1835, spelling of , from Middle-French , then meaning 'to be acquainted with' or 'to know somebody/something') is a person who has a great deal of knowledge about the fine arts; who is a keen appreciator o ...

of the late

. The Institute has since been provided with further evidence suggesting the painting is genuine, but the Wildenstein Institute has not changed its verdict and the painting remains excluded from its catalogue raisonné.

Similar works

Monet painted a number of scenes in the Argenteuil area. An acknowledged work with the same title was painted by Monet in 1872. This work was sold at a

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

auction in New York for $4.8 million in 2005. Businessman Ralph Wilson acquired a Monet painting with the title ''La Seine a Argenteuil'' in 1997 from the

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art, and was ...

. Wilson held the painting until his death in 2014, at which point it was put up for auction. Wilson's Monet is worth between $12 million and $17 million.Wawrow, John (5 June 2014)
Bills owner's estate auctioning off art collection
''Associated Press''. Retrieved 5 June 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bords de la Seine a Argenteuil Argenteuil Paintings by Claude Monet Forgery controversies Fake or Fortune? Water in art

''Fake or Fortune?'' investigation

History

Investigation

Similar works

See also

References