Fake or Original? These Paintings Hid the Most Surprising Stories!

Painting reproductions of famous artworks have long been an aspect of the art world and apprenticeship process. But works without clear authorship can, over centuries, become blurred with acts that today would be classified as “intellectual property theft”.

The following five paintings traveled through this shadowy landscape before being reestablished as authentic works.

1. A Young Woman Seated at a Virginal, Painted by Johannes Vermeer

This miniature painting — each side measures less than 1 foot — bears no signature. In the early nineteenth century, when sold in Amsterdam, it was attributed to Vermeer without much controversy. Or notice, for that matter. Questions lingered about whether it should really be attributed to Vermeer.

In 1960 a Brussels collector bought the painting and began to advocate for its authenticity as one of fewer than 40 known works by the Dutch master. Its inclusion in the 2001 joint exhibition Vermeer and the Delft School by New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and London’s The National Gallery — though not included in the exhibition’s catalog — raised the painting’s profile significantly. Over the next decade, A Young Woman was subject to special research and accepted as authentic and eventually found a place in Walter Liedtke’s 2008 Vermeer: The Complete Paintings.

2. Madonna of the Pomegranate, Painted by Sandro Botticelli

In the normal course of events, a painting believed to be an original by a master is found to be a forgery. But the case of England’s Madonna of the Pomegranate turned that normal sequence on its head.

The painting that hung at Ranger’s House in Greenwich was long believed to be an imitation of the 1487 original at Florence’s Uffizi Gallery. But when undergoing routine cleaning, layers of varnish were removed to restore the painting’s vibrancy. Upon further examination — and then a full range of tests by art historians in London — it was discovered that the English Madonna of the Pomegranate was in fact from Botticelli’s workshop. It was realized that the work was the nearest alternative version produced by Botticelli himself.

3. Judith Beheading Holofernes, Painted by Caravaggio

Like hitting the jackpot on Antiques Roadshow, an art auctioneer in 2014 rifled through an attic in Toulouse, France. He found what he assumed was a copy of Judith Beheading Holofernes (which hangs in Rome’s Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica).

Although it was known that Caravaggio had painted the scene twice, hope of ever finding the second version — dating from the early 17th century — had long since been abandoned. Having bought the weathered canvas — it had probably been in the attic for a century — the auctioneer took it to an appraiser. But soon it was transferred to the Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France, where it was carefully restored and the suspicions of authenticity that the appraiser had were confirmed.

4. Willy Lott’s Cottage, Painted by John Constable

The art dealer Philip Mould — co-host for the BBC’s Fake Or Fortune? — owned a copy of Willy Lott’s Cottage that he suspected might be an original. But tests done in 2000 couldn’t prove it.

Unfortunately for Mould, technology has improved over the last two decades and — whether he likes it or not — he now knows he was right. In 2017, the new owner handed it off to art appraisers who, with advanced techniques, discovered that the artwork is the original. The discovery resulted in the painting Mould had once owned being valued at £2 million.

5. Saint Amelia, Queen of Hungary, Painted by Paul Delaroche

An art dealer owned an unsigned painting he suspected was a long-lost work by Delaroche — but was unable to prove it. After his death, his wife continued the effort.

It was discovered that Queen Marie-Amelie, the wife of King Louis Philippe I of France commissioned Delaroche to paint a portrait, and that the painting itself had been lost. But a preparatory drawing with striking resemblances to the painting — signed by Delaroche — was unearthed in London’s British Museum. This led to a stained-glass window at the French royal summer palace at Château d’Eu, Normandy, that the painting had served as a model for.

But the colors in the painting versus the window were different. Eventually, the painting underwent state-of-the-art analysis and it was discovered that portions of the painting had been “restored” and that some pigments had degraded badly. Saint Amelia, Queen of Hungary was soon accepted as a work by Delaroche.