What you need to know to buy a picture of normal quality and not run into a fake? From this material you will learn: how to choose a painting, what you need to pay attention to, how to check its quality.
Do you want to buy a painting and do not know what to look for? In fact, this is not as difficult a task as it might seem at first glance. But buying a painting has many of its own nuances and subtleties, which it is advisable to know about. This will come in handy for successful painting purchases, especially if this is your first time doing it. So, what is the most important thing and how to buy a painting correctly?
Listen only to your “inner voice”
To make it easier for you to understand, imagine a picture that you absolutely do not like, but it was painted by a famous artist, in the 18th century, costs a lot of money and was advised by your professional designer or art critic. Would you buy a painting like this? Doubtful!
Or there is a painting that you admire and enjoy. She brings you satisfaction, positive emotions and inspiration. Now answer yourself the question: will it be so important to you in what century it was written, by whom and in what technique? These questions immediately fade into the background, right?
And what then comes out? And it turns out that the most important thing when buying paintings is your individual sensory perception. If the picture pleases you, then you can buy it. But this is far from the only nuance when choosing a picture. It is also important to look at its quality.
What does a high-quality painting mean and where can you buy it?
I would like to make a reservation right away: on the so-called embankments, ruins and art markets, you will never find a quality picture. In these places, only cheap paintings of a mass character are sold. Today, there are quite a few places where you can buy paintings, but this should be considered in more detail in a separate article. In general, any picture, wherever you look at it, can be checked for quality according to the following criteria:
· The painting should not have paint chips, creases or mold;
· There should be no small pores and cracks on the canvas, they can be checked by turning the picture upside down to the light;
· PVA glue should not be used as a primer.
This is a popular primer for novice painters and is the worst in quality. Within a few months, the picture is guaranteed to be covered with cracks.
A primed canvas with the addition of synthetics lasts much longer and is less susceptible to temperature changes and moisture.
Note! Nowadays, you can easily buy a painting on the Internet, and there are many advantages to this:
1. Ease and convenience of choice.
2. Quick search by author, genre, style and subject.
3. The ability to instantly contact the author of the work.
In general, online art galleries are only gaining momentum in Russia, and recent reviews from buyers say that this is a great opportunity to find a great artist for yourself.
Is the material on which the work is written so important?
This question is very controversial and depends on the preferences of the person. For example, it is believed that a painting painted with oil paints on canvas will last longer than others. But this is not entirely true, and a rather vivid example is attached to this: the watercolor by Albrecht Durer - "The Hare" of 1502 has survived to this day.
All paints - oil, watercolors and even pastels - were always made from the same pigments. They differ only in their binders.
By the way, there is another controversial opinion about the cost: it is believed that oil paintings on canvas are more expensive than graphic paintings. Did you know that Cezanne's watercolor painting Still Life with Green Melon was sold at Sotheby's for $ 25.5 million?
every artist has his own favorite works, which he will be very reluctant to sell, or not at all. You will have to try hard, depending on what kind of person he is, to convince him so that he wants to give you his “child”. But it will be a really worthwhile creation!
How do you know if the painting is real?
Always, before buying a painting, you need to check that it is actually painted and not printed. And this is checked in 2 simple ways:
1. Zoom in on a piece of the picture with a magnifying glass. You can easily spot the print by the slight ripple of pixels (dots).
2. Almost all paintings are painted in several layers. Each layer and color has its own thickness. Turn the painting upside down in the light and make sure it has an irregular pattern. For printing, the thickness of the ink layer will be standard throughout the image.
5 tips for buying a good painting
1. I do not recommend that you buy antique paintings without proper knowledge or a good specialist. The chances that you will buy a fake are very high. Many people know that in the rules of painting auctions, for example, auction houses do not bear any responsibility for the authenticity of lots.
2. Do not buy non-author's copies of paintings. Unless 70 years have passed since the death of the author, any sale, purchase or making of copies is prohibited and punishable by law.
3. Ignore the author's education, appreciate his dedication to art.
4. Feel free to bargain.
5. Never buy a painting that annoys you, even if you take it in order to increase your capital.
Summary: the most important thing is to buy a painting to your liking, and you can check all the other details yourself or together with a good expert.
