Certificate of authenticity & Work expertise

• Visual and stylistic analysis : 

The expert will first visually analyze the work by paying attention to the techniques used by the artist, colors and palette, patterns, composition, recurring themes, signature... These different elements will then be compared with the known works of the artist.

• Study of materials and technique:

The expert may be required to work in collaboration with laboratories to have the pigments, canvases, papers, inks analyzed in order to verify the dating of the work. Technologies play a major role in the expertise and must also deal with counterfeiters. The techniques and means of counterfeiters have also evolved, and scientific analysis cannot be considered sovereign and unquestionable. The use of old pigments, ancient canvases, the recourse to artificial intelligence for the manufacture of works always appear more efficient and relevant on the market.

• Documentary research

An authentic work is often accompanied by a clear provenance as well as a history of its successive owners. The expert inquires about the work in order to trace its history by listing these exhibition locations and these successive acquisitions. To do so, he carries out extensive documentary research by consulting the archives, museum documentation, as well as the reasoned catalogues which constitute important resources.

• Publication of annoted catalogs :

In his capacity as an expert, Pierre Guénégan publishes annoted catalogs on a certain number of artists. He is led to distinguish between certified works and works for which he may have a doubt as to the origin. If a doubt persists, the work will not be included in the annoted catalog.