who decides if an artwork is authentic?
When it comes to the Queen, this type of story might be a rather less unexpected. Our monarch, after all, is the custodian of one of the world’s finest art collections. But still, the announcement a few days ago that a grimy old canvas dragged up for an overhaul from the Hampton Court storerooms has turned out to be a Caravaggio (rather than a copy of a lost painting by this master) must count as a thrilling plot twist. This work, acquired for Charles I and (having been flogged off by Cromwell) recovered after the Restoration, has pretty much languished unloved ever since. “It’s the most important discovery in the collection in the past decade,” declares an understandably excited Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures, Desmond Shawe-Taylor. But can we be sure that the latest attribution is right? Who are the people who can authenticate a painting? They certainly occupy a powerful position. The authenticity of an artwork lies at the core of its intrinsic and — more importantly for many — its
