Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1899-02-04
PICTURES OF OLD MASTERS.
fhe Constant Duel Between the Ex-
pcrts and the Frauds.

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In a vaudeville that used to be played
at the palais Royal an upstart is made to
say: Come see my gallery. | have got 10
old masters from the sale, or Ii old sails
from the sell don't know which.
Many of ourexpcrtS might say the same
thing. because the imitation of old pic
lures is becoming regular and flourish.
ing business, with its workshops, its art
lists and its markets. The other day in
one of the suburbs of Brussels n factory
was discovered for turning out the works
Of old masters and the specimens brought
to light were wei calculated To puzzle the
most skillful experts As matter of
fact. during the past 40 years Belgium
has pat upon the market hundreds of
HobhcmaS, Tcnicrs. Mctzus Ruysdacls
and especially Van Goycns, which they
have made quite fashionable
II is easy for skeptics To say that, in
spite of their skill, the forgcrs can never
deceive men Of experience; that they al
ways make feeble copies or wrctchcd imi-
tatons; that the dash. the life and the
evidence IL The FREE hand in execution,
which are cieallvprcscrted in the genuine
works Of the masters, are always absent
in the copies But unfortunately this is
not the case. There are forgcrs In art
whose skill is no less astounding than de-
pllrale To prove this single example
sui:ccs:
All thos,' who occupy themselyesa little
with the iinc arts know, 1T least by repu-
;aiion, the two famous portraits of Leo y,
On in the Tribuna room of the Uflizzi
gallery in Florence and the other in the
museum Of Naples. Nobody has ever been
able to ten which is the original.
We are compelled To acknowledge the
wonderful skill If these forgcrs who sue
ccSsfully seize if not the details, mt least
the ensemble of Il work Then, as for the
details, they have recourse to another
method. There are moments when literary
men, to avoid the trouble of consulting a
dictionary, put mark upon n word the
photography Of which they are not quite
sure. and leave 10 the proofreader the care
of hunting ii up. Well. the repruduccrs
of old masters replace the ink mark by
vegetation, - which is obtained by rub
bling with n wet rag the portion Of the
picture which is TO be covered for cause.
The water left upon the spot soon pro
duccs u moldincSs and an infinite number
Of little spots The whole forms u stain
which. in the slang of the forgcrs, is called
chanel.
The methods of these swindlcrs are in
Vulnerable For example, TO destroy the
proof that the canvas is newly painted,
they simply bake it, In this way they OBJ
tain n rough and scaly surface When the
scales do not appear in sufficient quantity,
the point Of pin is used 10 produce the
desired additional number \ judicious
employment Of wet ashes and lampblack
in varying doses suilicrS To give To the col
Or those beautiful Somber and yellowish
tones that time spreads upon the works of
past centuries Spanish licnricc is also
us ! to give modern @anyases the appear
lncc Of I'D age 4 detection Of wine
must IS sometimes poured upon the paint
ing. Ii i spread with the palm of the
nand and rubbed until it becomes dry
That j. the rl,;rod of giving to the canvas
what is called the warm and golden tone
Some time ago the experts discovered "A
very simple met hod of detecting the fraud
The copies. having neither the name nor
the hardness Of The Old paintings, were
unable TO resist The attacks of alcohol,
which made their color, fade rapidly But
in this eternal duel between the expert and
the iorgcr, tie latter has the ripostc al
ways prompt To make his copies proof
against the attacks Of alcohol he covered
them with 4 light coat y. liquid glue. Over
this the alcohol passed just rs it might
pass over pare of glass
II l. noteworthy that these forgcrics are
well known 10 the amateurs who are s,ill
bold enough TO purchase old PAINTINGS.
The nania cf the collector holds ont
against ali d:sappnintmcn;S and mishaps
Paris Cor Courier DIS Flats Unis