The CSI of art: how to detect new Goyas, Sorollas, and Velázquezes

A Saint Francis with elongated hands, a visible stigmata, and a pious face dominates one of the halls of the CAEM, the Center for Modern Art, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. It was brought here by a granddaughter of Josep Gudiol, the historian who dedicated himself to rescuing works of art during the Civil War (such as the controversial Sixena paintings ) and who also founded the Institut Amatller d'Art Hispànic with its vast photographic archive.

The painting was part of his private collection and, like all those that enter the CAEM, it arrived with a purpose: to learn the name of its artist. “Gudiol was a professor at Ximo Company, founder of the CAEM, and in our research we often consult the photo library of the Institut Amatller,” explains María Antonia Argelich, director of this center of expertise or connoisseurship of works of art at the University of Lleida. For her, having to study and catalog a painting from Gudiol was “like closing a cycle.” An unexpected birthday present.

The verdict was clear. The work was a Greco with a workshop. “It was a delight to study it,” says researcher Marc Borrás. “There are parts that were undoubtedly executed by the master, such as the figure or the skull, and the theme follows a series of very similar paintings but with distinguishing details,” he adds. To reach these conclusions, the CAEM team conducted a historiographical study of the works and, at the same time, subjected them to a non-invasive analytical technique called MBTI (multi-band technical imaging), based on photographs that capture up to four bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. “Very few centers do what we do, which is not an attribution but rather an attributional report, which is more difficult to refute,” explains Deputy Director Jésica Martí.

How multiband imaging works

The materials that make up the painting respond differently to visible light than to ultraviolet or infrared radiation. This reveals hidden layers or lines, identifies pigments, and reveals both the creative process and the state of conservation.

When falsifications with fraudulent intent are detected, the heritage brigade intervenes.

Over the course of these 25 years, some 700 works have been analyzed using this scientific technique, pioneered by the CAEM. “There's a Goya craze,” Martí explains. “In the last eight years alone, some 36 paintings have been admitted with attributions prior to the Fuendetodos painting, of which only three have turned out to be authentic,” Borrás adds. “One of the biggest surprises we had was a portrait that came with a forged Goya signature and which we ended up attributing to the highly valued American painter Rembrandt Peale,” he explains.

Although the big surprise came with a portrait of Charles IV, "of which there are many versions and which we received with skepticism," Argelich recalls. "The technical photographs revealed that it was not only a genuine Goya but also the first in the series, the one that served as a model for all the others."

Second in the ranking of the most desired is Sorolla, with four identifications of twelve possible authors in recent years, confirmed a posteriori by Blanca Pons, the painter's granddaughter and the person in charge of certifying his works. On very few occasions has the CAEM found that experts on a painter rejected their conclusions, despite "objective evidence."

This is the case, for example, with Zurbarán's Saint Agnes and Goya's Immaculate Conception. "The shift from making attributions almost hand-picked to applying a scientific technique also comes hand in hand with a generational shift with professionals who no longer need to specialize in a single artist," argues the deputy director. "You have to wait and be patient," she believes.

What if a fake work is detected? “When we have evidence of fraudulent intent to obtain financial gain, we are obliged to inform the heritage brigade,” explains the director. This happened, for example, with a fake Goya donated by an antique dealer in Mallorca. “He wanted to sell the work, and when he learned it was a forgery, he himself took the necessary precautions,” she recalls.

Recently, the CAEM has also attributed works by Velázquez, Zurbarán, Picasso, and José Ribera, among others, many of which are considered minor artists and which the center champions. "We try to ensure that our work helps owners better appreciate their works, regardless of their economic value, which is quite capricious," notes the director. Her anniversary wish: to be able to give all the paintings the "second life" they deserve.