ABOUT CERTIFICATES OF AUTHENTICITY

When looking at Certificates of Authenticity certifying Chagall's graphic artwork - Wuyt has collected about a hundred from different sources - you can see why these documents with their impressive seals and baroque adornments make people chuckle. At the same time they get you thinking: why are such certificates issued, and what norms should they comply with? We believe the certificate should be based on the buyer's and the artist's (in our case Chagall's) right to certainty. The certificate provides a warrant against factors of uncertainty that arise from the moment the artist releases the artwork to the moment it reaches the buyer. Any problems that may arise do so in the intervening trajectory. When a lithograph, etching or woodcut was produced, Chagall was closely involved in the processes of printing, issuing, the mode of execution, the print run, the numbering (where applicable) and the signing. The certificate is based on this information along with the year of publication and the work's title. The information contained on the certificate does justice to Chagall and so bridges the gap between artist and buyer: you have the assurance that what you are holding is a graphic artwork authorized by Chagall. Virtually the whole body of Chagall's authorized graphic art is described and depicted in a number of standard works and carries a 'work number'. The descriptions are numbered in order of issuing, so the work numbers are one of the key facets for producing additional documentation. Verifiable information of this kind augments the authority of a Certificate of Authenticity.

ABOUT THE AUTHENTICITY OF A CHAGALL

Original graphic art It is not easy to determine whether a piece of graphic art is a real Chagall. Your intuition alone won't clinch it, even if you've seen thousands of pieces of art. A number of standard reference works are indispensable, and an authorized artwork - for purposes of comparison - can be of great use: paper type, paint/ink used, the image itself, and precise measurements say a lot about the work and provide an initial orientation in terms of determining authenticity. Intuition, deceiving as it can be, is rarely useless, especially when trained regularly by investigation. A separate matter revolves around the varying notions of what 'original graphic artwork' means. The simplest and most common definition is: an original lithograph/etching/woodcut is a piece of paper imprinted with the unique lithographic stones/etching plates/woodblocks created by the artist for this purpose. The strictest definition sees original work as only that which has been authorized as such by the artist. On more than one occasion, these varying opinions caused friction between Chagall and his publishers, such as Mr and Mrs Maeght. Numeration Less than five percent of Chagall's etchings, lithographs and woodcuts is numbered. It seems a low percentage considering the numbered and signed works on offer in galleries and at auctions. This is because numbered/signed works are more sought after. It is wise to keep in mind that lots of works have been numbered without Chagall's collaboration. Most of Chagall's graphic art was published in collections or books; often, a separate page (the 'Justification du Tirage') mentioned the print run and number and contained Chagall's signature. But Chagall also used other means of justification. Insiders have a good overview of this diversity, so it seldom causes a problem. Signature Just as small a percentage of Chagall's graphic art contains his signature: this is the case for fewer than one in twenty published works of graphic art. The added value of a signature tempts dealers to forge Chagall's signature. Here, too, the official and publicly accessible documentation provides a lot of clarity. There do exist some unpredictable elements around Chagall's signatures. It is known, for example, that Chagall liked to please visitors by signing a graphic artwork or book in their presence - but in such cases, too, he followed certain habits. Falsifications always have the same motive: an unsigned work is worth less than a tenth of its signed counterpart, and many sellers just can't resist the temptation to make the adjustment. Fortunately, Chagall's signature is not easily forged; on the other hand, only a handful of experts can read Chagall's signature by looking for reliable characteristics. We do not have the expertise to determine the authenticity of signatures by artists such as Matisse, Picasso, Miró or Appel, but in the vast majority of cases we make the right call on a signature by Chagall. And this call does not depend just on intuition.

THE CONTENT OF A CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY

Title and number Almost all works of art that left Chagall's studio were given titles by other persons. The museum in Chicago has a painting that changed titles twice during Chagall's lifetime. The problem of titles is even bigger in the case of graphic art, of which the publisher would be handed a stack to publish at his discretion. Colour lithograph M. 232 is a good example: 'Eve maudit par Dieu' (God curses Eve) from Bible/Verve 37/38 from 1960. The name is indicative of a typically Roman Catholic theology which must have been quite incomprehensible to Chagall. Chagall did not speak out about it. German bishops thought the title went a bit far, and their edition - appearing thirty years later - says: 'Gott und Eva'. This lithograph is one of the cornerstones of the series of colour lithographs of this second biblical series: the covenant between God and Eve. In the light of this, we suggest you attach as little importance as possible to the title a work carries: the more neutral, the better. As far as Chagall was concerned, only the official catalogue number would have been used, as any title - however well chosen - is a form of interference between the viewer and the work of art. Relevant information In the course of the years, we have decided on the following six requirements for certificates of authenticity: 1. Firstly, the basic information: the kind of graphic work we are dealing with, the official catalogue number, the place and year of printing, the publisher, the circumstances of publishing and the print run. 2. In the case of a signed and/or numbered piece of art: is the number correct and is the signature Chagall's? 3. A detailed description of where the work may be found in the authorized Chagall catalogues. 4. A description of the state of the piece (more information below). 5. Providing a warranty for the authenticity of the piece and for the accuracy of the certificate (more information below). 6. Date of issuing of the certificate and the new owner's name and address. Damaged or discoloured art At a well-known Amsterdam auctioner's in 2004, we bought a colour lithograph by Chagall that was totally discoloured by the sun but is nonetheless authentic. The pigment of the Mourlot colours is very sensitive to daylight and this lithograph had deteriorated well beyond the stage of a second-hand piece of art. Its only remaining value is for us to show visitors to our gallery what happens when a lithograph is not protected sufficiently from the effects of daylight. The auctioneer is under no obligation to inform bidders that the image is discoloured, and he was accurate when describing it as an original colour lithograph by Chagall. Yet one can ask if the piece ought to have been auctioned off the way it was. The same would have applied in the case of damage, and so it is necessary for the certificate to describe clearly what state a piece is in. The warranty offered A well-known salesman's slogan is: 'if it's not an authentic one, you will get your money back'. This can be tricky, as the buyer has to prove what's wrong with the art he bought. Any buyer, where possible, will allow a piece to be returned, if only to avoid reputation damage. The piece may well turn up in the display window again six months later, as it is quite unlikely that the next buyer, too, will manage to amass sufficient expertise to annul the transaction. By contrast, real warranty is offered when a sold piece that turns out to be faulty is destroyed in the presence of the buyer, after the buyer has had their money returned. Wuyt returns double the amount to convince buyers who have doubts about a piece's authenticity to have the proper research done (to which there's almost always a price tag), as well as to demonstrate that Wuyt makes every possible effort to avoid selling a compromised piece of art.

THE REGISTRATION SYSTEM OF CERTIFICATES

Seven-character code Each work of art that leaves the Wuyt collection is given a unique registration code consisting of the following seven characters: positions 1 and 2: the last to digits of the year of issue position 3: the month of issue, from A to M positions 4 and 5: the two digits of the day of issue position 6: the way in which the piece leaves the collection position 7: the serial number of the day of issue For example: 09 J 23 G 4 = the fourth piece to leave the collection on 23 October 2009, being sold from the Gallery. Link between certificate and issued piece The gallery situated underneath the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow once reported to us that all certificates of authenticity - which had been inserted into the frame at the back - turned out to have been stolen the day after the sales exhibition opened. When separated from their original Chagall lithographs and etchings they can help to make falsifications seem authentic - except that Wuyt, upon learning about the theft, cancelled the thirty certificates in the system. We sent thirty new certificates, differently coded, to the Russian gallery. We have also experienced the other side of the coin. A day after buying an original colour lithograph, a customer returned with a falsification. Our issuing system proved resistant to such cheating, as we could demonstrate that the certificate did not match the faulty lithograph.

CONCLUSION: A DECENT CERTIFICATE ISN´T EASILY DRAWN UP

Drawing up a reliable certificate isn't easy, requiring a good grasp of the matter and expertise regaring the work of art, the way it was created and where it has been recorded in the official catalogues and other information sources. We believe the certificate of authenticity as described above offers a satisfactory level of certainty to buyers and is the correct way of assuring that certificates of authenticty are no longer spoken of disparagingly. We are convinced that as this graphic art ages and becomes rarer, the need for useful and reliable information about it will grow.

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