Expertise of paintings; a proposal to expertise of paintings for Turkey

Genellikle sanat yapıtlarındaki sahtecilik ve sanat yapıtının orijinalliği konusu, sanatpiyasasının bir sorunsalı olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Bu konuda başvurulan sanateksperleri, doğru tespitlerin yapılmasında etkili olabilmektedir. Yurt dışında,günümüz teknolojilerinin de desteği ve uzman kadrolarla geliştirilmiş,kurumsallaşmış örneklerine rastladığımız eksperlik sistemi ne yazık ki ülkemiz sanatpiyasasında benzer bir alan oluşturmamakta; hatta akademik araştırma konularının dadışında kalmaktadır. Bu boşl uğu doldurmak üzere İstanbul Teknik ÜniversitesiSosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Sanat Tarihi Anabilim Dalı Doktora Programı?ndahazırladığım doktora tezi, resim eksperliği ve Türkiye?de resim eksperliğininuygulanışı ile ilgili olarak kurumsal bir öneri konusun a yoğunlaşmaktadır.Tez içeriğinde, eksperliğin tanımı, eksperin niteliği, Batı?da eksperlikle ilgili olarakbilimsel bir yöntem arayışının tarihçesi, eksperlik sisteminin gerekliliği, sahtekavramının açılımı, sanat eserlerine yönelik sahteciliğin geçmiş ten günümüze kadarörneklerle incelenmesi, sanat eserlerinin analizi konusunda teknolojik uygulamalarele alınmıştır. Ayrıca, yurt dışından seçilmiş bazı önemli müze, galeri ve müzayedeevlerinin eksperlik sistemini nasıl uyguladıkları, sanat eserlerinin n asıl incelendiğineörnek olarak verilmiştir. Tezin temel amacı, eksperlik uygulamalarının dünyadakiörnekleri ışığında bir kurum oluşturulmasıdır. Türkiye?ye uygun kurumoluşturulabilmesi ile ilgili olarak öncelikle Türkiye?de eksperliğin mevcut durumuincelenmiş; var olan eksiklikler ve ihtiyaçlar göz önünde bulundurularak yalnızcaeksperlik için değil sanat eserlerinin incelenmesi, korunması ve onarılması konularınıda bünyesinde barındıran bir model önerisi yapılmıştır.Sanat piyasası için bir sanat ese rinin orijinalliği önceliklidir. Dolayısıyla orijinallikkonusu sanat eksperlerinin çalışma alanına girer. Çağımızda eksperler, eserlerinanaliz edilmesinde deneyim ve bilgi birikiminin yanı sıra teknolojiyi dekullanmaktadır. Bu uygulamaların yapılması iç in bir laboratuar ortamınınoluşturulması gereklidir. Eserlerin bilimsel analizi sadece yapıt üzerindeki olasışüpheli durumu ortadan kaldırmak için değil, aynı zamanda eserlerin bozulmadurumunu anlamak amacıyla da kullanılmaktadır. Eksperin bilgi birikim inin bilimselverilerle desteklenmesi eserlerin orijinalliği hakkında varılacak sonucun kesinliğindeönemli bir etkendir. Müzelerin ve sanat eserlerinin incelenmesine adanmış diğerkurumların hem teknik donanıma sahip bir laboratuarının hem de eser tespiti ndeuzman bir kadrosunun olması artık kaçınılmazdır.Teknolojik ve kimyasal analizler arkeoloji alanında ülkemizde uygulanmaktadır.Eserlere yönelik konservasyon çalışmalarının bir parçası olarak analiz laboratuarlarıda açılmaya başlamıştır. Eksperlik is e hala bilgi birikimine ve eğitilmiş göze dayalıincelemelerin ötesine geçememiştir. Eserlerin hak ettiği değeri tespit edebilecek,xviözellikle kurumsallaşmış bir yapı içinde ve çeşitli departmanlar halinde çalışan,teknolojik olarak donanımlı, disiplinlerar ası bir sistem oluşturmak Türkiye için birzorunluluktur.Yapılan bu tez ile bir sanat eseri araştırma enstitüsünde bulunması gereken tümbirimleri tespit edilmiş, yönetimi, personeli ve alt birimleri ile güçlü bir kurumönerisi oluşturulmuştur. Dileğim, bu çalışmanın sadece bir doküman olarak kalmayıpbu kurumsal yapının Türkiye?de oluşmasına katkı sağlamaktır.Forgery, falsification, replication, act of producing somethi ng that lacks authenticitywith the intent to commit fraud or deception is an important issue of the art market.Art experts work on an art object to define whether it is original or fake. Art expertsare the detectives of forgery in art market, whom have developed cognitive modelsthat are art-specific, related to aspects such as style and art historical significance.These models allow them to interpret artworks according to art specific criteria.Experience and knowledge is effective to develop these cri teria.Expertise is actuallya technical term that encompasses the range of practices by which one tries toestablish the status of a work of art as an object. Art experts, therefore, try to figureout a particular object's date, its material structure, pro venance or history ofownership, maker, authenticity, worth and so forth. The system of art expertise inUSA and Europe comprises of institutionalized professional establishment supportedwith advanced technology. However, the system in Turkey is not able to create sucha professional field in the art market; also the subject of expertise of paintings is notbeing included in the academic research projects.Art forgery dates back more than three -thousand years from Ancient Egypt to presentday. Roman sculptors produced copies of Greek sculptures. Presumably, buyers ofthese products knew that they were not genuine. During the classical period, artcreated for historical reference, religious inspiration, or simply aesthetic enjoyment.In Renaissance times, creative work was frequently produced with the co -operationof assistants or pupils. Many painters took on apprentices who studied paintingtechniques by copying the works and style of their great masters. The master wouldthen sell these studio works as good as his. Even extremely famous artists createdforgeries. Michelangelo forged a marble cupid for his patron Lorenzo de Medici.This practice generally considered as a tribute, not forgery.When forgery got into the art market as `original?, the situati on has changed. Thisway of deceiving people also has a long historical background. Hundreds of fakes offamous masters are circulating all over the world in art markets. Forgery can bedefined in reference to a contrasting phenomenon that must somehow include thenotion of authenticity. It is clear that it is a negative concept implying the absence ofvalue. Forgeries of works of arts preset practical problem to the collector, the curator,the art historian and the dealer. This aspect becomes an organized crime first startingwith the artist who makes the fake art object and the next step is the art dealer whosells it.The scientific analysis of art objects is a challenging discipline. The materials used tocreate art in the past are seldom well -defined chemical compounds that lendthemselves to simple scientific analysis. Often, inorganic pigments were for instancexviiiproduced from raw minerals with different compositions and impurities, dependingon their place of origin. Organic materials, used to make dye stuffs or binding mediafor paintings and coatings or varnishes, were obtained by processing naturalmaterials originating in plants or insects, animal bones and skins. These materialswere often highly complex mixtures and were frequently combined in the creation ofthe artwork, forming compounds that present a great number of analytical problems.A range of methods can carry out the analysis of inorganic materials such aspigments, minerals, stone, glass, and metals, reliably, for instance X -ray basedtechniques, spectroscopic methods and electron microscopy. Today, advancedtechnology also helps experts to detect the a uthenticity. For example, carbon datingis useful to measure age, ultraviolet fluorescence can find repairs, polarized lightmicroscopy does pigment analysis, infrared analysis helps detecting earlier paintingson same backing, conventional X-ray is used for detecting earlier work under thesurface, X-ray diffraction analyses crystalline components in pigments, X -rayfluorescence does elemental analysis, as in particle -induced X-ray emission, etc.Using these technologies is not important for only detecting the authenticity, but it isalso important for conservation and restoration issues. The resulting studies, whichprovided a real impetus for art historians and curators to work more closely withconservators and scientists, are still consulted for their o bservations.Some of these techniques have been used in Turkey especially for archeologicalfindings or in conservation field. It is not possible to say there are developedlaboratories for scientific analysis of artworks. However, undauntedly it is vita llycrucial that the evaluation of the expert has to be supported with solid scientificparameters proving the authenticity of the artwork.The introduction of this thesis consists of a definition of expert, experts?qualifications, and necessity of expertise system, the history of search for scientificmethod for connoisseurship starting from Morelli. Second part deals with forgery,authenticity. It includes explanation of concept of copy and the difference betweencopies and fakes, the history of forgery of artworks, methods followed in theproduction of fake and, the role of law in the authenticity of art works. Next part willexamine the technologies that used artwork -based researches. This part explainshow technology used for analyzing artwork.Following section examplifyies scientific research departments of museums artgalleries, art research institutions and (British Museum and National Gallery fromGreat Britan; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Museum ofFine Arts Boston, Smithsonian Conservation Institute from United States ofAmerica; Centre de Recherce et de Restauration des Musées de France,Schweirzerische Institut für Kunstwissenschaft, IFAR, Rembrand Research Project,Center for Art Technological Studies and Conservatio n from Denmark), auctionhouses (Sotheby?s and Christies) from abroad.Next section is consists of an analysis on Turkey?s condition in art expertise field.Movement in art market increased the need of art experts in Turkey. Therefore, thissection explains the development of the art market. Then painting expertiseapplications are discussed, fake marked is examined and exemplified by some storiesof fraud in Turkish art world.xixThe aim of this dissertation is to create an institutionalized system for ar t research,expertise and conservation fields. The section before conclusion is consistingproposes a model of an expertise system for Turkish art market includinginstitutionalization, establishment and use of advanced technology for technical arthistory. In Turkey?s condition, it is important to conduct a research in this field topropose an institutionalized system for art expertise and scientific research of artworks. Therefore, Center for Research of Artworks and Conservation is created. Thisinstution has six departments, which are research laboratory, expertise department,conservation department, and department of education and research projects, libraryand archive department and administrative departments.It is clearly unavoidable that art research field needs well-equipped laboratories and ateam with special expertise on art work analysis. Art expertise has proved itself asone of the most important aspects of art market and museology field around theworld. The development of art museums in Turkey has a very recent past. Thesedevelopments, of course, brought serious problems and questions on art expertise inthe field.To sum up in order to detect the authenticity of art works in Turkey, it is crucial todevelop an institutional system ope rating in close interaction with relevantdepartments and using the advanced technology. The project will offer a unique andcomprehensive theoretical document for the field, but also it will make a significantcontribution to the practice with the model of expertise system it proposes.Ph.D.Doktor