Italian Mystery: Venice View Creates Double Artist Conundrum | Fake Or Fortune

Philip Mould and Fiona Bruce investigate a highly desirable Venetian view. The painting was inherited by owner Nick Hopkinson from his great grandfather Meyer Spielman, but there's a mystery about it that he would love to solve. Could this be a work by one of the Italian masters - either Francesco Guardi or Michele Marieschi?
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#Painting #Art #History

[@amethystmistarts5532]

I think Nick saying the painting is more important to him as a lovely reminder of a childhood... is priceless.

[@rebeccatapley3739]

If it had been worth half a million pounds, the family might have *had* to sell it. The cost of insuring a painting like that is way too high for most people to pay - they'd have money but not the painting they love.

[@lindsayaliciawilcox2440]

This result is obviously so satisfying for the owner. He gets to keep and enjoy a painting he truly loves without the burden of family members bugging him to sell it because it is disgustingly valuable. He certainly looked ‘tickled pink’ at the result to me. 🎉🎉❤

[@mon_avis2978]

He was remarkably gracious about accepting the result. British upper-class manners, something I admire.

[@jksmith818]

So, what Englishman painted this beautiful painting? I would love to know this bit of information .

[@tds7745]

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[@RichieRich1234RICH]

Jings I’m sure if it was worth 10m he’d have had no problem selling and taking his share. The irony that the ancestors bought it as one thing then tried to present it as another then generations later get caught up exposing an even bigger fraud is not lost. If he’d not got Fake or Fortune in he could have possibly flogged it for 1/2m. Greed ruins everything.

[@pdruiz2005]

An anonymous forger working in London before 1808, clearly. I wish they had carbon-dated the wax on the Florence seal. Then we would’ve found if it was English wax or Tuscan wax that was used, as well as the year it was produced.

[@thegreenquill1052]

Nick said at the beginning that if it were up to him, he'd keep it in the family. I'm happy for him that (presumably) he got to. And the provenance will make for an even more interesting family story. I love your show!

[@Bethgael]

I was thinking the same thing. He loves the painting and now, presumably, won't have to deal with outside pressures to sell it. I'm with him. Whomever painted it (English or no) did a lovely job, and I agree about that figure in the front. As a writer, I'm rather taken by the fact that there was a painter so skilled they thought to throw a Firenzi stamp on it. It tickles the imagination!

[@julianmonti4260]

Wow! Very British style detective story. Very professional, full of details and never boring. So nice to hear when British people pronounce correctly Italian names. At the end, Mr Hopkins looks to be almost relieved by learning that the painting is not that highly valuable. So, he can keep it within his family as a heirloom dear to his heart.

[@deacy_6218]

i like fiona bruce a lot, i really respect an English woman who keeps her boots on in bed

[@_wesleyhome_]

This is the one and only show that never disappoints, regardless of the outcome of the painting.

[@MrKajithecat]

Nick seems like a down to earth guy who's enjoying the ride and really enjoyed it. The experience enriches the painting.

[@carlotta4th]

Oh that is a beautiful painting! I'm so glad he doesn't feel obligated to sell it, it's gorgeous.

[@chattykathie7129]

This series is like Agatha Christy’s mystery of the art world, except no murders, except of the art owners dreams. 😉

[@69JonnyP]

I JUST LOVE THIS SHOW, thanks for posting, thanks for making it for so long. What a beautiful painting and what amazing artists the 2 front runners are. Only 12mins in so outcome unknown and going from history could be a fake or fortune. But it’s a wonderful piece no matter what.

[@suehorn4182]

Very good episode. All the twists and turns. Our loving ancestors were human

[@MarceloVolcato]

Look at the bright side. Now his brother won't ask him to sell it.

[@andreaandrea6716]

EXACTLY!

[@joethomas2354]

I wouldn't be so certain this was British. It could certainly have been created in Florence by an artist unfamiliar with Venetian architecture; that could account for the discrepancies the expert notes, and would not require the outlandish theory that the red stamp was some kind of effort to forge an Italian identity.

[@christianfrommuslim]

Good idea

[@andreaandrea6716]

But the canvas under the microscope? ("More like English canvases in structure. Looser weave.") And then, the paint? I know that I was thinking "So what?" But then, schools dictate certain orders for colours. (One learnt methods and stuck to them).

[@talanigreywolf7110]

I mean, after all is said and done, it IS a beautiful painting!

[@Songbirdstress]

Sometimes, when it's beautiful, it not being expensive is a blessing. There was an episode where they needed to sell the painting because they had lost their father, but the painting was so at home in their house, it was a shame. Ha, did some genealogy and it turned out the stories (which I only half believed) were true. Family histories can be surprising...

[@andreaandrea6716]

Definitely!

[@philmorton4590]

The wax mark gets us back to 1808, forging that would be extremely difficult. But alot of paintings were made for tourists, I find it hard to believe to do them in time you'd use vermilion underneath, it slows the construction time. Also the dark quality of the building lowers acceptance of potential buyers. Still alot of questions!

[@Drew_Snydermann]

Yeah, might want to check granddad's desk drawer for that wax seal stamp.

[@Brutally-Honest]

Such a truly enjoyable mystery. Love these FAKE OR FORTUNE videos. Luv em.

[@beverlykerr6590]

What a gracious man Nick is. One can only wish him many more years of enjoying his painting and that whoever looks after it after him will enjoy it as much and have as many happy memories.

[@akschmidt2085]

Right? He was so horrified discovering that the family lore wasnt true I felt really bad for him. He seems like a sweet man

[@conscience-commenter]

Whomever painted it did a beautiful job except for the building mistaken for two and the italian wax seal . I feel this was a reproduction for the tourist trade done by an accomplished artist to rival Marieschi's version for less money . There are many instances all over the world of artist and craftsman creating similar products exclusively for tourists because of the bigger net and easier sale . The color foundation is also similar albeit out of order but shows how the unknown artist wanted the ground layers to resemble Marieschi's . However you analyze it, the technique of a vanishing point reflects on Brunelleschi"s Baptistery painting c 1420.

[@Songbirdstress]

The cupola is wrong too. Currently it looks like it's zinc, not something you get in the UK and therefore something a Brit wouldn't understand (I had a friend staying and I lived on the top floor in Paris, and he looked out and said "What's that grey stuff? It was just the roofs opposite...). It looks like the guy was used to Wren buildings, the scene could be London with water.

[@Norfolk250]

That new camera-technique is fanTAStic!

[@fyutffdtuibgfetu]

Who would fake an unknown at the time artist? It makes no sense at all. I think this is a genuine Marieschi who made a bunch of identical paintings because they were selling well.

[@andreaandrea6716]

But they WERE known. That was the problem. They were the rock stars of their time. (Think Coco Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Tom Ford, etc. and knockoffs).

[@CSLewisUnderstood]

I absolutely love this show! I am hooked on it like a fine piece of art hanging on a wall. I binge watch this show.

[@sandydimond3363]

Very interesting painting, history and the research in this documentary. Thank you for sharing

[@Crackle-Crackle]

The owner of the painting took the news extremely well.

[@ksbrook1430]

One of the more intriguing episodes.

[@TheTubeTube2]

I agree with many others that Mr Hopkins was in several ways relieved by the result and that it throws light on his family as well as the painting - by Major Gubbins? What a terrific piece of investigation by our two principal sleuths as well as the technical wizards and what a valuable piece of provenience to go with the picture. He should stick a Vintage Cannelloni label on the frame.

[@susanwoodcarver]

Always delightful! Thank you

[@stefanomarzari4388]

The basilica of Santa Maria della Salute Is not by Vincenzo Scamozzi, how it is said, but by the most important Venetian baroque architect, Baldassarre Longhena.

[@andandocommauromotozono5202]

The best painting owner i ever seen. Hugs from Brazil !

[@jukes243]

Nick gets to keep his painting. How marvelous. I too, think it's beautiful. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If it's beautiful (to you) then it's valuable.

[@Dr10Jeeps]

Probably the best art show on the planet!

[@ericschmidt5712]

it is a lovely painting and not the result 'hoped for' but they still get it far back with quite a story and an interesting story thats not a 100% figured out but almost more intriguing because its more mysterious

[@bewareofpigeons]

The appalled expression on the face of the marble bust behind the authority on Marieschi in the last minutes of the programme is priceless....

[@Indiana82]

I love how the x-ray gun actually looks like a x-ray gun. No need saying that I want one. Fabolous Show btw.!

[@davidsmith3736]

I like that judge,straight up.

[@debbiewedoe2564]

Intriguing story filled with many twists and turns. Fun adventure and the painting is beautiful. 🌞

[@stephenfularz7573]

I love this show.

[@portialancaster3442]

I think you missed a clue. Why does an English painting appear in the archives of a Florence probate magisterium sometime before 1808? A search of the archives for a deceased Brit might be fruitful. It's also intriguing to think about a young British artist painting it during his Grand Tour. Perhaps he went on to be famous in England? Love this show and all your previous one.

[@Bigwave2003]

39:10 It's never said that the painting does appear in the archives of Florence. An example is given, but we're told it would take years to conduct such a search. 4:37 The red seal appears on a bracing board of the frame, not on the canvas itself. Perhaps a re-used bit of wood or frame (honest explanation) or an attempt at forgery?

[@shinichigojir12]

It never said it was in Florence archived. They didn’t search it. But I wish they discussed more on possibility of forging the stamp. Is that something common or easy to do, and compare the stamps’s fonts with other genuine stamps.

[@kevinchambers1101]

This was the best of the series, so far. For me the family history is more important than who painted it.

[@vincenthaegebaert1854]

But in the end, look at what an amazing story this painting now has.

[@rtd1791]

It was so thoughtful for all of these historic painters to create jobs for art lovers in the 21st century. 😅

[@conscience-commenter]

Upon further examination of this episode, I believe this painting should be attributed to Marieschi because of the following features : identical canvas size , identical vanishing point , identical angle pov , identical placement of figures in foreground, identical sizing of buildings . Look at the side by side screen shot @23:27. They are identical except for color and figure placement . Marieschi could have had apprentices do some work creating slight variations in iteration .

[@suebethiantexas2475]

I am so excited about these art exploration shows. I have learned a lot

[@lisap9936]

I love your fake or fortune videos. How l wish there were more! But it seems the series stopped a while ago. Or has it???

[@micheledix2616]

Just love this show. Even love the repeats

[@barbhulme]

So, Meyer spielman purchased the painting to mark the 25th wedding anniversary. Nick is loosey goosey with dates, but does mention 1882 in re the wedding. 1882 - 1907 = 25.

[@alexrichardson9125]

Thoroughly interesting. Thank you.

[@lynettefaithfull9444]

It's stilla beautifull painting to have in the family

[@sharonpeek4578]

I thought the wax seal was the seal of a magistrate; perhaps the painter took it to Venice and bribed a magistrate to stamp it? Was the entire stamp forged? How did they match the exact texture and color of the wax? I have questions.

[@bewareofpigeons]

that would be material for what the Italians call 'un giallo' and very exciting...!

[@Rhombohedral]

So the good news is, the painting wont need to be sold and can remain in the family. And one can enjoy it as one had enjoyed it before

[@avrilbethwaite2349]

Love this show, so exciting

[@larryzink8978]

Isnt it odd that they never mentioned that Canaletto worked in England for a time?

[@suegreene1]

Why Bellotto never appeared as a suspect?

[@captaindan151]

49:35 how he tries to expand the picture. lol

[@doppel5627]

The.supposedly forged stamp does not make sense. One would expect Venetian, not Florentine stamp. Another thing: isn't it weird that Christies' sell forgeries and that the National Gallery exhibited it as Marieschi?

[@JosephSchmidtfan]

Try Googling "Christies" and "forgery". You may find the results interesting.

[@alexsilva-vn7jc]

It is weird! Also found it strange that the (brother)Jacomo Marieschi name was quickly brushed aside as a mistake! Rather a big mistake to make imo.

[@ianakiinkiow4303]

So sad! I thought it was the real thing!!! Well it still looks amazing!

[@54321Judith]

I think it’s beautiful too!🥰

[@CallieMasters5000]

Admit it: your heart skips a beat when you hear that woman say "At 42 million..." in her distinctive accent. 😁

[@bewareofpigeons]

followed by the man with the twist of the nose....😀

[@anitasmith7764]

I don’t love that the only Guardi painting they showed was no real comparison at all to this painting. Like not even close. Surely he painted better more elaborate pictures than that

[@mikef.1000]

Great episode. That Florentine seal should be investigate further, IMO. Are there other suspect versions of this type of wax seal around the place? Finally, I'm always intrigued by the uniquely British slant of, "What's it worth?" Whatever the Brits may think about the aesthetics of something, it always seems to get trumped by the mighty GBP!

[@manpangasinantayo3814]

Hi Philip I like your scarf but most of all the presentation the investigative nature of the painting featured.

[@totipark54]

love this show!:::)

[@whanuipuru4446]

I have learnt watching these videos that painting world has so many forgeries and its astounding the lengths artists who copy orginals are so abundant and fool the public thinking that the copy is an original. If it happened to me I get rid of the bloody painting!

[@davidsmith3736]

I would be gutted.Damn.😢

[@ginacrusco234]

Very enjoyable episode. I can fully understand the final evaluation and the facts supporting that it was painted by a non-Venetian, but somehow the inference that the wax stamp is therefore a false "made in Italy" insignia does not convince. Wouldn't they have falsified a Venetian provenance? Couldn't here be some explanation for the painting coming through the Florentine probate court?

[@SchlichteToven]

**SPOILERS** Man, this was a nail-biting one. When was it painted then, if the seal was fake? After 1810, long after? Or could the seal have been affixed at a time when the court it represented was still in existence?

[@kevinmeserole7345]

I was disappointed for Nick, a very likable fellow.

[@christianfrommuslim]

With his strong facial bone structure he looks like a relative of Fiona.

[@StijnHommes]

I hope that if this picture is genuine after all, those records in Firenze will eventually prove it.

[@fredsalfa]

What a shame it’s not the picture he thought he grew up with. I know how it feels in a way growing all my life believing in certain family history only to have it proven to be different.

[@SuzySylvania]

I found out as an adult that the old records that I listened to as a child were not my Dad's. They were my mom's. I had believed that the only thing I had in common with him was our love of Motown. He actually loved classical music, which I love now!

[@fredsalfa]

@@SuzySylvania I grew up believing I had 2 other siblings when in fact I had 3 siblings. That was a real shock to everyone

[@tonyklymson8096]

Fiona , be carefull about the refference of old when reffering to people .😊

[@spottedpony7013]

The clouds of the painting in question match the artist Caneletto a higher value artist and that is why they went to great cover-up of two different artist stickers and a seal hiding a stolen masterpiece Vono

[@macnachten8822]

It'd be nice, from time to time, y'all might show a "fortune" find...was much too invested in this journey.

[@akschmidt2085]

Fiona saving that man from the agony he felt at the thought his ancestor might have been telling porkies is so sweet and kind, I love her.

[@wendygould1438]

Maybe, he had students doing the unsigned examples

[@allensaunders449]

I the don't think they needed the owner of the painting in this except for the beginning and the end. The rest is very interesting

[@James-q1d1o]

Wow

[@lola12falana]

Christie’s and Sotheby’s sold this as a Marieski.

[@Waffles84]

I’m not convinced that the wax seal was just put on there as a fake.

[@pdruiz2005]

SPOILER ALERT! An anonymous forger working in London before 1808 clearly did this work that’s still quite handsome. So Nick didn’t lose out too much-the thing is still worth 20,000 pounds. I wish they had carbon-dated the wax on the Florence seal. Then we would’ve found if it was English wax or Tuscan wax that was used, as well as the year it was produced.

[@roronoa2733]

Those are people relly mainly on their Reputation thats why its so hard for them to revert a verdict they already made ... Sad part in Art is it was controled by so called experts whos Ego are tooooooo high 😊

[@sue.F]

In this case, it may have been better not to know.

[@chrisdeoni1697]

The "MURKINESS" surrounding Nick's painting has more to do with his great grandfather passing it off as a De Guardi for financial gains than the painters. Sorry Nick, that's how I see it.

[@hogwashmcturnip8930]

Me too. The whole thing was a web of lies. 'We bought it in Venice in 1880 - ish' Oops, sorry, I forgot, I bought it in a London auction in 1907. As by one painter. Then when I had to fill in the slip for the back I accidentally wrote the name of a much more valuable one by mistake! What a silly old duffer I am!' The ironic thing is he was conned himself!

[@chrisdeoni1697]

@@hogwashmcturnip8930 EXACTLY.

[@MrQbenDanny]

All those bankers have dollar 💵 signs on canvases, not art! It gives them cachet statuses in society.

[@edithengel2284]

We only know it's a family story. We don't know who in the family originated it or when it was originated. It may be a deduction by one of Sir Meyer Spielman's descendants: "Mother and Father were in Venice in the 1880s, so that's where they must have bought it."

[@ISIO-George]

One loose end IMO. The speculation is the seal is a fake. Are there not examples of what real seals look like? Also, over more than 200 years did the seals stay the same? If they changed, that would narrow down the date it went through the court, if it did. I am also surprised they did no see the Christies stock number on the frame at the very beginning.

[@brendanleenders61]

I would follow the provenance of the original. I would bet 2bob that possibly same owners of original in 18th cent, commissioned a copy as a possible insurance/ display piece.

[@sailinbob11]

I'll go with B. Just looks more alike to me. Not seeing it in person. Just my first impression.

[@bobinabuddy]

If you love something buy it regardless of what it may be worth

[@1964_AMU]

I am the proud owner of a chinese copy of a Canaletto... 🤣

[@toddaulner5393]

Too bad crappy computers are ruining everything.

[@winkieblink7625]

The Venetian Pting has a much more interesting story!

[@boldmover]

The grandfather lied about the date of purchase.

[@damianousley8833]

Granddad guilded the lilly, in his creative description of how they obtained the painting. Yes, we got that when we visited Venice to remind us our visit. He sounded good with the BS.

[@tonyadeney1245]

LOVELY JUBBLY _ the flattened image reminds me of a technique used by theatre painters for example - Canaletto created his vedute as miniature theater stages, depicting comic or dramatic scenes of everyday Venetian life. In the Capriccio view of the Courtyard of the Palazzo Ducale with the Scala dei Giganti, the scene is set in an eminent spot of Venetian life: the Doge’s Palace, housing the city’s seat of power. The Republic’s supreme authority, the Doge of Venice, had legislative, executive, and judicial powers. The courtyard of the Doge’s Palace, famous for its Giants’ Staircase, or Scala dei Giganti in Italian, is flanked by two colossal statues of Mars and Neptune, and it was the heart of Venice’s political life. In this painting, both eminent Venetian personalities and simple folk gather in the courtyard, offering a lively depiction of the city. Some artists used camera obscura as a reference to aid, which can also flatten images depending on lense. Although Canelletto probably did not directly use camera obscura, it might have been used as an aid during composition of frames and following artists would have known the technology too.

[@psjuxuen2064]

The stamp was not 'made in Florence'.... they totally destroyed any value that painting had.

[@JayGideon-7]

It's now a very tough world for a forger to make a buck! Makes you long for the age of innocence when even the victim went home quite happy with their purchase.🌞

[@dorotapogubila4427]

I can see now that if picture that is loved and long in family could be easily sold if attached lots of money.

[@ogribiker8535]

Because the insurance would be unafordable !

[@storykeeper8684]

The cloaked and masked figure in the foreground, hidden, dark, mysterious, and judicious, could very well be a metaphor for the Church, the dominant subject.

[@davidsmith3736]

How sad.I feel for Nick 😂

[@cristigrecu7382]

Contemporary artists, sign up your work!😊

[@benediktmorak4409]

One thing though is no fake. The appearance of Fiona Bruce. Always perfectly dressed,made up and coiffed. Suppose many years at the BBC had also helped a lot. Those were the times when BBC still WAS BBC...

[@helenahopkinson381]

So who was the English artist

[@gerhardrohne2261]

why not look at the chicago mariesci provenance? maybe it too has been in england and been copied there...

[@MrDXRamirez]

Its still a connection to a forger of the past that counts for something. Be worth investigating the forger for there was talent there and how and why he put those skills to use for money...can be a story of swindle, grifting and painting.