Forgeries of Escher
In recent years, an increasing number of forgeries of Escher’s works have appeared on the market. Unfortunately, art forgers are almost as productive as the artists themselves. Without the proper training, guidance, or experience, it can be very difficult to distinguish a genuine print from a fake. Auction houses sometimes use the terms “in the style/manner of” and “attributed to”, which in both cases primarily means that the work is NOT by Escher himself. It may look like something Escher could have made, but it is not. With these phrases, the auction house ensures that they have informed you about this. In reality, they want to trigger an “artist alert” in you and tempt you under the motto: “Wishful thinking.” But… if something seems too good to be true, it often is, especially when money is involved. Fortunately, the authenticity of Escher’s work is often relatively easy to determine. The fact that M.C. Escher’s work has been so precisely described – by himself and several close associates/experts in numerous reference works – is essential in this regard. To determine the authenticity of a work, it is useful to follow a few standard steps. The reference work “The Life and Work of M.C. Escher” by Bool, Kist, Locher, and Wierda is a good starting point.

 

Which steps to follow

1.   Do the dimensions match those listed in the reference work?

2.   Is the signature, any numbering, and annotations in the correct place?

3.   Is the signature correct?

4.   Ask an expert to examine the work. They will go through further steps, which I prefer not to discuss in detail here; we mustn’t make the forgers any smarter than they already are.

 

Here you will find some photos of forgeries.

If you wish to have the authenticity of a work checked, you are, of course, always welcome to contact us.