Is this artwork real and can I touch it?

Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

This post will cover why visitors are not allowed to touch the artwork, the conditions set by donors and lenders to protect artwork and how the age of artwork can be determined. I write this post not only to answer these questions, but to serve as a reminder for visitors to please not touch the artwork, and this has been beyond just paintings, a work of art can be a soldier’s jacket from World War II, a spoon from colonial America, or even a contemporary pair of Nike’s.

Is this real and can I touch it? Are frequent questions that I would encounter from visitors. Many museum visitors are under the impression that the artwork in front of them is a replica. For one reason or another, they have difficulty believing the artwork in front of them is an original. This is simply not true as all works in museums unless specifically stated our original. Museums go to great lengths to obtain, preserve and protect works that they will show to the public. They do everything they can from keeping paintings behind glass to posting signs to remind visitors not to touch the artwork. This is by far the best example even if the people involved are well meaning in the St. Peters Basilica.

I know of an instance I was able to personally witness in terms of a special exhibition. The work was of a well-known Impressionist artist in the original was simply too fragile to travel. So a replica was put up in its place, allowing visitors to see the work of art in context with the others by the artist. Another good example is New York’s Museum of Modern Art, starry starry night by Vincent van Gogh is not allowed to travel.

Why are visitors not allowed to touch the artwork?

Some of the works are very fragile, others are very old, but regardless none of them can be touched because of the oils, salt and acid on human skin. Individuals who work in the restoration department will use gloves and treat things very carefully as they assess artwork and preserve it. If you look down at your keyboard or your phone will see smudges from your fingerprints. It would be painstaking to have to clean artwork from people’s fingerprints.

Some visitors are kind enough to ask if they can touch the artwork and are then told why they cannot. Other individuals touch the artwork in an attempt to see the validity of the artwork. Museums actively discourage visitors from touching artwork to preserve them, through signage and security personnel.

Why are some paintings under glass, but not others?

That is left up to the lender or donor of the painting or particular work of art. Some works of art are on loan from private collections in people’s homes and they will only agree to show it to the public if it is kept under glass in the instance of a painting, or a plexiglass case if it is a sculpture for example. This is to protect the artwork and it allows the public to see it, in a way that protects the museum from the financial repercussions if the artwork were to be damaged.

The picture frames for artwork are real as well. When a museum is able to obtain the original painting and frame that goes along with it if that is possible, it greatly increases not only the monetary value of the work that its artistic and historical appreciation as well. I once had the pleasure of speaking with a guest and learned that his reason for visiting one of our special exhibitions of paintings from Spain was to see the original frames. He was a modern-day woodworker and woodcraft picture frames, and came to the exhibition to see authentic works from the past.

How do you know the art is real?

Scientific test can be used to determine the age of something with a technique called radiocarbon dating. a technique for determining the age of organic materials, such as wood, based on their content of the radioisotope… Measurement of the amount of radioactive carbon remaining in the material, thus gives an estimate of its age. This lets the preservation team know the age of a work of art.

There are other ways of learning about the authenticity of artwork beat a sculpture or a painting or a piece of folk art. There are individuals who dedicate their entire life to the pursuit and knowledge of one particular artist, artistic and historic time period, or a group of artist for example. The wonderful job they do is to study and learn the style, technique and individual signature of artists know as “the old masters” with artists such as Caravaggio, Raphael and Rembrandt.

Have a work of art and want your local museum to appraise it for you?

Well, call their customer service line and they will direct you as most museums turn down the people who bring art  to be appraised and authenticated.