The National Gallery's Rubens could be fake, but it's still beautiful
The question of what determines value is a perennial one. The current furore over a purported Rubens painting at the National Gallery, however, suggests that value, even in the most rarefied world of fine art, might be a matter of enjoyment, not pedigree or even authenticity.
To wit: the the forthcoming publication of NG6461: The Fake Rubens, a book by Greek painter and art historian Euphrosyne Doxiadis with a pretty self-explanatory title relating to the painting by Rubens of Samson and Delilah that hangs prominently, beloved of visitors, in the gallery.
The painting – the original, that is – dates from the 17th century, a commission by Rubens's friend and patron Nicolaas II Rockox, the mayor of Antwerp (Rubens' work is all over Antwerp, a delightful jewelbox of a city). It vanished around 1641, reappearing in Paris in 1929, where it was declared the genuine article by a German scholar who turned out to be a phoney. In 1980, the National Gallery bought Samson and Delilah at auction for £2.5m.
But according to Doxiadis, and those who have worked with her on 'exposing' the fakeness of the original, it cannot be Rubens's original work. It's too bright. There are too many people outside the door. The fabric isn't how it ought to be, and a foot is cut off.
'The execution seemed crude,' wrote Doxiadis in her damning report for the Gallery, 'the colour unsubtle and uncharacteristic of Rubens' palette. The tonal values were incorrect in relation to the light sources. The handling of the paint was very crude.'
She may be right, and the world of fine art all wrong. Taxpayer money may have been squandered on a fiendishly expensive fake.
But does it matter? It's still a beautiful painting that strikes those who see it as – if not the real deal – then as good as. And maybe that's enough.
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