Posted by John Fiorillo on August 28, 1999 at 00:14:34:
In Reply to: Re: Re: jacoulet posted by Nancy on August 27, 1999 at 16:39:34:
Nancy,
I know of no fakes of Jacoulet’s prints. They were so well printed and all the pigments and papers were of such high (and sometimes unique) quality that it would have been prohibitively expensive and next to impossible in some cases to attempt to duplicate them. In addition, until the late 1980s-early 1990s Jacoulet’s prints were not well thought of by critics and most collectors, so there was little economic incentive to make copies or fakes of them. Even today, after a dramatic but brief rise in the appraisals of Jacoulet’s, they have fallen again in general esteem, although certainly not as low as they once were (and a few pieces still command respectable or even high prices). The vicissitudes of the market place are sometimes perplexing. While Jacoulet should maintain some pride of place among Japanese-style printmaking by Western artists, his market value would have to rise to astronomical levels to tempt forgers, and I wonder whether anyone could put together a team of carvers and printers who could consistently match those used by Jacoulet. If anyone knows of deceptive Jacoulet fakes, I would like to hear about them.
As for "authenticating" Jacoulet’s prints, one way is to examine the paper in bright light. Many (not all) of the papers used by Jacoulet’s printers have a personal "PJ" watermark.
The impression of Nuit de Neige illustrated on my webpage has the following dimensions, so your image size should be identical or extremely close. Your paper size could vary depending on whether it has been trimmed or was originally of a slightly different size:
Paper Size: 470x360mm (18-1/2x14-3/16")
Image Size: 393x301mm (15-7/16x11-7/8")
John
[In response to Nancy: "Yes, thank you. It is the same print. Is there a way for me to determine if it is authentic myself or should I go to an appraiser/local museum?"]