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Series 5

4 episodes · 17th July 2016

The team investigates paintings and sculpture linked to Delaroche, Lucian Freud and Rodin, alongside difficult portrait attributions. Questions of family ownership, incomplete records and deliberate deception complicate the search for firm answers.

Season details

Details

Episode guide

Episodes

01 Freud still Freud Episode 117th July 2016 The team investigates a portrait believed to be an early work by Lucian Freud, despite the artist having denied painting it during his lifetime. Research leads back to Freud’s teenage years at the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing, while technical analysis examines whether he may have worked over an abandoned canvas begun by someone else. 02 Delaroche still Delaroche Episode 224th July 2016 A painting bought for £500 is investigated as the possible lost royal commission Saint Amelia, Queen of Hungary by Paul Delaroche. Fiona and Philip trace it from the exiled French royal family to Britain and use archival and scientific evidence to distinguish the original work from the many contemporary copies made after it. 03 Rodin still Rodin Episode 331st July 2016 A family-owned watercolour is said to belong to Auguste Rodin’s celebrated series of Cambodian dancers. With little documented provenance and the shadow of prolific Rodin forger Ernest Durig hanging over the work, the team studies its materials, signature and fluid painting technique in search of a reliable attribution. 04 Portraits still Portraits Episode 421st August 2016 Three unrelated portraits are investigated as possible works by Philip Mercier, Adolph von Menzel and Willem de Kooning. The cases produce sharply different outcomes, ranging from a neglected bargain to a convincing forgery and a promising attribution complicated by unresolved ownership history.
Talent

Cast & Crew

01 Fiona Bruce profile Fiona Bruceas Self - Presenter 02 Philip Mould profile Philip Mouldas Self - Presenter 03 Aviva Burnstock profile Aviva Burnstockas Self - Technical Specialist
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