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CreativityTranscript
00:00The art world, glamour, wealth, intrigue, but beneath the surface there's a darker place,
00:14a world of high stakes and gambles. International art dealer Philip Mould knows the risks. He
00:24hunts down sleepers, paintings that hide secrets. In the past we looked at pictures, now almost
00:32you can look through them. Paint almost acts like blood at a crime scene. I'm Fiona Bruce
00:39and I've over 20 years experience as a journalist. Every picture tells its own story and it's
00:46up to us to try and uncover it. We're teaming up to investigate human dramas and mysterious
00:54tales locked in paint. Our first case? We help one man in his struggle to try and prove his
01:02painting is by one of the world's most famous and sought after artists. And there's no doubting
01:08who it's intended to be by. We follow the painstaking process to establish whether a work of art is
01:14genuine. It seems outrageous that the Wildenstein Institute can just defy international opinion
01:20like that. It's absolutely infuriating. And I think to challenge it with this painting
01:24is something that we must do now. And we use cutting edge forensics to try to solve the mystery.
01:31Our investigation takes us from the banks of the river Seine near Paris.
01:36You think this could be the spot? I think it could be. To Cairo, to a grand palace on the Nile.
01:50And now the Monet Nymphia, slot number 14. We'll start the bidding here at £22 million.
02:01In the art world, Monet means money. Wealthy collectors will bid tens of millions of pounds
02:08to own a work by this famous impressionist who's captivated the world.
02:12£28 million. But sometimes even stupendous sums like this aren't enough.
02:18At £29 million. Here's a pass at £29 million.
02:26Wow. I have never seen anything like that. It was just going up in millions by the second, wasn't it?
02:32I know, but even at £29 million, the owner wasn't prepared to sell it. I mean, this is how much
02:36these pictures are worth. But for even a Monet to get to auction, it first has to be approved
02:41by a very powerful family.
02:45The Wildensteins are a family dynasty of billionaire art dealers.
02:50For nearly 40 years, they've published the Monet Catalogue Raisonne, a five-volume tome
02:55which is meant to list every genuine Monet. No Monet is ever sold in a major auction house
03:02without being listed.
03:03Art historian Daniel Wildenstein first published the catalogue in 1974.
03:11Since his death in 2001, his son Guy has inherited the power to decide what is or isn't a Monet.
03:23We're on our way to see a painting both generations of Wildensteins have rejected.
03:29But Philip thinks they may have overlooked something.
03:33Hi, David. Nice to meet you. Hello. Hiya.
03:39How do you do? How do you do?
03:41How do you do?
03:41Very nice to meet you.
03:42Yeah, welcome to the Lighthouse.
03:4482-year-old David Joel has been fighting a long battle to get his painting accepted.
03:51We hope we might be able to help him.
03:54Here it is.
03:54Wow.
03:56Well, it's a beautiful painting.
03:59And there's no doubting who it's intended to be by.
04:02None whatsoever.
04:03Bord la Seine Argentaie.
04:05So the banks of the Seine at Argentaie, 1875.
04:09Lovely.
04:11The big question is, how did you come by it?
04:14Yes.
04:14Well, I first saw it in a sale room in Norwich.
04:17I couldn't possibly afford it, because it was supposed to go for half a million pounds.
04:23I really loved it, but there's nothing I could do about it.
04:26But then it's here.
04:27Well, two years later I heard there was a possibility that I could buy it from the owner.
04:33And I bought it for £40,000.
04:37So £40,000?
04:38Yes.
04:39I mean, £40,000 may sound a lot, but of course it's a fraction of its value, if it turns out to be by money.
04:47Yes, but if it's not by money, I mean, it could be worth £40.
04:52Yeah, but I take a more upside view on this.
04:55I mean, if this were included in the book...
04:59In the Wildensteins book?
05:00Yeah, it would be a very different picture.
05:02People would look at it differently, value it differently, remarkably differently.
05:05It could be worth, who knows, over a million.
05:08Well, I've been trying for 18 years now to get Wildenstein to accept it for his catalogue.
05:13For 18 years?
05:14Yes.
05:15It's a long haul, but I shall win in the end, I think.
05:19Well, I admire your style.
05:21In the first place, putting down the money for this painting on a hunch,
05:24and then taking on the might of the Wildensteins.
05:27So you've been writing letters, and they've been writing back to you, the Wildensteins, for 18 years?
05:35Yes.
05:36Crikey.
05:38Dear Mr Joel, I regret to tell you I still do not believe the picture to be by the artist, Daniel Wildenstein.
05:44Six years later, dear Mr Joel, unfortunately I have not changed my mind about your painting.
05:49That's just one sentence.
05:50Dear Mr Joel, I am sorry to have to convey Mr Wildenstein's negative answer concerning your painting.
05:56Crikey, O'Reilly.
05:58I mean, some of these letters are brief to the point of...
06:02Well, they're not very encouraging, are they?
06:05Yeah, I tell you, some of those letters are quite long from Wildenstein.
06:10He wrote one very famous letter and said,
06:12jamais, that's all he said.
06:14What, never?
06:14Never.
06:15By examining the painting with a halogen torch, I can study its brushstrokes, the unique handwriting of the artist.
06:25So the Wildensteins presumably think that this is a fake, that this is by another artist who's ripping off arguably the greatest impressionist who ever lived.
06:34But I have to say, I disagree.
06:36I think it's too clever.
06:37It's too complex.
06:38I really hope that we can progress this.
06:41I feel, I feel David has had a lot of bad luck with this picture.
06:45Do you ever feel worn down by it all, after all this time?
06:48No.
06:49I gave up for a few months at a time and then came back to the attack.
06:54I'm a fairly stubborn individual.
06:57I have to say, I would never want to argue with you because I think I'd lose.
07:00Oh, no, I never argue with a lady.
07:05I can really see why David bought this picture.
07:08I mean, he believes in it.
07:09And I have to say, the more time I've spent with it, I believe in it.
07:13What would it mean to you if the Wildensteins do give it a thumbs up and do say it is a money?
07:20Well, it would be a remarkable victory.
07:23I would have thought that all my work was justified.
07:29I would have to sell it.
07:30After all, I'm getting on a bit.
07:33And I'd rather sell it.
07:33Spritely 82?
07:35I won't hear a word of it.
07:36I'd rather sell it than have to leave it to my wife and children to do that.
07:44It's better that I should sell it than that they should be forced to after my death.
07:48After 18 years of hard work and research, David has agreed to allow us to take his treasured painting away so that we can help him with his investigation.
08:00Look after it.
08:01OK.
08:02Cheers.
08:03Bye-bye.
08:06Yes.
08:13Well, that was interesting.
08:14So you think that this could be a money?
08:18I do.
08:19Yeah, but the thing is, it's all very well you having a feeling in your water.
08:23But if we are going to go to the Wildensteins and convince them, we are going to need an awful lot more evidence, quite clearly, aren't we?
08:35The first stage of our investigation is to have the painting examined at an art research lab.
08:41Dr. Nicholas Eastor, an expert in the scientific study of paintings, is using high-resolution, infrared and X-ray photography to unlock clues within the canvas.
08:54Nick is looking at the back of the picture, and as absurd as it sounds, I often find that the back of a painting will tell you more than the front.
09:01And having had a brief look at the back, I've seen a myriad of inscriptions and labels.
09:05Now, any of those could take us back closer to Monet.
09:08In the old days, finding out who a painting was by was a process of connoisseurship, as it's called, looking deep into the strokes of the painting, trying to work out whether an artist painted it.
09:21Combined, of course, with provenance, looking into the history of the painting, working back through the years, the centuries, the decades, or whatever, in order, with any luck, to get back to the artist.
09:30Now, however, science is playing a much greater role.
09:35In the last 18 years since David has had this picture, it has advanced massively.
09:39It can establish all sorts of things, which before couldn't be.
09:42For example, it can look into a picture, see the various layers, see how it evolved.
09:47What you can say is that in the past we looked at pictures.
09:50Now almost you can look through them.
09:52Back at base, Philip's head of research, Dr. Ben-Dore Grosvenor, has been studying the images from the lab.
10:00He has years of experience proving whether paintings are genuine or fake.
10:07Here is some fascinating footage of the man at the centre of our mystery, Claude Monet, done in the 1920s when he was about 80 years old.
10:14Amazing to see him there, isn't it?
10:16Oh, it's wonderful. I'd love to see him painting so quickly and his fag balancing in his mouth.
10:22And what's it going to take to prove to the Wildensiles, then, that David's painting was painted by that man?
10:29Well, what they're looking for is documentary evidence that his painting existed in Monet's lifetime.
10:36Monet died in 1926, so we need to find something from before that date.
10:40Why?
10:40Well, the reason is, if Monet's around there to check the picture, it's not that easy to sell a fake.
10:46Quite. And there are actually cases of art dealers sending photographs of suspect pictures to Monet to ask him if they were real or not.
10:55So if this painting existed while Monet was alive, it's much less likely to be a fake.
11:00Exactly. And I've been having a look at the back of the picture, which is covered with an array of labels and bits of information.
11:07Now, it's possible that any one of these could help put this picture into the right place at the right time.
11:13Absolutely. And the first thing I want to point out is this stamp in the middle, which says La Touche.
11:19Now, La Touche is what we call an artist's colourman, or someone who supplied artists with canvases and paints.
11:26And we know that La Touche supplied artists within Monet's circle.
11:31So we need to prove that La Touche supplied canvases to Monet.
11:35Yes. And the next clue, which I think helps put David's painting in the right location, at least, is a baggage stamp from the French railways, which says here, from Paris-Bourne-Lieu station to Argenteuil.
11:50Which, of course, is highly significant, because the title of the picture is Baudelaise, now Argenteuil.
11:56And where is Argenteuil?
11:58Argenteuil is a suburb just outside Paris, where Monet lived between 1871 and 1878.
12:04Right. So it would be good to go to Argenteuil and find, if we can, the same view, if it exists, that is in that painting.
12:12Absolutely. If we could.
12:14And finally, the most important set of clues are going to be these dealer stamps on the back here.
12:19What do they show?
12:20Well, they have stock numbers on, and we can trace those stock numbers back using the ledgers and the records of those art dealers to try and find out the previous owners before that crucial date in 1926 to satisfy the wilderness.
12:34So we need to follow this trail of clues, then, to prove to the Wildensteins that this painting was painted by Monet at exactly the right time in his life.
12:47Yeah. Precisely.
12:48Our first stop, Paris, where the Impressionist movement began.
13:03We're heading to the Musée Marmotton, which holds the largest collection of Monets in the world.
13:15Monet was one of a group of revolutionary artists who breathed new life and light into art.
13:22He brought painting out of the confines of the studio and into the open air.
13:33Monet spent 70 years on over 2,000 canvases trying to capture the shifting moods of the landscape, and there was one painting which began it all.
13:43Now, this is the picture I wanted to show you.
13:48I used to have a postcard of this on my wall when I was a student, yeah.
13:52I imagine it would probably look rather good.
13:54Even in reproduction, this picture works.
13:56It's called Impression Sunrise, and this is where Impressionism gets its name.
14:01It was exhibited in 1874, and compared to what was going on in art at the time, this was a real departure.
14:09This was very, very radical.
14:11Really?
14:12What was so shocking about it, or to one critic in particular, was that it was so unfinished.
14:18A chap called Louis Leroy said, even embryonic wallpaper looks more finished than this.
14:24So the critics didn't like it because they just thought it looked all a bit kind of slapdash.
14:27Yes, and for all the reasons the critics didn't like it, you can see how Impressionism works.
14:34I mean, the sense of movement in the picture, the feeling of just the blink of an eye capturing a sense of atmosphere.
14:41He's out there. He's actually in the docks, because this is Le Havre docks.
14:45He's doing something which is spontaneous, is fresh, is energetic.
14:51And you just respond to it kind of sensually rather than anything else.
14:56And I think anyone can grasp that, can't they?
14:58Yeah, I think that's a very important point.
15:01This art is not art that you have to be trained to like.
15:06Can you imagine if David's money ends up hanging amongst all these?
15:12I mean, that would be really something.
15:15And do you know something?
15:15I think it could.
15:17I have to say, having seen these here, I believe in that picture more and more and more.
15:25As well as this amazing collection of Monet works, the Musée Marmottant also holds the artist's letters and account books.
15:32We hope we might find a link to one of the clues on the back of the canvas, the La Touche stamp.
15:41La Touche was a Paris-based artist-colourman who supplied paints, materials and canvases to the Impressionists.
15:48But did he supply Monet?
15:50Monsieur Taddei, thank you for agreeing to see us about what we think could be a Monet, a new Monet.
15:59I hope for you.
16:00Well, we certainly hope.
16:02Now, as a director of this museum, I imagine if anyone's going to know, you're going to know.
16:06Did La Touche have any dealings directly with Monet?
16:12Yes, sure.
16:13If you wait five minutes, I will show you something.
16:16We tell that Monet and La Touche were her friends.
16:20Great.
16:21That sounds rather hopeful.
16:22He does.
16:23It sounds like he thinks he's got something.
16:24It's on the scent of something, isn't he?
16:25Yeah, yeah.
16:26But, of course, here there is so much material, so much archival material, anything could pop out of the woodwork.
16:32Come on, Mr. Taddei.
16:34Oh.
16:37Did you have any luck?
16:39Yes.
16:39I have the account book.
16:41For the year 1872.
16:44And you can see, see, I'm Mr. La Touche, Pochard de Rouen.
16:48Let's have a look.
16:48You can have a look.
16:50So, here we are, look.
16:52Beautiful script as well, isn't it?
16:53So, this is Monet's account book.
16:55Yes.
16:56He wrote that.
16:58Gosh.
16:58Look, here we go.
16:59Tableau vendu, année 1872.
17:01So, that's pictures sold, 1872, Ã , to, Mr. La Touche.
17:06You know, that is so fascinating, because suddenly now, that name on the back of the picture
17:10means something.
17:12This unequivocally states, in Monet's own hand, that he dealt with La Touche.
17:17There's a direct link between the two.
17:19Correct.
17:22I'm waiting here at the Gals, you know, in Paris, because David and Jennifer Joel are
17:26about to turn up any minute, and then we're going to go hot on the trail of all those clues
17:31on the back of the canvas and see where they take us.
17:34Oh, here they are.
17:35Hi, there.
17:37Nice to meet you, Jennifer.
17:38Hiya.
17:39Hi, David.
17:40How are you doing?
17:40Hi.
17:40Mm.
17:41Welcome to Paris.
17:44We've got quite a lot of work to do.
17:45We have, haven't we?
17:49We're on the trail of another clue on the back of the canvas, a railway baggage stamp
17:54which reads Paris to Argenteuil.
17:59In the 19th century, Argenteuil was a rapidly expanding suburb of Paris, a playground for
18:05city dwellers who would travel by railway to spend a day by the river.
18:12It was also a favourite haunt of Monet.
18:15He moved to Argenteuil in 1871 with his wife, Camille, and their young son, Jean.
18:20Monet was fascinated by this landscape teeming with modern life, a place of leisure and pleasure,
18:29but also a place launching headlong into the industrial age with its factories, bridges
18:34and steam trains.
18:43Argenteuil has changed dramatically, but just a short walk from the railway station, Monet's
18:48house still stands.
18:50So there's the station, and here is Monet's house, where he was living at the time, if
18:59he did indeed paint your picture, this is where he would have been living.
19:02It's a lovely house.
19:04I've never seen it before.
19:06It's quite a substantial building, isn't it?
19:08Well, there it is.
19:09Yes.
19:09And you can just imagine, because look, I've got a picture here with the baggage stamp on
19:13the back of your picture.
19:14Paris banlieue à Argenteuil.
19:16And, you know, we know that lots of colourmen, artist suppliers were in Paris, and they ship
19:22bundles of artist supplies and canvases down using the train.
19:25So you can just imagine, the canvases come down on the train, arrive at the station, Monet goes
19:31and picks them up.
19:32What a very convenient way of getting your extra supplies.
19:36Exactly.
19:37There we are.
19:38And so quick.
19:39I mean, what do you think, Jennifer, about the fact that David has been doggedly researching
19:43this Monet for 18 years?
19:45What do you make of it all?
19:47You want the truth?
19:48Yes.
19:49I can't tell you how much time it's taken up.
19:54But I admire what he's done, I really do, because he really believes in the painting,
19:58and it is beautiful.
19:59Really beautiful.
20:00So, yeah, it's okay.
20:10Back in Paris, I'm heading to a research lab which is undertaking pioneering work in the
20:15field of art authentication.
20:18The team working in the lab behind me are at the absolute forefront of a whole new way
20:22of looking at art.
20:23I mean, there's a lot of speculation in the art world generally about how science is able
20:27to take the process of attribution forward.
20:30And these guys have got techniques and machinery and technology which are really pushing the
20:35boundaries.
20:36Now, the question is, will they be able to help David authenticate his picture?
20:41David's painting is being scanned under a revolutionary new camera, which provides images of unprecedented
20:50resolution and color accuracy.
20:53An ordinary digital camera provides a resolution of 12 million pixels.
20:58The Lumia camera provides 240 million pixels.
21:03It also uses 13 different light filters from ultraviolet to infrared.
21:10This enables us not just to view the surface of the painting in greater detail, but to see
21:16through the layers of paint to reveal the artist's technique.
21:20The multi-spectral scan takes a couple of hours to complete.
21:25So I'm meeting with inventor Pascal Codd.
21:27Pascal, hello.
21:28He's used his camera to remarkable effect on the world's most famous painting, the Mona
21:34Lisa.
21:35So you've been doing some very interesting research on the Mona Lisa.
21:39What has your camera been able to tell us?
21:41The camera can peel back the layers of paint like an onion and see how the artist painted.
21:51Looking at her, she's covered with a varnish which seems to obscure the paint beneath.
21:57Yes.
21:58And the varnish is totally yellow.
22:00And the sky appears totally green.
22:04And with the camera, we can remove the varnish.
22:09Huh.
22:10Actually, that's fascinating, isn't it?
22:13So the sky is not green at all.
22:15It's blue.
22:16Yes.
22:17And the next step, now we can recover the genuine color.
22:22How extraordinary.
22:24You're looking at the paints as if they have not degraded, as if they haven't changed over
22:29the four or five hundred years.
22:31Yeah.
22:32So one is going back to the appearance of the picture when it left Leonardo's studio.
22:37Exactly.
22:38She's got chestnut brown hair, hasn't she?
22:40Yeah.
22:41And the veil, which one could just make out before, is so much more clear.
22:46You can see its transparency.
22:48She's a different looking woman.
22:50Yes, totally.
22:51Yeah.
22:52And now we can look at what we have behind the painting.
22:57Using what?
22:58We use infrared.
22:59So you are like Superman and you can see behind.
23:03Let's try it.
23:05Wow.
23:06Look at this.
23:07We discover for the first time that she has a kind of blanket on her knee.
23:15She has, hasn't she?
23:17So what just looked like a dark and incoherent area is in fact her fingers holding a shawl.
23:26Yes.
23:27Yes.
23:28I mean this is all really fascinating stuff when dealing with the world's most famous portrait.
23:34But the question is, what can this process tell us about David's painting?
23:39We shall see.
23:40Back at Argenteuil, we're about to head out on the river Seine to try and find the view in David's painting.
23:56Here come the firemen with our life jackets.
23:59I hope you're big enough.
24:01Bonjour.
24:02Merci.
24:05It means hitching a lift with some friendly French firemen as they have the only boat available to take us out.
24:11Well done.
24:13Olivier Millot, director of the local museum, agrees to be our guide.
24:18You look at how you're enjoying yourself.
24:20I am.
24:21I think this is great.
24:22Up for the ride.
24:23See ya.
24:24A bientot.
24:25Well, we're off.
24:27Yeah.
24:28Down the Seine.
24:29Here we go.
24:36Monet would have taken a rather more leisurely journey down the river.
24:39In a boat he had specially converted to paint in.
24:42He called it his bateau atelier or studio boat.
24:49But the waterway has changed dramatically and industry now dominates the landscape.
24:53It's proving difficult to find the spot where Monet laid anchor to paint our view.
24:59To the right.
25:00A bit more to the right.
25:04A bit more to the right.
25:05A bit more.
25:06I mean, that's as good as you can get.
25:09N'est pas?
25:10Yeah.
25:11It could be.
25:12It could be.
25:13But this is not.
25:14Is this Argenteuil?
25:15No.
25:16C'est pas Argenteuil?
25:17No.
25:18C'est pas Argenteuil?
25:19No.
25:20Well.
25:21See, you see, it could be that, David.
25:22It could be that there.
25:23Except that building, which apparently was built when this was painted, isn't there.
25:27And also, this isn't Argenteuil.
25:29But Argenteuil is more that way.
25:31So why don't we go and have a look that way?
25:32All right.
25:33Shall we?
25:34Yeah, sure.
25:35Have a look.
25:36I'm not fussy.
25:37Oh, God.
25:38Don't believe that for a moment.
25:41Olivier suggests we head towards a place once known as Ile Marante, an island near Argenteuil,
25:47painted many times by Monet.
25:50The island no longer exists, as it's now joined to the riverbank.
25:56But despite these changes in the landscape, it's still possible to find the view.
26:03So if we look now, I don't know, Olivier, what you think, but David, look.
26:09So...
26:10C'est bon.
26:11Because this used to be an island before here.
26:13But if you imagine, that is there.
26:15There's the river.
26:16Look, you see the hills.
26:17Yes.
26:18And, of course, none of those buildings were there.
26:21And the trees here.
26:22What do you think?
26:23Let's go for it, shall we?
26:25You think this could be the spot?
26:26I think it could be.
26:28It fulfills the business of Borge de la Sena Argentoil, because this is Argentoil.
26:33Yeah.
26:34On the banks of the Sena Argentoil.
26:35Yes.
26:36But in a flat calm, today there is a little wind, as you can see.
26:40Yes, because there's a perfect reflection here, isn't there?
26:42Yes.
26:43Yeah.
26:44And do you like to think about Monet painting here?
26:46Oh, I...
26:47Painting this painting that you love so much?
26:48Oh, I...
26:49I love the idea, yes.
26:50Yes.
26:51Yes.
26:52Back in Paris, the scan is almost complete.
26:58To help me interpret the images, I've invited Iris Schaefer from the Valraaf Ricards Museum
27:04in Cologne.
27:05She's a leading authority in the use of scientific techniques to study Monet's works.
27:10And she recently exposed a fake that had been accepted as genuine by Daniel Wildenstein.
27:16Here's the painting.
27:18Oh, so Daniel Wildenstein didn't always get it right.
27:21It's in the actual catalogue raisonne itself.
27:23Yes, indeed.
27:24So how could you tell this was a fake?
27:27First of all, the paint application was done with a palette knife, which you can see here.
27:33A palette knife was never used by Monet in the 1880s.
27:37Oh, so you could detect that the technique was wrong?
27:40Yes, the technique was wrong for this time and for Monet.
27:43The second thing was the signature.
27:46It was done twice.
27:47The first three letters were written with a greyish paint.
27:50And afterwards, this whole signature was enlarged in a bigger size done with a brownish paint.
27:56That's completely unusual for Monet.
27:58Actually, you can see it's a bit cack-handed, can't you?
28:01Yes.
28:02It's actually very clear now you point it out, particularly with this high-definition photography.
28:06I mean, this is a lovely example of how science can move an attribution backwards,
28:10could take an attribution away or move it forwards.
28:15It's with some trepidation that I show Iris the Lumiere camera's high-resolution images of David's painting.
28:22Will she see signs of another fake Monet?
28:27Please, can you switch to the raking light?
28:31I mean, that is so striking, isn't it?
28:33With the light coming from the side, it's throwing the brush marks into strong relief.
28:38It's making the painting look three-dimensional.
28:45I wish I had one of these at home.
28:48Yes, it reminds me of looking at paintings under the microscope.
28:52Yes.
28:53Iris spends what seems like an eternity scrutinising the scan.
29:00Having undertaken the scientific study of scores of Impressionist works, she understands exactly how Monet painted.
29:08Now, you've got up close to many Monets.
29:12Would you say that the techniques we're seeing here are typical of him?
29:15Yes, indeed.
29:16You can see every step, the construction of the painting, which seems to be, in this case, typical for Monet.
29:23For example, the thinly applied paint in the river or in the sky, and the thicker paint in the foliage.
29:31But it's certainly a sketch.
29:33Done quickly because you can see there are places where you can look through the ground layer.
29:38Just almost bits of bare canvas.
29:40Yeah.
29:42There's such a feeling of spontaneity, but also certainty about it.
29:47Yes, indeed. The painter knew what he was doing, I'm sure.
29:50But can we look at the signature?
29:55Yes, we can see that the signature is not in black, painted in black or in brown, but in a colour, a greenish-bluish colour.
30:02This is typical for Monet because he loved to put his signature in harmony with the colours of his paintings.
30:10Like a sort of chic pocket handkerchief, just a bit of colour.
30:12Yes.
30:14Having dissected the front of the painting, Iris looks at the back.
30:18She notices that the Latouche Coloman stamp also appears on works that she has previously researched.
30:24The left one is the Latouche stamp on the reverse of a painting made by Gauguin in our collection Cologne.
30:32And it's identical with the stamp which we can see here on the Bordeaux-la-Seine.
30:37And it is dated in 1875.
30:40About the same date as our picture.
30:41Yes, right.
30:43But as you can see here on the right, we have another Latouche stamp which is a slightly different design.
30:49And this belongs also to a painting of Gauguin but it's dated later in 1884.
30:56Ah, now that's very significant because it suggests, therefore, it doesn't suggest, it says, therefore, that David's picture must have been produced before that day, before the design changed.
31:05That's right, yes.
31:07It's the sort of touch, surely, that a faker would never think of.
31:12Yes, I think so. It's almost impossible.
31:13The evidence appears to be stacking up. Time to ask the burning question.
31:20Do you think David's picture is by Monet having seen all this?
31:24From all what I know about this painting and what I have seen, I think nothing suggests that this is a fake.
31:33Are you sure?
31:34Yes, I strongly believe that.
31:36Just as we're about to call an end to a fascinating day, I get a phone call from Philip, who's at the Gare du Nord trying to take David's painting back to London.
31:49Philip, what is it?
31:51Oh, hi, Kenneth. Well, a spot of bother at the customs here. They've seized the picture. They won't let me take it back to London. They expressed to me this could be a national treasure and they don't want to let it out. They want to establish that it hasn't been smuggled out of England or indeed it's not stolen.
32:11You are kidding me. So, what do we do next?
32:16Well, David will be required to come up with paperwork and to prove that it's his picture.
32:22Have you got any paperwork, David, that proves it's yours?
32:25Is it?
32:26Have you got the receipt for when you bought this painting?
32:29Oh, yes.
32:31Good.
32:32Is that real or are they having me on?
32:33No, no, this is real. That is Philip, stuck at customs.
32:37Oh, poor man.
32:38After four hours of questioning, Philip is allowed to go back to London. But he's had to leave the painting at the station, so it's down to us to get it back.
32:51Your picture's being held here at the Gare du Nord in an office just up there, being held against its will. I've got all the documentation now, here, which proves that you are the owner of this painting.
33:04So, shall we go and try and get it back?
33:07Go on, then.
33:09We need to find the customs official dealing with our case, but he's proving difficult to track down.
33:14Where is the painting?
33:15I have no idea. It's wherever he puts it. So he needs to be got on the phone and we need to sort it out, because we are not leaving without it.
33:23No one has heard of this customs officer whose name I've been given.
33:27The Joels are confused and don't know what's going on. I don't either, really.
33:32But hopefully, we're going to get the painting.
33:34What began as a farce is becoming more serious, and I am rapidly losing my sense of humour.
33:47Who saw these documents that we sent here, with this emergency?
33:52Well, he doesn't have the right to go before making a decision on this subject.
33:58At least without a call.
33:59I am so angry. The painting is stuck in there. We have been sending documents all day to prove that it's David's painting.
34:11There is no question of that. And now the bloke who was sending documents has just upped and gone home.
34:16No one there will entertain the idea of making any kind of decision. They're frankly rude.
34:21You know, I said to them, some bottle of bloody perfume, you know. This is an incredibly valuable painting.
34:28Even if it isn't by money, it's really valuable. If it is by money, it goes through the roof.
34:32And they have no idea what they've got there. No idea whatsoever.
34:36And also, I feel incredibly embarrassed, actually, about the situation, and sorry for David and Jennifer.
34:42Because it's all very well me being crossed, but this is their painting.
34:44With our train about to depart, we have to make a tough decision.
34:50I think we've hit a wall. We've gone as far as we can with customs. They are not going to budge.
34:56And we've made all the calls we can make. But I think, actually, I'm really sorry, we're going to have to leave your painting here.
35:03And we're going to have to try and get the painting another way.
35:05Well, we made an appointment and that rotter of a customs official did not turn up.
35:11Well, certainly, we thought we were going to see him and he buggered off home.
35:13Well, let's go home.
35:14Yeah, let's bugger off home ourselves and get a glass of wine while we're at it.
35:17I think we deserve it, don't you?
35:22In the end, it takes seven days and countless phone calls.
35:27But finally, David's painting is liberated.
35:29A diplomatic incident is narrowly avoided and our researcher returns the painting safely back to brushy soil,
35:37so that we can continue our investigation.
35:43With the painting safely returned and a leading scientist on our side,
35:48I'm eager to show it to one of the most respected connoisseurs of Monet.
35:53Connoisseurs tend not to rely on science, but on something else.
35:57They're trained eye to identify works of art.
36:01It could take many, many years to become a really good connoisseur.
36:05And there's one man at the Courtauld Institute,
36:07that centre of excellence for the study of art,
36:10who spent three decades studying Monet and teaching about it and researching it.
36:17I'm very keen to discuss it with him.
36:20Having written several seminal books on Monet and curated exhibitions of the artist's work,
36:26Professor John House knows the genuine article and how to spot it.
36:32Now, John, you are a world scholar on Monet.
36:36What do you make of David's painting?
36:39Well, I've seen it many, many times over the years and I've never had a moment's doubt that it was painted by Monet.
36:43It simply looks right.
36:44What makes you say that?
36:46Well, it's really in the way that the brushwork looks.
36:49It's the way his handling of paint is so very, very recognisable.
36:53It's extraordinarily varied and yet it's thoroughly free and spontaneous in one sense, but also so much in control.
37:00I mean, brush strokes are like handwriting in that way.
37:04I mean, each artist's paint and the way they apply it is unique.
37:06Absolutely.
37:07But it's not just the brush strokes are so convincing about this picture, but we've also got Monet's actual handwriting in the form of the signature in the bottom right-hand corner of our picture.
37:17I've cobbled together some comparable signatures from other completely legitimate Monet paintings and it seems to me that the one on David's painting is completely right.
37:27What do you think?
37:28Well, I think they all look very, very similar. I think there's something about the flow and rhythm of the handwriting, particularly the left-hand hook of the M.
37:37It seems to me there's, again, a fluency there. I rather like the mark-making in the rest of the picture.
37:42And you are, you know, one of the world's leading authorities on Monet and you believe this is the real deal?
37:49Absolutely. But more important, the other scholars who are also experts in Monet's work, particularly Monet's work of this period, have never had a moment's doubt about the picture.
37:59They're all convinced that it's a perfectly genuine painting.
38:02How can the Wildensteins not listen to that?
38:06Well, it's a difficult situation. The initial judgment was made by Daniel Wildenstein probably around 30 or 40 years ago.
38:12And his son, Guy, after Daniel's death, has also been sent information. But they've simply been unwilling to change their mind.
38:19But it seems outrageous that, you know, they can just defy international opinion like that.
38:25Yes, it's absolutely infuriating. But the art market has given the Wildensteins the authority to say what is a Monet and what is not a Monet.
38:33And it's very, very hard to overturn that particular authority, although we're totally convinced that the painting's genuine.
38:39So isn't it hard to challenge that authority? Absolutely. And I think to challenge it with this painting and to demonstrate our reasons for being totally convinced that it's genuine is something that we must do now, yes.
38:52With the world's Monet connoisseurs behind David's painting, we now have to look at its provenance, documentary evidence showing who owned the work and when.
39:02David has spent years tracking the history of his painting.
39:07Bendor has gathered all the relevant documents to see how far the paper trail leads us.
39:12Hi, Bendor. Hi, Fiona.
39:14So what have you got?
39:15Do you remember when we looked at the back of the picture, there was a large stock number?
39:19Now, it comes from a London-based art dilly who was called Arthur Tooth. And fortunately, Arthur Tooth's stock books and ledgers all survive, and we've got a copy of one here.
39:31And the numbers from the back of David's painting, which is 3322, matches the stock number in Arthur Tooth's ledger. So here we are, here's our painting, Claude Monet.
39:42Oh, look at that.
39:43But the really crucial piece of information is that the provenance of the painting before he bought it was Galerie Georges Petit and Mohamed Bey Khalil.
39:53And Georges Petit was what? He was a dealer in Paris, was he?
39:55He was a dealer in Paris. He was one of Monet's main dealers. And here is a fabulous picture of Georges Petit's very grand auction room.
40:02But I think Khalil is the most important person here. He was a very wealthy Egyptian art collector, obsessed with everything French.
40:09French wife, French food. He liked French art. He liked French architecture.
40:13The whole shebang.
40:14The whole shebang.
40:15Comes from Kairi, has a very nice palace on the Nile. Now, we know that he went on a bit of an art-buying spree between 1919 and 1923.
40:24And quite a few of his pictures were bought through that Galerie Georges Petit.
40:30Did Khalil buy David's picture from Georges Petit? And if so, when?
40:36If we can prove the painting was in such a reputable gallery before Monet's death in 1926, then it's very unlikely to be a fake.
40:44This is what the Wildensteins have been asking for.
40:47To finally solve the mystery of David's painting, we're travelling to Egypt.
41:00Cairo was home to the man we know once owned David's painting.
41:06The wealthy Egyptian collector, Mohamed Mahmoud Bey Khalil.
41:13For half the year, Khalil would escape the searing heat of the city for Paris.
41:19But for the other half, he lived here, on the banks of the Nile.
41:29His home was a glorious palace built in the French style.
41:33It's now a state museum dedicated to his memory.
41:42And inside is his extraordinary legacy.
41:48Look at this!
41:50You can't expect to find this in the middle of Cairo, isn't it?
41:54Records are scarce, but it's thought that Khalil moved here between 1915 and 1919.
42:01To furnish his home, he went on an art-buying spree to end all others.
42:09He was passionate about French art and spent vast sums to ensure he amassed works by all the greats.
42:16It's a glorious collection, which includes many impressionist works.
42:23And of course, paintings by the artist at the centre of our mystery, Claude Monet.
42:29It's spine-tingling to think that David's painting once hung here.
42:37We've asked museum director Reem Bahir if she can find anything in their archives
42:42which might help our case with the Wildensteins.
42:46Good morning.
42:47Hi there.
42:48Hi. How are you?
42:49Well, I'm fine.
42:50Well, by searching in our archives, I found some photos of paintings that were sent by French dealers
42:57to Mahmoud Khalil to choose among them.
42:59Oh, I see.
43:00Oh, that's fascinating.
43:01So he would be sent these pictures so that he could decide if he wanted to buy them?
43:03Yes.
43:05And these...
43:06Yes, and of course we still use that technique today, sending pictures,
43:09except normally now they're by computer.
43:10And among them, we found David's painting.
43:15Good Lord.
43:17I mean, it's clearly an early photograph.
43:19That's probably one of the first photographs ever taken on it.
43:23No damage.
43:25Can I look on the back?
43:26Yeah, of course.
43:28But there we are, look. Claude Monet, Les Bords de la Seine Argentais.
43:32So it's the same title.
43:34Dimensions.
43:35Yes.
43:36The same?
43:37Yes.
43:38Look at this.
43:39What about the stock number?
43:405575.
43:42That is the stock number on the back of my painting.
43:45It's fantastic.
43:47So here we have your picture.
43:50Yes.
43:51On a card sent by a dealer.
43:53It's got your number.
43:55So whoever this card is from is who sold the painting to Khalil.
43:59And from what we know from the ledgers, Georges Petit is the only likely candidate.
44:04That's right.
44:06So we need to link that stock number to Georges Petit, because then if the painter was in Georges Petit's gallery, that would have been almost certainly during Monet's lifetime and therefore genuine.
44:14Genuine.
44:15Precisely.
44:16With this close.
44:18I want to get together.
44:24Generally speaking, every dealer has their own style of stock label on the back of their pictures.
44:28Now we know that David's picture is most likely to have come from Georges Petit.
44:32So what I'm going to do now is go around all the pictures in this collection that we know have gone through the Georges Petit gallery.
44:39And with any luck, find similar labels to this one, the one on the back of David's picture.
44:44Same design, color of ink, serrated edge, and roughly the same size if possible, which is about one and a half by three centimeters.
44:51That way, I'll be able to prove with any luck conclusively that it's a Georges Petit picture.
45:01I found one.
45:02Definitely the same design, same colored ink, serrated edge.
45:06We're in business.
45:09Yes, there it is.
45:10More 760.
45:12So that is another Georges Petit sticker.
45:13As we are now beginning to expect.
45:16This is by Henri Le Basque again.
45:17It's a Georges Petit picture and it's called the Hammock.
45:22And sure enough.
45:246185.
45:30Yes, unquestionably the same design.
45:33Oh wow.
45:34We've got the double whammy here.
45:35Not only have we got the stock number, but what's above it?
45:38Collection Georges Petit.
45:40Look at that.
45:41So that means that any painting with that dealer's stamp, like our dealer's stamp, was, is Georges Petit's collection.
45:47Exactly.
45:49Absolutely incredible.
45:51This is by Jean-Francois Millet.
45:52It's called La Toilette de la Nymph.
45:55And here we are, 7601.
46:00Now this is a particularly significant number.
46:03It would have been given this when it came into the Georges Petit gallery.
46:07And do we know when that was?
46:08No we don't.
46:09But we do know when he sold it.
46:12May 1920.
46:14So hang on, 7601, and this is an earlier number, 5575.
46:19So this was catalogued by Georges Petit in his gallery before that one.
46:24And we had to prove, didn't we, that the painting was in Georges Petit's possession before Monet died.
46:30Monet died in 1926.
46:33So this means that this painting was in Georges Petit's possession while Monet was alive.
46:37And if it had been a fake, Monet would have pointed it out.
46:40So your painting is genuine.
46:43This is it.
46:44Wonderful.
46:45It's proven at last.
46:47And how long have you been looking for this information?
46:4918 years, and I've got a lot of Georges Petit numbers, but not the significant number which has just been revealed.
46:56It's game, set and match.
46:59And as I see it now, this should be enough for the Wildensteins.
47:04For more than 18 years, David has been trying to find the proof that that painting existed while Monet was alive.
47:10Therefore it was genuine.
47:11And he couldn't find it.
47:12And actually, when we started on this, I didn't think we'd find that.
47:16But now we have.
47:17And that is the one, you know, incontrovertible piece of proof that we needed.
47:22And that is what the Wildenstein Institute have been asking for all this time.
47:26And we've just found it.
47:27So, if that's not enough for them, I don't know what is.
47:38At last, we're ready to head back to Paris to present David's painting to the Wildenstein Institute.
47:47Armed with a dossier of new evidence, I'm feeling pretty confident.
47:52But in case we need extra backup, I've invited world Monet expert John House to come along.
47:58So here we are. The Wildenstein Institute. The Our World Fortress.
48:03Yes, it certainly doesn't look very inviting.
48:06Well, with any luck now, this is a coup de part.
48:08This is the moment that we've been waiting for. We keep our fingers crossed.
48:12I have to say, I've got that sort of slightly sick feeling of going into an exam.
48:16Yes, but this is the moment.
48:18The protocol here is strict.
48:28No one is allowed to attend meetings with Guy Wildenstein and his catalogue raisonne committee.
48:34We are simply instructed to deliver the painting and our dossier of evidence.
48:41To tell the truth, I'm feeling rather frustrated. I mean, we've lived and breathed with this picture for the last three months and now it's out of our hands and I just want to be with it.
49:02I want to be able to be the person telling them that this is a real Monet and now it's just up to the paperwork.
49:09And they're sitting there. They're in the room. We can't do anything. We've just got to wait.
49:18We're told to expect a decision by letter within a week. So I head back to London.
49:26But John is asked to return to the Wildenstein Institute at the end of the day.
49:33The Monet catalogue committee has had its meeting and Guy Wildenstein has asked to meet with me.
49:38I don't know exactly what he wants to say. I hope that he's going to ask me further questions.
49:42But anything further I can say, so much the better.
49:46What can you do with Mr. Wildenstein?
49:49Guy Wildenstein.
50:01To John's surprise, Guy Wildenstein gave him his decision that very afternoon.
50:06He's headed back to London to give us the news.
50:08We're about to find out the result, whether or not the Wildensteins have approved David's painting as a Monet.
50:20I can only assume they are going to because we've got so much evidence.
50:25I don't see how they can say no. And if they do say no, there is no justice.
50:29I'm hugely excited about it. And actually, more than anything, I really want this for David and for his wife,
50:34because they have tried for so long to prove that this is a Monet.
50:38I'm convinced now. I wasn't at the beginning, but I am now. And I really, really want it for them.
50:43John, at last. Hello. How nice to see you. Good to see you.
50:52So, come on then. The answer is no. No. Big total no.
50:59They didn't seem to have taken the dossier very seriously. You're joking?
51:03I'm not joking. No, no. Absolutely seriously.
51:06I was summoned in and given this very peremptory sort of casual dismissal.
51:10You're kidding? I'm not kidding at all. They simply said,
51:13no, it's not a Monet. We don't think it looks right.
51:16Hang on, but all the stuff about the stamps on the back of the paintings, from the...
51:21All of this, if it doesn't look like a Monet, all this is irrelevant.
51:25And he also said, which was so telling, that it had been seen by his father,
51:29the late Daniel Wildenstein, that Daniel Wildenstein himself had not thought it was a Monet.
51:33And he said that he couldn't go against his father's opinion.
51:36I'm finding this almost absurd. They asked for two things.
51:39Proof that it was in existence before Monet's death.
51:43And secondly, that it was in the Khalil collection.
51:45We have found both of those bits of evidence.
51:47Absolutely. It left one kind of speechless.
51:50Startled, shocked, upset.
51:53And infinitely convinced that, you know, this is just deeply, deeply wrong.
51:58The fact that they've turned it down leaves us with a black hole, frankly,
52:01in terms of the attribution and the official acceptance of works being by Monet.
52:06That it's being done by people who, obviously, might cannot respect their judgment.
52:10You know, I mean, this just shows how flawed the many aspects of the art world are.
52:15Yes.
52:16What we need with a case of Monet is not this dynastic, art-dealing, extremely wealthy institution that seems to be able to make the decisions without actually having to justify them.
52:36What we need instead is a committee like we have for Van Gogh or Rembrandt, an academically appointed group of individuals,
52:43all of whom have done important things in the area of research and studies, who have earned those positions, whose opinions, when they come together, we can believe.
52:54Surely not a system like this, the one we've just encountered. It is not right.
53:01I have to say, I feel utterly deflated. Utterly deflated.
53:09And the thing is, you know, the Wildensteins asked for some facts. We got those facts.
53:15And what I'm used to, in journalism anyway, is that if you compile your facts, you do your work, you investigate, you put everything together,
53:23the facts speak for themselves. That's the business I'm in. And here, the facts seem to count for nothing.
53:30You know, the Wildensteins appeared to have moved the goalpost. And now, now, we have to tell David.
53:44I have really come to love David during the making of this programme. That is not something I say easily. It really isn't.
53:49But he's relentlessly enthusiastic, charming, passionate about his painting.
53:55He is just a really brilliant, brilliant man.
53:59And, actually, I feel I've let him down. And I'm really, I'm really dreading telling him.
54:06Hi there.
54:07Hi, hello.
54:08How lovely to see you.
54:09Where have you been?
54:10Well, we have been...
54:11Hello, how are you?
54:12We've been working, haven't we?
54:13You have.
54:14It's lovely to see you.
54:15Hello.
54:16I love it to see you.
54:17You too.
54:18Why have you got it there?
54:19Well, this, of course, is your painting.
54:20Oh.
54:21Now, John House had a meeting with Guy Wildenstein.
54:36It didn't go brilliantly well.
54:40Oh.
54:41And knowing you, you'll think that I'm joking. But I'm not joking. In that Guy Wildenstein has said no.
54:50He says, despite all the work that we've done, and everything we've found, he says, in his opinion, it is not by money.
55:01Man's man.
55:02Believe it.
55:03I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry.
55:06I have to say, I can barely believe it. I mean, rarely, rarely does one come across such a strong argument, as we put together.
55:16Are you pulling my leg?
55:17No.
55:18I'm not pulling your leg. I'm really not.
55:20I'm really not.
55:21I knew that's what you think.
55:22I'm really not.
55:23I'm really not putting it.
55:24I would never, ever play that kind of joke on you.
55:27It's irrefutable.
55:28Of course it is.
55:29Absolutely irrefutable.
55:30Of course it is.
55:31But do you know what the really alarming thing was? It seemed to be that they didn't really want to take account of the argument.
55:37It was almost as if, according to John, that they'd made up their mind already.
55:42Yeah.
55:43I mean, honestly, I feel desperately sorry that, you know, we've all gone on this journey together.
55:50And that, you know, you always hope you're going to come up with a kind of ta-da ending.
55:55And actually, we haven't.
55:56No.
55:57We haven't, despite all our best efforts.
56:00I'm completely gobsmacked.
56:01Are you?
56:02I absolutely am.
56:03I mean, that painting needs for itself to be recognised.
56:08It's a great painting.
56:09It's a lovely painting.
56:10I mean, you must have.
56:11I'm really sorry for everybody, really.
56:12So much.
56:13It's been gone into.
56:14As Paul Tucker said, Paul is a great American expert.
56:19He said, well, anyway, David, you've got a beautiful picture by Monet.
56:23And I feel like that, too.
56:27We're not the only ones who feel an injustice has been done here.
56:37Those regarded as the world's leading Monet scholars agree that David's painting is genuine
56:42and should be accepted into the Wildenstein catalogue raisonnée.
56:48Guy Wildenstein has put his rejection in writing, saying, for us, this is a matter not of history
56:54of ownership, but of connoisseurship.
56:57If David Drill's picture was not included in my father's book, it is because he knew of no paintings in Monet's
57:04oeuvre that were executed in the distinctive style of that riverscape.
57:09The present members of the Monet committee came to the same conclusion.
57:15Well, that was tough, wasn't it?
57:17It was.
57:18I mean, David and Jennifer were obviously expecting good news.
57:21We didn't have any to give them.
57:24You know, but it is a tough and aggressive business.
57:27There are other pictures out there, a lot of pictures that, like David and Jennifer's, are in limbo.
57:33I mean, they have fallen foul of an aspect of the art world which, personally, I'm not very proud to be part of.
57:39And that is the dependence upon individuals who aren't necessarily the people you ought to be going to.
57:45Well, let's hope that one day the picture gets the recognition it deserves.
57:49Quite.
57:50Coming up, raising a glass to English wines with Countryfile next here on BBC One.
58:04Then an accident sets off a trail for Jason Isaacs as Jackson Brodie.
58:09New case histories at nine.
58:11New-