Van Gogh's The Starry Night

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If asked to identify Van Gogh’s The Starry Night as the original masterpiece or as a deceitful forgery, most of us would not be able to differentiate the real from the replicated. Forgeries have fooled and confounded art enthusiasts throughout the centuries. Thomas Hoving, the author of False Impressions: The Hunt for Big Time Art Fakes, claims that throughout his career approximately 40 percent of the thousands of works he curated were forgeries or misattributed in some way (Hoving, 1996, pg. 24-25). Art forgeries have been given the negative connotation throughout the ages, but it all depends on how one looks at the piece of art. Nonetheless the bigger question in the apparent false history of art may be are these nearly indistinguishable …show more content…
If you define an art “masterpiece” based on aesthetic value, the feeling or emotion it evokes, and if you include in your definition of a masterpiece authenticity or originality, then forgeries come close but may not fit the definition of an art masterpiece. My first criterion for an art “masterpiece” is that the art work should have aesthetic value that captures style, technique, balance, and harmony seamlessly within the work. At first glance a forged piece of art is nearly, if not completely, indistinguishable from the original work. The brush marks, colors, shapes and all the other aesthetic characteristics are intended to be identical in regards to their formal features. Thus, if the forgery is of art that is considered to be aesthetically pleasing than it appears to fulfill this criterion. But the subtlest differences can completely change one’s aesthetic experience. Goodman, in his Book Language of Art says, “Extremely subtle changes can alter the whole design, feeling, or expression of a painting. Indeed, the slightest perceptual differences sometimes matter the most aesthetically; gross physical damage to a fresco may be less consequential than slight but …show more content…
A true artistic masterpiece should be authentic and original. Forged art, being a copy or imitation for deceptions clearly does not meet this criterion. According to Goodman, “Forgers aren’t as great artists as any of the masters since they forge the originality of another artist’s aesthetic uniqueness and originality contribute to aesthetic value and are essential for making an intelligent aesthetic appraisal” (Goodman, 1985). Here Goodman is claiming that by copying another artist you render yourself a sub par artist and therefore the recreation of a masterpiece isn’t a masterpiece at all but a photocopy. The originality of an artist stems from the present time in which the art is created, as well as the limitation and constraints they face. Hoaglund says in his article Originality and Aesthetic Value, “The way in which [the artist] successfully meets the challenge to produce unique works constitutes part of his creativity.” The time period, history, limitations, and pressures that the artist is faced with are unique to the artist and therefore are unique to the artist’s reaction and interpretation of them in his or her artwork. An artist who creates a perfect replication of this cannot claim to have the same originality. As stated a forgeries intention are to deceive, and deception is contrary to authenticity. According to Wreen “a forgery has to be understood as a forged XY… A forged XY isn’t a
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