Featured I need some technical help, please

I picked up a painting signed by A.M.Crepet from a local artist estate sale. Very old and needed a lot of cleaning. I know it is not an oil or acrylic, but I don’t really know what medium was used. It is painted(?) on a canvas board. No uneven texture to the touch.

I used a portable microscope to look for a printing pattern but did not see any. I am posting two images taken with my phone atop the device. As you can see there are layers ontop of layers of color eradically placed. This might be a no brainer to someone, and I would love to know what medium this is. The 60X was taken in the foreground shrubs, while the 120X in the darker area of the tree tops.

As always thanking you in advance.

 

So you're saying that what looks like rough, crackled varnish in the 2nd and 3rd images, is actually SMOOTH to the touch????? If you tap it does it FEEL hard like board, or soft/more flexible like canvas?? Also, does it say anything significant on that very bottom center piece of paper/label....you might not want to lose that.....but personally I don't see a reason to keep the rest of that backing paper.....removing it carefully....might help you figure out what's what.....and others should be along......I imagine half of them might be sleeping about now!!!

 

It is definitely hard like a canvas board, but now that you mention a crackle finish, I thought that was the texture of the board. Didnt think of crackle paint.

It is not smooth to the touch, just rough but consistent throughout.

When I look at an actual oil painting thru the scope, you can see it as mud laid out and one color. Of course I have not viewed an older painting with it.

The sticker has no usefulness regarding the painting but might have a clue to the medium, now that I read what I originally thought was garbage info.

 

It might be a print.
Can't remember the name of the process. It's textured on a cardboard backing.
@moreotherstuff

Adding:
Think it was done in the 40s, 50s and 60s.
The framing looks 50s/60s.

 

I would realy like to know the name of the process, hopefully someone will come along. Always thought prints had a pattern and ectching their markings


Angelo Maria Crepet 1885-1974, your dating is spot on, thank you.

 

It looks like there is more of the painting hidden by the mat. One of the trees has no top.

The kind of oil paint print cluttered means has no dots and looks very much like an oil painting. I used to have one on canvas. I don't remember the term either, but they are often of a beautiful quality, with paint texture.

But I have the feeling Angelo Maria Crepet only made real paintings. Everything I find by him is the real deal, no prints.

 

You are correct. It appears this process is a trade name called Reofect.


A snippet from a site about Reofect artwork:

In 1946, the W.T. Burger Co. was founded to provide art - both original and reproduction - for the company’s frames. We believe that the prints with the “Reofect Paintings” trade name were probably not made until after 1933 - and maybe not until after 1946 - and their manufacture did not continue much after mid-century because the process to make them was prohibitively expensive.

One source suggests that they were typically retailed in department stores and art galleries and originally sold in the $150-$300 range. We further believe from our research that this was a high-tech (for the day) oil-based “photocopy” process that was surfaced with a special varnish that made the print look like an oil painting.

It should be mentioned that printmakers had been trying to imitate oil paintings for some time, and there is a type called a “textured print” that has ridges on the surface that mimics the raised places found on genuine oil paintings. This was an attempt to fool both the eye and the fingers - and buyers should beware.

 

Great research sabre, that explains it.

 

When all else fails, google the available text and put it in quo ... (load new messages)

SNIPED by @sabre123 !

 

My God, I truely need to up my google skills . Thank you Sabre, that really was very good detective work from a torn sticker. I got this painting at a real steal and seeing the average value of a REOFECT painting falls into the $20 range, I might have just doubled my money.

All kidding aside, I really love learning new information, and have now read all I can on the process(whats available). My past has not been in this forte, I am recently retired and now have a new found fondness, for antiques and vintage items. I keep and sell, but find the research and learning to be my best enjoyment.

Thank you again...

PS, now when I look at the torn sticker I believe the estate sale company picked at it from the right top and pealed it away, dag-nab-it

 

Lol. Now that you're retired, you've got all kinds of time to hit the sales! I'm not able to retire, but if I could, I'd be chasing all over for new treasures...keep some, sell some...just like you.

[edit]
Not knowing your technical background, just a tip: when you're googling, if you want to eliminate words (or sites) from your search, just put a "-" in front of the word or words that you want to remove from the results.

i.e. When I'm doing research, I rarely want results from Pinterest because the posts in the site are typically without substance. So, I enter my search term, followed by, -pinterest to filter the result list. You can add a lot more than one, as well.

 

cluttered: thanks for the tag, but it's not a process with which I am familiar. As did others, I would have Googled the available label text.

mmarco: I don't think you can blame the estate sale company for damage to the label. That damage looks pretty old to me.

 

plus there's old tape over the label..

 

Great information sabre123. Can you please provide a link to the website you found this information on? Thanks.

 

Here you go:

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/article/20090417/News/304179908

 

That is excellent information. I am sick and tired of getting pages of “pinterest & ebay links” thanks.

I was being a bit facetious, it’s in my nature. Sorry ....

 

Hi Marco,
I think your mystery has been solved by the talented members of this site. I find the information here so interesting every single day, and like you, I learn so much.

Just an extra point, there are/were many painting boards that are deliberately "rough" to enhance the effect of the painting.

I have been restoring an old oil painting that uses a rough surface texture board and it was sold for the purpose by Winsor & Newton. I couldn't work out why the surface had such a rough but regular texture until I removed it from its frame and saw the manufacturers label. The board almost feels like plastic or Formica it is so hard.

Now to identify the mysterious Miss Rankin!

 

1st guess would be Jerry Rankin, but it doesn’t look like his style unless an earlier work?

But I’m seeing the first name more like “Jason” and the “k” to be a “t”????

 

Thanks, I will continue the research.