print or old ?

doubtful although canvas looks old. lines diagonally perhaps an indication ?
TIA.

 

Looks like a painting to me. Diagonal lines look like canvas texture. Can't tell age without seeing back but don't think terribly old.

 

Looks like the young Dionysus/Bacchus.

 

from subject get an early 1900's feel

 

Is this really 2 questions? Print or painting? & Recent or antique?

Echos of Caravaggio:

 

hard one for me. thank you all for your help.

 

Painting, not print on canvas. Agree with BYU, could be turn of 20th century, sort of a modernized pre-raphaelite/post-impressionist look.

 

Looks like a very nice painting to me. Not sure how old the frame and tacks could be, but I think it could def be turn of century and exactly as Bronwen has described above.

 

@Fid, There's a fairly illegible signature in the LOWER RIGHT CORNER......copied, tried to enhance & put in red box.....

 

Sorry, I believe this is fairly new and the back is faked up plus diagonal texture is weird, could even be a print of some kind - giclee possibly? Happy to be proven wrong but just skeptical as usual.

or maybe a painting after all and the wet stained back etc and rusty nails are naturally aged and even though kept in a damp atmosphere and had spills on the reverse, the painting itself shows no signs of any of that and seems nice and crisp ...

I'm getting a restaurant decor vibe from it

 

I was a bit suspicious when seeing the difference between the clear face and the rest. but I thought maybe due to flash. I don't own it yet but it would fit a wall in the living room where I have an old Beardsley print.
size would be 44*54 cm, a good size for all corners.

 

44*54 cm (blooey rapidly scrambling for ruler to try and convert that to inches)

whew - 17" x 21" ...

 

@blooey Interesting what you say.....just also noticed.....no stretchers on the back of the frame, and the frame appears to be stapled......significant?????? or not????

 

It looks fairly recent to me too, and a hint of Caravaggio, though it doesn't have the dark and brooding vibe of Caravaggio.
Not meaning to be negative about Caravaggio, he is one of my favourite painters.

 

The diagonal lines are caused by the canvas being a twill weave (like in denim), which can be seen on the unpainted edges as well. Most canvases used for paintings were simple tabby weaves (an even over-one under-one in both directions), but sometimes twills were used.

"Twill weave canvases are usually associated with the Italian School, as seen in the fabric used by Romanelli for “Moise Sauv� des Eaux” (23/10.6 threads per cm) in the 16th century, and with the English School in the 18th–19th century; but they are present in French paintings as well. In the 19th century, French artists used a variety of twill weave patterns. Cezanne painted “Nature Morte � la Soupi�re” in 1883 on twill canvas (21.5/20 threads per cm) (see Fig. 6a). Delacroix and Guigou used another twill fabric design, Delacroix for “Turc Assis sur un Divan” (30/29 threads per cm) and Guigou for “Paysage de Provence” and “La Route de la Genestre” (32/32 threads per cm) (see Fig. 4c). Francais chose a twill weave canvas for “Orph�e” 1863 (14/12 threads per cm) (see Fig. 6b)."
https://cool.culturalheritage.org/jaic/articles/jaic20-01-001.html

The simple auxiliary support is a "strainer" as opposed to a stretcher, made in typical fashion with simple lap joints. Stretchers came into use in the late 18th century, but did not entirely replace strainers. They remain a low cost, if inadequate, option. @Aquitaine's observation of the fasteners at the corners could be a significant clue to dating, although at the moment I cannot find good information on when staples were introduced for use in wood construction. Can you confirm how the joints are secured?

 

Yes but how are the edge and raw threads of the work blackish when the exposed fold around the stretcher exposes a white canvas?
Handling numerous facsimiles and fakes over the course of my career, I became quite familiar with the methods used in attempting to approximate age or wear, that's why I'm skeptical of the age of the piece being discussed.
Of course I may be wrong in my assumptions about the OP's painting, one would need to truly examine it in person to make a definitive assessment - OTOH, maybe Delacroix's works are like this also, perhaps he liked dipping his canvas edges in stain too?

 

As for the white areas visible along the folded edges, I would interpret that not as exposed white canvas, but as the edge of the area that was prepared with a white primer before painting. But, as you say, it is difficult to diagnose from photos. Similarly with what might have caused the darkened edges.

 

looks as if the canvas was prepared with a whitish ground before having been used.

 

Well a gesso ground would be normal of course, but amidst those areas the lighter raw support material can also be seen. Still doesn't explain why the edges of the piece are black-ish, the reverse stained and distressed while the painting itself is crisp and clean.