Need help to identify if its real or not.

So the other day I picked up what I thought to be an original Hessam in a nice frame which turned out to be a poster on paper lol. I felt dumb. I try to tell myself I didn’t realize because the glass on the frame was dirty. Now I get that a lot of this will just come in time from experience. My question is are there any tell tale signs of something original, a lithograph, serigraph etc? Thanks guys.

 

over time , handling all the different types of prints....and paintings........will be the most trusted way for you to tell the difference..

Photo mechanical prints....will have a dot matrix you can spot with a magnifying glass....

 

Amazon cart - magnifying glass.

ordered

 

Yes, carry a loupe or magnifying glass. I’ve been fooled by prints I thought were pencil

 

Hopefully you didn’t spend too much

 

Loupes are smaller, less Sherlock Holmes noticeable when you are looking at something. I’ve got a 10X loupe that’s good for jewellery, hangs round my neck under a T-shirt.
No didn’t spend much on Charity Shop ‘drawing’

 

Ah okay. That might be a bit better huh? You guys are awesome.

 

When I first started collecting back in the 90’s I ran into the same problem. How do you tell what is what? I have spent quite a lot of time at museums looking at examples. I have been studying printmaking at our art institute since 2003. It helps to see the process first hand. I put together an extensive collection of reference books and spent hours at the library doing research. Honestly, I still get it wrong sometimes.

 

Yes there is. You can tell with a magnifying glass. A copy will have little opened dots all over it. A lithograph you can actually see the strokes from the brush if it was pressed hard enough and see the markings on it. This is not 100 percent always the case but most of the time. I found the best magnifying glass I have, believe it or not , at Walgreens pharmacy. It a 5x with a light. Hand held, small, and slides in and out of its case while still attached to it. It was only $9.99. Just saying. Good luck to you.

 

Here is an example of the little dots you will see on a print with your loup or magnifying glass.

 

Thank you. That helps a lot!

 

If you are interested primarily in prints, there is some good advice in this previous thread:

https://www.antiquers.com/threads/prints-lithos-whats-the-difference.51533/#post-2406995

 

I’m definitely not just interested in prints. I would love to acquire knowledge for all the different art styles. I think I need to take a note from Lithographer ^ up there and go to more museums to try to see things for myself in person. But please, I’ll take whatever knowledge you’d care to throw my way. I’m a sponge baby!

 

This is already really helpful. Thank you!

 

What type would you say this is? I see almost a waffle weave pattern? Is this a serigraph? It looks like the colors are layered.

 

maybe gouache on canvas..

 

Here’s a zoomed out photo