How to Ensure the Authenticity of a Contemporary Art Work

Why authenticity has become an issue

For a long time, the question of authenticity chiefly concerned the market for old masters — a Rembrandt, a Vermeer, a Caravage. For contemporary art, it seemed secondary: the artist was alive, the gallery was well-known, the invoice was sufficient.

This has changed for three reasons.

The first is commercial: the secondary market for contemporary art has been multiplied by five in twenty years. Works purchased for €2,000 in 2005 are resold for €40,000 in 2025. The interest of counterfeiters has followed the same curve.

The second is technical: large-format printers and cutting plotters now make it possible to produce, from a simple high-definition file, reproductions that only a restorer or chemist can distinguish from the original.

The third is legal: since the Marinot ruling in 2018, the gallery's responsibility for the authenticity of the works it sells has been considerably extended. A reputable gallery must now document each piece as one would document a museum piece.

Here, for a private buyer, are the benchmarks we use at Galerie Roz In Winter — and that any beginning collector can apply.

The three essential documents

A contemporary art work sold in a gallery must always be accompanied by three documents. If one of the three is missing, it is a signal to be taken seriously.

1. The invoice

It must mention:

The exact title of the work.
The year of creation.
The technique and materials.
The exact dimensions (excluding frame and with frame, where applicable).
The artist's full name and, if the work is signed on the back, the location of the signature.
The ex-tax and inc-tax price, with the VAT rate applied (5.5% for works transferred by the artist, 20% for secondary market).

An invoice lacking precision — for example, stating "untitled" when the work is titled, or rounding the dimensions — is the first sign of poor record-keeping.

2. The certificate of authenticity

This is the document that links the work to its author. It must be:

Signed by the artist's own hand (or by their successors if the artist has passed away). A merely printed signature has no legal value.
Numbered, for editions (photographs, prints, edited sculptures). Standard format: 3/30 + 2 EA means example 3 of 30, plus 2 artist's proofs.
Dated and containing the technical characteristics of the work (dimensions, materials, sometimes even the internal studio reference).
Accompanied by a reference image (photograph of the work, seal or specific pictogram).

This certificate is not a formality. It is the document that protects your acquisition for the next fifty years. Keep it in a dry place, flat, ideally in a folder with neutral pH.

3. The provenance file

For a new work, straight from the studio, the invoice and certificate are sufficient. For a second-hand work — that is, one that has already had an owner — the provenance file becomes essential. It traces:

The known previous owners (with their consent, some remaining anonymous).
The exhibitions in which the work has participated.
The publications in which it is reproduced (catalogues, monographs, specialist press).
Any restorations undertaken.

A work whose provenance shows a "gap" of several years — without plausible explanation — should give cause for thought. This does not necessarily mean the work is doubtful, but that clarification must be sought before making a significant purchase.

The material signs of an authentic work

Even without scientific expertise, several visual, tactile, and olfactory clues can confirm a first impression.

For an oil painting:

The surface shows, under raking light, the relief of the paint material. Impasto reveals the mark of the brush or palette knife.
The back of the canvas bears a patina — however slight — that corresponds to the stated year. A canvas presented as dating from 2010 but whose stretcher shows no signs of use is suspicious.
The smell: oil takes years to dry completely. A recent canvas still has a characteristic, slightly resinous odour.

For a limited-edition photograph:

The paper must bear, on the back, the dry seal or signature of the professional printer, with the date of the print.
The edition number must be consistent with other known copies (some galleries publish the complete list of prints).
The image size and margins must correspond to the official technical sheet.

For a bronze sculpture:

Reputable foundries affix their mark (lost wax, Bocquel foundry, Vincent foundry…) in a discreet but recognisable area.
Each casting must be numbered in the metal itself, in addition to the certificate.

The NFC device: a concrete advance

Since 2024, Galerie Roz In Winter has incorporated, on request and at no extra cost to the buyer, a passive NFC chip on the back of the frame or in the base of each work. This chip contains no confidential data. Scanned with a simple smartphone, it links to a digital archive sheet hosted with us, which brings together:

A high-definition photograph of the work.
The certificate of authenticity, in a time-stamped digital version.
The history of exhibitions and loans.
A record, where applicable, of any restorations undertaken.

This sheet is updated by the gallery with each event. It follows the work throughout its life — including when resold to a new owner, who can request the sheet to be transferred to their name.

This device does not replace the paper certificate, which remains the legal proof of reference. It complements it: it makes traceability much simpler to exercise, especially when the work changes hands ten or twenty years later, at a time when the artist may no longer be reachable.

And if I resell the work?

The digital sheet is transferable. Simply send us a copy of the resale invoice and we will update the owner's name. The new holder inherits the entire file, which maintains the documentary value of the work over time.

What to do if doubt arises

You purchased a work several years ago, the gallery has closed, the documents are incomplete, and you would like to verify. A few avenues:

Contact the artist directly, if they are alive and reachable. Most are willing to authenticate a work on the basis of photographs.
Contact the heir or the artist's committee, for deceased artists with an official committee (Soulages, Dubuffet, Giacometti, Hantaï…). These committees issue attestations that carry authority.
Seek the opinion of an approved expert (SFEP, National Association of Experts). An examination costs between €150 and €800 depending on complexity, and may include laboratory material analysis for important works.
Approach a gallery that represents or has represented the artist. We ourselves regularly receive authentication requests for works we did not sell — we treat them carefully when they concern artists in our programme.

For any questions about the authenticity of a work you own, the simplest course is to write to galerie@rozinwinter.com enclosing a photograph of both sides and any available documentation. We will reply within 72 hours.

Three recurring questions

You will find more details in our Frequently Asked Questions — notably on tax arrangements, conditions of restitution or return, and the precise legal framework for certificates of authenticity in France. We answer approximately forty questions that collectors regularly put to us.

Buying contemporary art today remains a beautiful and relatively straightforward decision, provided these few precautions are observed. The fact that a market has its pitfalls is no reason to turn away from it. Quite the opposite — it is all the more reason to favour galleries that take documentation seriously — and to ask, without hesitation, any questions that come to mind.