Artist ID

September 17, 2012 10:45 AM

Can anyone help in identifying this painting and artist?

This has hung in my parents house for 30 years. Recently, my dad decided to clean it with a potato. I'm not familiar with this protocol, nor any oil painting cleaning methods, so I would like to get some info on the painting.

Here is a link to the painting and signature: Link

Thanks!!

posted by Cuspidx to media & arts (7 answers total)

TinEye FTW

Wikipedia page with more info
posted by Perplexity at 10:48 AM on September 17, 2012

As the TinEye results indicate, it's a copy of Evening, or Lost Illusions by Charles Gleyre. You can make out the name Gleyre in the middle of the signature.

The rest of the signature (Mattig Dulig?, Paris, 1909?) is probably the name and date of the artist who made the copy.
posted by zamboni at 11:11 AM on September 17, 2012

Looks like "Mattie Dubé" and the thing before "Gleyre" is probably "d'a" which is short for "d'après"---"after", or in this case, "copied from".

For God's sake, don't EVER clean oil paintings with a potato! It's bad enough to clean them with white bread (don't clean them with white bread) but cleaning them with a potato almost always leads to chipping.
posted by Sidhedevil at 11:23 AM on September 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

The original is apparently at the Louvre, with another version at The Walters.
posted by zamboni at 11:26 AM on September 17, 2012

Mattie Dubé, nee Thweat.
posted by zamboni at 11:33 AM on September 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm sorry, I should have said how he should clean it. The answer is cotton swabs and something like Gainsborough's Emulsion Cleaner.

Unless he is actually familiar with the vernissage process from his own experience of painting in oils, he shouldn't try to remove and replace the varnish. Yeah, Internet sites make it sound easy, but it isn't. A gentle cleaning with swabs, an emulsion cleaner, and a soft brush should get the dust, heating oil, cigarette smoke, and car exhaust residue off and make it look brighter.

If that doesn't get it to where he wants it, he should send it to a conservator to have it revarnished.
posted by Sidhedevil at 5:42 PM on September 17, 2012

If he's absolutely dead set on cleaning it without a trip to the art store, puffy commercial white bread will be much less damaging than the dreaded potato.
posted by Sidhedevil at 5:46 PM on September 17, 2012