Series 5
4 episodes · Jul 17, 2016
Fiona Bruce and art expert Philip Mould investigate mysteries behind paintings.
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S5E1Freud
Jul 17, 201659mThe team investigates a portrait believed to be an early work by Lucian Freud, despite the artist having denied painting it during his lifetime. Research leads back to Freud’s teenage years at the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing, while technical analysis examines whether he may have worked over an abandoned canvas begun by someone else.
S5E2Delaroche
Jul 24, 201659mA painting bought for £500 is investigated as the possible lost royal commission Saint Amelia, Queen of Hungary by Paul Delaroche. Fiona and Philip trace it from the exiled French royal family to Britain and use archival and scientific evidence to distinguish the original work from the many contemporary copies made after it.
S5E3Rodin
Jul 31, 201659mA family-owned watercolour is said to belong to Auguste Rodin’s celebrated series of Cambodian dancers. With little documented provenance and the shadow of prolific Rodin forger Ernest Durig hanging over the work, the team studies its materials, signature and fluid painting technique in search of a reliable attribution.
S5E4Portraits
Aug 21, 201659mThree unrelated portraits are investigated as possible works by Philip Mercier, Adolph von Menzel and Willem de Kooning. The cases produce sharply different outcomes, ranging from a neglected bargain to a convincing forgery and a promising attribution complicated by unresolved ownership history.