I've had quite a few people coming to me in the past with 'Grannie's oil painting' asking what it's worth. They often get a bit
miffed when I tell them it's a print. Quite often they are mounted on canvas and stretched on bars. Sometimes even touched
up in places with actual oil paint.
This was a common practice in late Victorian times. Most people would have 'tarted up' prints just for show. Appearance was
everything in those days. The printing process was unlike today's and the prints would be quite superior, often using a 10 colour
process. I'm sure members would have seen at least one 'Pears' print and if so will know what I mean. With skillful preparation
this type of print can be made to look like an oil. This combined with 100 years of dust and muck completes the effect.
'Real' lithographs/engravings/etchings were often made from an original oil by having an platemaker make a copper or steel
printing plate. (Sometimes the artist). The kicker is, while the oil painting would likely be quite huge, the print would have
been small. Thus tightening all the detail. This is a dead giveaway to the trained eye.
One thing: Before making a print look like an oil, make sure it's a repro
of an oil painting. Doing it to a print of a watercolour
(or anything that isn't an oil) would look completely phoney and just plain wrong.
Not that all that is strictly relevant to the subject in question. Just a bit of background.
