What Do ‘Burn’ and ‘Studio of’ Mean?

Imagine checking an auction catalog description that reads, “Old painting, looks Dutch (or something).” But describe that painting as “By a follower of Rembrandt” or “In the manner of Rembrandt,” and the buyer’s interest is renewed. Maybe an unknown Rembrandt, or as close to a Rembrandt as you can afford. “The name of an important artist still excites people, even if the work may not belong to that artist,” Monica Brown, managing director of fine art at Freeman’s auction house, told the Observer.

2025 Freeman selling Old Masters and 19th century art, one painting, View Bacino and Bucintoro and Gondolas called “The Canaletto Method,” fetched $25,600, above its $4,000-6,000 estimate. Canaletto was a highly regarded Venetian painter c. 1732 canvas Venice, The Return of Bucintoro on Ascension Day set a record for the artist’s auction in July of last year at Christie’s, fetching $43.9 million—but what do you think of a painting that looks like his work? In the same auction was another painting, The Grand Canal Looking South from the Pier with a View of Santa Maria della Salutereference to “Follower of Canaletto,” which also sold for $25,600. One might speculate that the same person bought both paintings, perhaps hoping to arrive at a more accurate estimate for the work, which, if it turns out to be a genuine Canaletto, could also be worth tens of millions of dollars. It would be like buying a scratch-off ticket at a gas station that turns out to be a Mega Millions winner.

“Way to…” and “Fan of…” are some of the auction house’s hallmarks that have no real art historical meaning but are a form of marketing, according to Richard Wright, partner and CEO of auction house Rago/Wright. “In fact, it’s a way of saying ‘We really don’t know.'” These words of ignorance have their categories, as explained in the official Sutu dictionary. Works of art that cannot be fully verified are placed on a sliding scale of knowledge and belief:

1 GIOVANNI BELLINI In our view, the artist’s work. (When the artist’s surname(s) is unknown, a series of asterisks, followed by the artist’s surname, whether preceded by a prefix or not, indicates that in our opinion the work belongs to the named artist.

2 ATTRIBUTED TO GIOVANNI BELLINI In our opinion it is probably the work of the artist but there is less certainty of ownership than in the previous section.

3 THE STUDY OF GIOVANNI BELLINI In our opinion a work done by an unknown person in the artist’s studio who may or may not have been executed under the direction of the artist.

4 CIRCLE OF GIOVANNI BELLINI In our opinion a work by an unknown but different hand, closely related to the fictional artist but not necessarily his student.

5 STYLE OF …………; FOLLOWER OF GIOVANNI BELLINI In our opinion the work of a painter who works in the style of an artist, contemporary or almost contemporary, but not necessarily his pupil.

6 THE STYLE OF GIOVANNI BELLINI In our opinion the artist’s stylistic and recent work.

7 AFTER GIOVANNI BELLINI In our opinion a copy of a known work of the artist.

Only the first name, “By Giovanni Bellini,” is historical and official. In the first instance, the attribution is confirmed by the documentation of a particular painting—known as provenance, which provides the chain of ownership from the artist’s studio to the sender today—and/or the opinion of recognized experts in the artist’s work, such as private or independent scholars.

“The consignor brings the Giacometti, and we send pictures of it and any documents to Paris for verification,” Wright explained. Paris here refers to the Fondation Giacometti, based in France, which has an authentication committee that verifies the authenticity of paintings, sculptures, drawings and decorative arts by Swiss-born Alberto Giacometti. Besides, we need sales records.

He added that the auctions he looks at have research teams that look for experts or if it doesn’t make sense, well-known experts, especially artists who work on their ideas. Usually, those opinions are given for free, but sometimes experts require a fee, usually between $150 and $5,000. If payment is required, “there’s usually a discussion with the consignor about who pays. It’s usually the consignor,” although costs may be split if the work is certified by a particular artist. “If a piece is guaranteed, it will usually sell.”

Without a complete offer, the job represents a gamble for the auction house, consignor and buyer alike. According to Wright, a work attributed to Giacometti could sell for $100,000, while one “attributed” to the artist alone could be estimated at $2,000-3,000.

Marianne Berandi, director of European art at Heritage Auctions, told the Observer that the consignor’s costs are often lower if the experts contacted are willing to provide opinions based on photographs of the artwork. However, “many artists’ foundations, especially those in France, want to see the original, which requires sending the work” abroad, which greatly adds to the cost of authentication.

Claiming that a given work of art “belongs” to a particular artist is ultimately a legal matter—warranty—since the Uniform Commercial Code in all 50 states requires that the items be what the seller says they are, or the seller—in this case, an auction house, though it may be an art gallery—is obligated to return them and refund the money paid. Works of art “Attributed to…” or “Studio of…” or “Collection of…” or anything else do not have the same protection.

Auction houses regularly deal with works of art that their consignors claim to be from well-known artists, and in many cases, these consignors are given unwelcome news. At the time Freeman was sold, the consignor wanted the painting Capriccio with Figures Gathered from the Obelisk of Augustus, View of the Pantheon, Statue of Marcus Aurelius and Temple of the Sybil, Tivoli. by Giovanni Paolo Panini, and “we’ve shown it to some experts who say it’s Panini and others who say they’re not sure but may be ‘School of Panini,'” Brown said. “It wasn’t certain, so we said it came from ‘Giovanni Paolo Panini and the Studio.'” The painting sold for $76,700, below the $100,000-150,000 estimate—the art market’s way of saying “Maybe, maybe not.”

Informing the senders that their works are not verified by the artists they claim can be offensive. “Some consignors are returning their jobs, maybe they will try their luck elsewhere in the auction,” he said. “However, if the rate does not change based on the quality, the shippers are usually satisfied and let us sell.”

Then there are the works of art that the artist gets a little. John Constable, Berandi said, painted many pictures throughout his career and had a studio of young artists to help him. You wouldn’t expect Constable to paint every square inch of those pictures, but you can see some areas that look like Constable’s hand. In those cases, the artwork will be called “John Constable and Studio.”

Buyers of works of art of uncertain quality vary in their motivations. Some of the winning bidders are dealers, especially artists, or treasure-hunting collectors, who are willing to do research to ensure that the art is authentic. “Other buyers seem to be more informed than we are,” Wright said. “They don’t just buy a lottery ticket.” He revealed a work sold in 2021 at Rago Auctions identified as “Unknown Artist” with the title. Infanta Margarita Teresa of Spain. It resembled a Diego Velázquez painting and was estimated at $2,000-3,000 but sold for $27,500. Perhaps in the future, it will be seen at a major auction house like the multi-million dollar Velázquez. Similarly, someone gambled on a painting of feathered creatures in Freeman’s November 4 sale that was untitled and attributed to “follower of Melchior de Hondecoeter (1636-1695) | Attributed to Philips van Kouwenberg (1671-1729),” when it was estimated at $4008. $15,000-20,000.

Part of the Old Masters dealer’s job is to find inappropriate or inferior works by well-known artists, doing to works of art what hedge fund dealers do to securities. One of the most notable examples of fraud occurred in 2006 when Suthu in London sold a painting titled. Cardsharpscataloged as a follower of the Italian baroque artist Caravaggio, at £42,000; it was also considered to be a genuine Caravaggio, and the case began. The auction house contacted Caravaggio experts who said the removed painting was a copy of one on display at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. The consignor said the auction house had been negligent, but in early 2015, London’s High Court ruled that Suthu “reasonably considered that the quality of the painting was not high enough to indicate that it could be a Caravaggio.”

But some buyers just like the look of a particular piece of art, believing it will match the rest of their home or fit well into an existing art collection. Berandi said that interior decorators often “speed up” working with the “Way Of…” and “Style Of…” categories that suit their clients’ tastes. If the bidding price isn’t that high, there’s no real harm in buying it and “you can get a lot of art for your money.”

More information about the art market