The National Gallery of Art in London is running an exhibit through September 12 entitled “Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries“. It examines — closely — “the vital contributions of applied science to the understanding of Old Master paintings in the National Gallery” with an eye toward uncovering “the true origins of works with disputed authorship or authenticity”.
In a New York Times review of the exhibit, “Chemistry, Authenticity and the Meaning of Art,” Michael Kimmelman focuses on “The Allegory”, a painting thought to be by Botticelli when it was acquired over a century ago. Critics immediately decried it as a fake, but after decades in storage the Gallery examined it again — closely — and determined it wasn’t a fake. It may not be a Botticelli, but it is an original from that timeframe.
Kimmelman then wonders how much that matters: “It’s a picture. And the picture is the same whether it is said to be old or new, genuine or fake, an original or a copy. It becomes no more or less elegant or funny looking. Its role in the evolving narratives of art history changes. Its price can go up or down. But cost is not value.” And he finds value in this particular painting, for “It’s beautiful.”
The same is true of business offerings. Whether old or new, genuine or fake, an original or a copy — or, to put it another way, whether Real-real, Real-fake, Fake-real, or even Fake-fake — some customers may find your offerings of value, perhaps even beautiful. It may be too late to render your offerings fully Real-real, so find those customers who, when they examine your economic output — closely — find the value within.
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