Researchers at Germany’s Heidelberg University have identified a work formerly considered a fake drawing as a lithographic proof by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The portrait shows actor and singer Amelie Diéterle and dates to around 1899. Henry Keazor’s investigation found a printed image and a signature added by hand, prompting a new attribution.
Henry Keazor and researchers at Germany’s Heidelberg University have attributed a supposed fake to Pierre-Auguste Renoir. They identify the portrait of actor and singer Amelie Diéterle as a lithographic proof signed by hand. It dates to around 1899. A collector offered the sheet to Heidelberg’s forgery study collection in 2023, believing it was a fake pencil drawing.[1], [2]
Keazor recognised a print while unpacking the work. Research with his students, including paper and microscopic examination, found a signature in black grease chalk. The image matches Renoir’s contribution to the Germinal portfolio. Keazor proposes that this sheet was printed using one of the two stones needed for the finished version, with Renoir adding the missing signature by hand.[1]
The reassessed sheet is scheduled to go on display at Heidelberg’s Kurpfälzisches Museum on 26 November. The exhibition, Riddle around Renoir, is due to continue until 21 March 2027. Afterwards, the collection and previous owner will decide where the work should be kept. The university’s teaching collection holds roughly 140 supposed forgeries, giving students objects to examine directly.[1]
