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Fake or Fortune?

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media: Arts

Journalist Fiona Bruce and art expert Philip Mould investigate mysteries behind paintings.

Fiona Bruce teams up with expert Philip Mould to investigate mysteries behind intriguing works of art. Are they potentially priceless or crafty copies?

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Fiona Bruce

Philip Mould

Rachel Jardine

Simon Shaw

Fake or Fortune?: Series 2: Episode 3: Van Dyck: What Lies Beneath

Documentaries

Van Dyck: What Lies Beneath

Episode 3

Episode 3: Van Dyck: What Lies Beneath

Series 2

BBC One - Fake or Fortune?, Series 2, Van Dyck: What Lies Beneath

One of Philip's own purchases, a painting by Van Dyck, is put under the microscope.

The tables are turned on art detective Philip Mould as one of his own purchases - a painting by Sir Anthony Van Dyck - is put under the microscope.

Art detective Philip Mould has a reputation for finding sleepers - paintings that hide dark secrets. His most remarkable finds are pictures whose true authorship has been confused, masterpieces lost beneath years of dirt and over-painting. Although Philip is used to investigating other people's paintings, this time the tables are turned as Philip's own purchase is put under the microscope.

With his keen-eyed researcher Bendor Grosvenor, Philip has bought a painting that he says could be the find of a lifetime - a work by portrait painter Sir Anthony Van Dyck, one which is worth a small fortune. The only problem is that, in order to prove it, he will have to remove later layers of paint to uncover the truth. "It's a bit like open heart surgery," says Philip, as the expensive and irreversible process begins. 

A thorough restoration is needed, and inches of canvas are cut away as an earlier image begins to appear. Fiona is not convinced, and insists that the work undergoes a thorough investigation and is authenticated by an independent Van Dyck expert. Will Philip's reputation and the painting make it to the end of the journey unscathed?

Fake or Fortune?: Series 2

BBC One

Journalist Fiona Bruce teams up with art expert Philip Mould to investigate mysteries behind paintings.

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Fake or Fortune?

Series 2

Episode 3: Van Dyck: What Lies Beneath

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