Why certify the paintings of Odd Nerdrum?

During the last decades Nerdrum has received students from all over the world. After years of struggle, he feels obligated to share his experiences and knowledge with younger generations. The pupils would often paint standing by his side in his studio, studying the same model. In order to acquire the techniques many students have tried to come as close as possible to the style of Nerdrum. Normally an expert or a trained eye will easily be able to part Nerdrum's own works from those of his students but sometimes it might be less straight forward. The student's work may be so identical to the master's that we are almost talking about copies, in particular when it comes to sketches and studies of smaller size. After several years, some of those - originally painted with the very best intentions - might end up in the second hand market and run the risk of being introduced as a picture painted by Nerdrum and sold to a third party.

The Nerdrum Institute is the only body that is authorized by Odd Nerdrum to issue certificates of authentication for his pictures. We possess comprehensive documentation of Nerdrum's oeuvre and are in the position to control the information given about each work.

The certificate is written on the back side of a black and white photograph of the original painting or drawing and signed by the Institute's members of the board. If you want further information about our work of certification you are most welcome to contact us.