Cover Photo by Kreated Media on Unsplash

I recently had a conversation with a group of artists about art signing and watermarking. I personally don’t like watermarks, but pretty good points were made across about the importance of art identification. So I decided to change my art signature to make it more readable and therefore more identifiable. As it is normal for me, I did some research. I decided to share with you some of the things I learned along the way, as well as extending the conversation here.

Where did the custom of signing began?

Though signing art seems totally normal nowadays, it wasn’t always the norm and it is a constant headache for art authenticators.

Before the Renaissance, many artists refrained from signing their work as an act of humbleness. Vanity was considered a mortal sin, and as many artworks produced were for religious purposes, there was no further need to be acknowledged by anyone else than God.

In the Medieval Ages, there wasn’t really a need for signing too, as most artists were only known in their villages and it was more of a craft done in workshops, a collective effort rather than individual merit.

As cities grew and roads improved, commissioners could be anywhere in the continent. Artists started to recognize the importance of their names being known alongside their artworks.

An anecdote about Michelangelo survived thanks to Giorgio Vasari:

“…Michelangelo, having come to the place where Pieta was exhibited, saw there a large number of visitors from Lombardy, who praised the artwork very much; however, he overheard one of them asking another about the author, and the reply was ‘it was our Milanese man, il Gobbo.’ Michelangelo did not say anything, but it seemed unfair, to say the least, that his works were attributed to a stranger. One night he broke into the church with a lamp and chisel and cut out his name on the sculpture.”

Without any modesty, and influenced by Renaissance Humanism, Italian sculptors and painters started to include their names in manners that fully integrated to the art piece, contrary to the current custom of discretely signing on one corner. The trend soon caught up in the rest of Europe, and by the 17^th century, it was a normal practice to also include the date.

Michelangelo’s signature on the sculpture of Pieta. Image courtesy of www.Michelangelo.org.

In Asia, the practice is older than in western cultures, as art was being marked with the artist’s personal seal as early as the 13^th century. Artworks could be marked with several seals containing further information such as the title of the piece and the date. The seals were also used to represent the artist’s aesthetics and, apart from ornaments, could include phrases for a good omen. Some artworks have had not only seals but inscriptions of the owner on them, enhancing their value especially if the owner was famous or admired.

Early Autumn (13th century) by Qian Xuan. Pay attention to the signature seals, and how, despite the number, they are not detrimental to the artwork.

Signatures are one of the key elements authenticators look for in old sculptures and paintings, but as their illegibility is sometimes such a big problem, signature identification has become an industry in itself. In modern times, signing art has been used more as authenticity proof rather than as a sign of authorship and self-advertisement. However, this has not stopped art forgers from making “excellent” work and some modern artists resort to other authenticity alternatives such as embedding their DNA on their artworks. Knowing this could be problematic or unethical new technologies are being developed using artificial DNA.

To sign or not to sign

That’s the question. Some artists are eager to sign their work, some are not really fans of it, and others are just not sure.

Some reasons to sign your artworks can include:

To identify it as yours: This is the most obvious reason, not only it shows your authorship, but also the authenticity of the image.

To add value: A signature has made the difference between a piece of art and a urinal. You might not be a Duchamp, but one day you could be and your signature can increase the monetary worth of a piece, even if it is a print.

Fountain (1917) by Marcel Duchamp. Signed “R.Mutt” on the left.

To give a sense of completion: Signing your art can be the final statement: you’re finally abandoning it. It can have the power to give you permission to move on to the next piece. I have to confess that sometimes I forget to sign my work, so I have now decided to make it part of my process as a way of honoring my art.

For branding or advertisement: Not all signatures are obvious or in plain sight, but when they are they can work as a marketing tool. A signature can lead those who don’t know you to search and learn more about you.

The Picasso name was licensed from the family of Pablo Picasso for Citroën’s compact MPV, Xsara Picasso.
The only Picasso thing about the car was the artist’s famous signature, included as a badge in the rear of the car until May 2018.

Some reasons NOT to sign your artworks:

It can ruin the composition: A signature, especially when left as an after-thought, can look like an alien in the whole picture. Signatures also don’t work that well in miniatures. I for sure have misplaced a signature and have it Photoshopped later.

The artwork is more important than the artist: Maybe you want your audience to enjoy your art for what it is and not be distracted by unnecessary information.

It triggers bad thoughts and adds unnecessary pressure on the creative process: Do you feel every piece needs to be perfect ‘cause your name is going to be on it? Impostor syndrome, anyone? You know what, skip the signature part and post anonymously. For the record, 100 pieces of unsigned art are better than a single piece with a name on it.

Am I supposed to sign this?? Who am I??

The artwork is a study or a copy of another artist’s work: Never claim a copy as your own as it could be a breach of copyright. If you choose to, or happened to, sign it, make sure to add the words “after the work of * artist name * ” in the title of the artwork. If the artist is living ask for permission beforehand and always give proper credit. I know I have sinned with this one, but I know best now.

Sign me in!

So you decided you want to sign your work, here are some things to have in mind to make the best out of it:

Size: The signature should be big enough to be readable, but not so big that its distracting.

Tools: Signatures look better when executed in the same medium as the artwork itself.

Artist Tetsuo Ochikubo‘s signature in oil, ink and pencil.

Placement: By tradition, signatures are placed in a bottom corner, but who says they cannot be made part of the artwork?

Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zúñiga (1787-1788) by Francisco Goya. Signature is on the paper the bird is holding.

Your art signature vs your formal signature: This is a personal opinion, but for safety reasons, I don’t think it is a good idea to use the same signature you use to sign official documents on your art; especially if your art is roaming on the internet.

Identity/Personality: Depending on your personality, your preferences, or the emotions you want to convey, your signature can be done in cursive, print letters, symbols, or playful shapes. The same accounts for the content: using your full name is perceived different than using only your initials.

Thomas Moran‘s signature consisted of his last name in capital letters with an stylized M.

Legibility: A matter of preference, but having an illegible handwritten signature is as good as having none in terms of branding.

Alternatives to signatures

Some artists sign their work in other ways using elements like mascots or symbols that make their work identifiable. See Glenn Arthur, for example. His hummingbirds make constant appearances in his work, making this his personal trademark. In most of his paintings, the signature is a Key with a G-shaped bow that he meticulously integrates into the painting.

Pierced (2012) by Glenn Arthur. No apparent signature, but when you look closely there’s a G hidden in the Key’s bow (lower right), and his singular hummingbird appears twice.

As the Asian tradition, another way of signing your art is using custom ink stamps; you could even use embossing stamps if you’re using paper.

For traditional mediums signatures can also go in the back of the piece instead of in the front; and for digital art, information can be added in the metadata.

What about watermarks?

Some artists are concerned with art theft and the fact that signatures can be cropped or forged…. but hey! so does watermarks! Unless you do a full watermarking like stock photo sites do, there’s no waterproof technique to avoid thievery (at least not without ruining the artwork in the process).

I personally don’t like the look of watermarks OVER the art, and when I feel like using it I leave it on one side or corner in transparency. Though I think art theft is a bad reason to use watermarks, there are good reasons to use them:

• Credit and legibility: When you don’t have a readable signature and you still want your work to be identifiable and be linked to the original source.
• Branding: You’re using a logo for advertisement purposes. This point somehow goes in hand with the credit part too.

Woman with parrot after Donna N Schuster (2020) by franzmori. Watermark on the bottom left. This is wrong, and I’ll tell you why:
1. The super clean computer font of the logo disrupts the loose brushstroke look of the painting. A handwritten signature would have looked better.
2. I shouldn’t have signed it anyway. This was done after the work of Donna N. Schuster; and if I decided to sign the work, this fact has to be stated.

What about me?

Photograph by Rick Barrett on Unsplash

I never gave much thought to my signature, but out of habit, I signed all my artworks (when I don’t forget to). Now I’m making the conscious decision to sign my work because I want it to be recognizable, especially since I’ve been experimenting with a lot of styles and mediums. I know someday I won’t be around and my art could end anywhere. For when that day comes my signature will be there.

Thoughtless daisy (2020) by franzmori. Signature on bottom right.

In the image above you can see the signature, I’ve been using since 2013. It is the combination of an F and a Z alongside some symbols. This signature is meaningful to me, but only recognizable to those who have known me for a long time. Now I want something more readable, and different from the logo I use on my webpage.

Worry is a misuse of the imagination – mockup with new signature (2020) by franzmori. Signature on lower center right.

Though the general image of my brand is minimalistic and with sans serifs fonts I wanted my signature to be more organic, so for my new signature I went with a handwritten semi-connected print letters. I also chose to go handwritten because it is something I can use to consistently sign both my traditional drawings and my digital paintings.

Somewhere I read that “signatures are important, but not essential”. In our current internet times, art can, in the best-case scenario, be tracked to the original source, aka who posted first, without the need of a signature. But the internet is not a perfect vault, files can still be lost, platforms put down, and servers can go unpaid.

Do you think signing artworks is a good method to prevent the artist to be lost in a void? Or is the art itself enough of a gift to humankind?

Do you sign your works? If yes what is your preferred way of doing so? If not, why? I’ll read you in the comments.

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