How to sign your work. Inspired by Matisse, Michelangelo, and other greats (part 1).

How do you sign your artwork? And where?

I'm often asked: Should I sign my art? How do I sign it? Where? What other information should I include? Here you go: Add your signature to your artwork. 

My artist signature is on all my paintings. It's at the top of my website, and I use it for my branding. When did I start?

When should I start?
Start as soon as you want. A sense of completion and ownership accompanies the act of signing your art. It's fulfilling. It's something you have created. Signing feels like an exclamation of: "I made this!"

In fact Michelangelo signed "I made this" on his Pieta in St. Peters Cathedral in the Vatican. 

He chiseled "Michelangelo Buonarroti, Florentine, I made this."  into a sash he put across Mary's torso. It is carved into griefing Mary as the dying Christ is lying across her lap. 

It is the only piece he ever signed. 

What to include?

Typically artists use only their name. Use your first name or last name or both. With initials or not. It doesn’t have to be your legal signature. For example, Winslow Homer sometimes used a signature incorporating an oil palette drawing around his name. 

Although he sometimes signed in a much simpler hand: 

Image from RR Auction House.

Here is an example of how he signs a letter. it looks completely different. 

From the Schulson Auction House.

What style?

Your artist signature can be printed, cursive, a combination of the two, or even a symbol or a drawing. Below I share some examples of each.

Can I ever change my artist’s signature?

Many artists morph their signatures throughout their careers. In what today we would consider marketing effort. Artemisia Gentileschi changed her signature depending on which town she was in. A Florentine signature worked best in Florence. A Roman one in Rome.

James McNeill Whistler used 12 variations of his signature. Renoir used eight. And, as we will see, Matisse also used many signatures. I don’t think I have found them all, but his legacy is a wide variety of signatures. 

Examples of Signatures by Famous Artists

Italian painter, Caravaggio (1510-1671)

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was known as "Caravaggio." But Caravaggio was actually the town he grew up in. Just like Leonardo da Vinci, in which Vinci was the town he grew up in. 

Here is the signature of da Vinci. 

Below is the signature of the artist we know as Michelangelo"

Moving from the 1500s and the 1600s to the 19th, 20th and 21st century here is the signature of Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919).

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French artist

Georgia O'Keeffe, American artist

Frida Kahlo, a prolific, Mexican painter

.

Vincent Van Gogh, Dutch painter

N.C. Wyeth, American watercolorist.
For someone who uses such precise strokes in his paintings, his signature is messy.

Some are printed, some script, and as discussed, some are a hybrid.

Dr. Seuss, American author

John Singer Sargent, American watercolorist, portraiture artist, and oil painter.

Gustav Klimt, Austrian painter

You may not be familiar with the name Jessie Wilcox Smith (1863-1935), an illustrator who created charming scenes often featuring children and families. She is one of my favorite artists, and I remember fondly her illustrations in books of poems, fairy tales, and nursery rhymes from my childhood. 

Notice that on this illustration she has also lettered her name in the lower left hand corner. 

French artist of the post-Impressionist era, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901), was best known for his posters for circuses and theater performances. He used variations on a theme for his signature.

Toulouse Lautrec sometimes used his initials incorporated in a logotype, sometimes he used his name, and as in this case,  in the above poster, he used a combination of the two. This is his signature on the Moulin Rouge dance hall in Paris at the end of the 19th C. See my blog post discussing the Japanese influence on artists and social life at this time.

He also sometimes used his monogram, "H-T-L" inside a circle for his signature.

Some use their initials...

JMW Turner, English artist.
For more on JMW Turner, read "Did JMW Turner Really Use Bread in his Watercolor Paintings?"

Some artists used symbols or drawings incorporated into their professional signature.

Johannes Vermeer, Dutch painter

Wassily Kandinsky, Russian painter

Albrecht Durer, German artist

James McNeill Whistler used a form of a butterfly for his signature. We can almost watch the evolution from his initials into a butterfly. These images are from the Whistler House Museum of Art, Lowell Art Association, Lowell, MA. For more on Whistler, read "What's the Deal with Whistler and His Mother."

Matisse (1869-1954)

I enjoy looking at the signatures of Matisse. There are many “official” signatures for him. He's an example of someone using various styles and various media -- from pencil to paint to ink -- for his signature. These are the ones I found.

Henri Matisse signature on paper, "Nice, [France], October 29, 1931.

Matisse signed this painting of his wife, Madame Matisse, in the upper left corner. His other signatures are placed at the bottom right of left. This painting, "Woman in Hat," is in the collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. To read more about Matisse, read "When Shape is the Thing-- From Matisse's Cut-outs to Silhouettes."

Should I use a pen to sign my art?

It is often recommended that you sign your art in the medium you used to create the art: if oil, then oil; if acrylic, then acrylic; if marble, then chisel it into the marble.

Some say to sign in a Sharpie or other permanent marker. I don't advocate that. A permanent marker can seem obtrusive on a piece of art. It calls too much attention to the signature. And, more importantly, a “permanent” marker tends to bleed or fade. I once had a pair of hockey gloves from Wayne Gretzky that I purchased at a celebrity auction. They were signed in some sort of "permanent marker," and the signature disappeared in a few years! It is not convincing to say, "Well, there used to be a signature here by Wayne Gretzky!" 

I typically sign my two-dimensional art in pencil. Just a regular, ordinary #2 pencil is a good tool. The graphite, (which is the “lead” in pencils), is lightfast and can last hundreds of years. Plus you can write finely, or with the gusto, or density you desire.

For my textile art, I create a label that I stitch into the back of the piece, and sometimes I incorporate my initials into the front of the piece.

Where should I sign?

Most artists sign in the lower right or lower left corner. But it is personal preference. You can sign within the art, or on the mat, or even on the frame if you want. Of course the grame can get separated from the art, as can the mat, but again, it's up to you.

Some artists, as we’ll see, tuck their signatures into part of the story within the painting itself.

Should I date my work or include the name of the artwork in my signature?

Generally, I add the date and the name of the painting on the back of the watercolor painting. Including the name of the art on the back allows me to make sure the name travels with the painting.

I often add a label of authenticity to a framed piece indicating the name and usually the date completed.

Does the signature add value? Does an unsigned piece of artwork have less value?

Not necessarily. But for me, adding my signature authenticates the piece. It helps me decide that my piece has met my expectations and I am happy to send it out in the world.

When I add my signature, I am “owning” the creative process that nurtured and nudged the piece into fruition. It’s a satisfying feeling of completion. Find a signature that empowers you.

If I don't feel a painting is worthy of my signature, I usually tear it up and use for scratch paper :-) I don't sign pieces that are destined for the dust bin or scrap pile.

If you are interested in an academic study of signatures to authenticate a piece of art, for example, check with a reputable art dealer, curator, historian, or other expert. The Getty Museum Blog has a bibliography for research on art signatures. 

Part 2 of this blog series on signatures focuses on Artemisia Gentileschi and other artists.

Watercolor can provide a vast array of styles and improvisations. If you are interested in taking watercolor lessons from me, please contact me through my link on my Learn page.  Or, if you have questions about lessons, call, text, or respond to this email.