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Art forgery

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Art forgery refers to creating and, in particular, selling works of art that are falsely attributed to be work of another, usually more famous, artists. Art forgery is extremely lucrative, but modern dating and analysis techniques have made the identification of forged artwork much simpler.

Contents

History

Art forgery dates back more than two-thousand years. Roman sculptors produced copies of Greek sculptures. Presumably the contemporary buyers knew that they were not genuine. During the classical period art was generally created for historical reference, religious inspiration, or simply aesthetic enjoyment. The identity of the artist was often of little importance to the buyer.

Art forgery was commonplace during the Renaissance period when copying a work of a master was considered a tribute, not a forgery. Throughout this period, many painters took on apprentices who studied painting techniques by copying the works and style of the master. As a payment for the training, the master would then sell these works. Some of these copies have been later erroneously attributed as the master’s work.

Following the Renaissance, a redistribution of the world’s wealth created a fierce demand for art by a newly prosperous middle class. Near the end of the 14th century Roman statues were unearthed in Italy, intensifying the populace’s interest in antiquities, and leading to sharp increases in the value of these objects. This upsurge soon extended to contemporary and recently deceased artists. Art had become a commercial commodity, and the monetary value of the artwork came to depend on the identity of the artist. To identify their works, painters began to marks them, these marks later evolved in to signatures. As the demand for artwork far exceeded the supply, fraudulent marks and signatures began to appear on the open market.

In the 16th century imitators of Albrecht Dürer's style of printmaking added signatures to them and thus increased the value of their own prints. In his engraving of the Virgin, Durer added the inscription "Be cursed, plunderers and imitators of the work and talent of others"[link]. Even extremely famous artists created forgeries. Michelangelo forged a marble cupid for his patron, Lorenzo de' Medici.

The 20th century the art market has favored artists such as Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso, Klee and Matisse and works by these artists have commonly been targets of forgery. Forgeries are typically sold to art galleries and auction houses who cater to the tastes of art and antiquities collectors.

Recently photographs have become the target of forgers, and as the market value of these works increase, so will forgery continue (see Man Ray or Ansel Adams).

the Forgers

Copies, replicas, reproductions and pastiches are legitimate works. Works become forgeries when someone intentionally attempts to sell works as genuine items.

The difference between a legitimate reproduction and deliberate forgery is blurred. Guy Hain used original molds to reproduce several of Auguste Rodin's sculptures. However, Hain then signed the reproductions with the name of Rodin's original foundry, branding them deliberate forgeries.

An art forger must be at least somewhat proficient in the type of art he is trying to imitate. Many forgers were once fledging artists that tried, unsuccessfully, to break into the market, eventually resorting to forgery. Sometimes, an original item is borrowed or stolen, from the owner, in order to create a copy. Forgers will then return the copy to the owner, keeping the original for himself.

Although many art forgers reproduce works solely for money, some have claimed that they have created forgeries to expose the credulity and snobbishness of the art world. Essentially the artist claims, usually after he has been caught, that they have performed only “hoaxes of exposure”.

Forgers usually copy works by deceased artists, however a small number imitate living artists. In May 2004, for example, Norwegian painter Kjell Nupen noticed that the Kristianstad gallery was selling unauthorized, signed copies of his work.

Some exposed forgers have later sold their reproductions honestly, by attributing them as copies. Some forgers have actually gained enough notoriety to become famous in their own right. Forgeries painted by late Elmyr de Hory, featured in the film F for Fake directed by Orson Welles, have become so valuable that forged de Hory’s works have appeared on the market.

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Methods of detection


The most obvious forgeries are revealed as clumsy copies of previous art. A forger may try to create a "new" work by combining the elements of more than one work. The forger may omit details typical to the artist they are trying to imitate, or add anachronisms, in an attempt to claim that the forged work is a slightly different copy, or a previous version of the more famous work. To detect the work of a skilled forger, investigators must rely on other methods.



Tests of this painting, by an unknown Italian forger of the 1920's revealed that the purportedly ancient wormholes in the panel had been made with a drill (they were straight, not crooked) and the Virgin's robe was painted using Prussian Blue, a pigment not invented until the 18th century.

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Tests of this painting, by an unknown Italian forger of the 1920's revealed that the purportedly ancient wormholes in the panel had been made with a drill (they were straight, not crooked) and the Virgin's robe was painted using Prussian Blue, a pigment not invented until the 18th century.







Sometimes thorough examination (sometimes referred to as Morellian Analysis) of the piece is enough. Sculpture may have obviously been created with modern methods and tools. Sometimes forgers have used the wrong characteristic brushwork and perspective, preferred themes and techniques, or colors that were not available during the artist’s lifetime, to create the painting. Some forgers have dipped pieces in chemicals to "age" them and some have even tried to imitate worm marks by drilling holes into objects (See image, right).[link]


When attempting to authenticate artwork, experts will first determine the piece’s provenance, by studying catalogues of previous auctions, to determine whether it has been for sale elsewhere. If the item has no paper trail, it is more likely to be a forgery. Some forgers therefore attempt to forge documents related to the piece. British art dealer John Drewe created false documents of provenance, for works forged by his partner John Myatt, and even inserted pictures of forgeries into the archives of prominent art institutions. 
Other techniques the forgers use include:





Forensic Authentication

If the above attempts at authentication fail to reveal whether a piece is authentic or forged, investigators may attempt to authenticate the object using some, or all, of the forensic methods discussed below [link], [link]: 





Statistical analysis of digital images of paintings is a new method that that has recently been used to detect forgeries. Using a technique called wavelet decomposition, a picture is broken down into a collection of more basic images called sub-bands.  These sub-bands are analyzed to determine textures, assigning a frequency to each sub-band.  The broad strokes of a surface such as a blue sky would show up as mostly low frequency sub-bands whereas the fine strokes in blades of grass would produce high frequency sub-bands.
A group of thirteen drawings attributed to Pieter Brueghel the Elder was tested using the wavelet decomposition method.  Five of the drawings were known to be imitations.  The analysis was able to correctly identify the five forged paintings.  The method was also used on the painting Virgin and Child with Saints, created in the studios of Pietro Perugino.  Historians have long suspected that Perugino painted only a portion of the work.  The wavelet decomposition method identified that at least four different artists had worked on the painting.



Problems with authentication


Art specialists, whom we now refer to as experts, began to surface in the art world during the late 1850s. At that time they were usually historians or museum curators, writing books about paintings, sculpture, and other art forms. Communication amongst the different specialties was poor, and they often made mistakes when authenticating pieces. While many books and art catalogues were published prior to 1900, many were not widely circulated, and often did not contain information about more contemporary artwork. In addition, these specialists lacked several important the technological means that experts use, today.  


The fact that experts do not always agree on the authenticity of a particular item makes the matter of provenance more complex. Some artists have even accepted copies as their own work -Picasso once said that he "would sign a very good forgery” . Jean Corot painted over 700 works, but also signed copies made by others in his name, because he felt honored to be copied.[link]


Sometimes restoration is so extensive that the original piece is essentially replaced when new materials are used to supplement older ones. An art restorer may also add or remove details to a painting, in an attempt to make the painting more saleable on the contemporary art market. This, however, is not a modern phenomenon - historical painters might have "retouched" another artist's by repainting some of the background or details. 


Claims have surfaced recently, alleging that art dealers and auction houses have been overly eager, by accepting  forgeries as genuine, and selling them quickly, to turn a profit. If a dealer finds the work is a forgery, he may quietly withdraw the piece and return it to its previous owner - giving the forger an opportunity to sell it elsewhere. Some potential buyers may not be concerned with the provenance of the item, as long as it can pass for the genuine piece in their social circles. Some experts and institutions may also be reluctant to admit their own fallibility. Art historian, Thomas Hoving, estimates that up to 40% of the art market is comprised of some type of forged art. (False Impressions: The Hunt for Big-Time Art Fakes, Thomas Hoving, Simon & Schuster, 1996.)
Sometimes work that has previously been declared a forgery is later accepted as genuine; Vermeer's Young Woman Seated at the Virginals had been regarded as a forgery from 1947 until March, 2004, when it was finally declared genuine.


The detection of forged photography is quite difficult, as experts must be able to tell the difference between originals and reprints. 


Many forgeries still escape detection; Han van Meegeren, possibly the most famous forger of the 20th century, used historical canvasses for his Vermeer forgeries and created his own pigments to ensure that they were authentic.


Perhaps the most thought-provoking instance of potential art forgery is the Getty Kouros, the authenticity of which has not been resolved. The Getty Kouros was offered, along with seven other pieces, to The J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, California in the spring of 1983. For the next twelve years art historians, conservators, and archeologists studied the Kouros, scientific tests were performed and showed that the surface could not have been created artificially. However, when several of the other pieces, offered with the Kouros, were shown to be forgeries, its authenticity was again questioned. In May of 1992, the Kouros was displayed in Athens, Greece, at an international conference to determine its authenticity. The conference failed to solve the problem; while most art historians and archeologists denounced it, the scientists present believed the statue to be authentic. To this day, the Getty Kouros' authenticity remains a mystery and the statue is displayed with the date: "Greek, 530 B.C. or modern forgery." [link]




Famous forgeries





Known art forgers and dealers of forged art



See also



References & External Links










 




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