Disillusioned that no one was interested in his paintings, he began to manufacture variations on the works of Expressionists or mirrored obscure versions of originals, eventually evolving his practice to create totally new paintings imitating the style of noted artists. The same sentiment of revenge that moved van Meegeren is also what urged the prolific Dutch art forger Robert Driessen. Instead, he was found guilty of the lesser charge of forgery, dying of heart disease a month after the trial. To prove that his statements were true van Meegeren painted a new work, under police supervision, which he titled Jesus Among the Doctors, resulting in the charges of treason being dropped. The fame he had longed for as an artist was ultimately achieved as a patriot of sorts. Moreover, he claimed to have traded the work for more than a hundred Dutch artworks, saving them from Nazi-looting. Reckoning it better to be considered a forger than a traitor, van Meegeren confessed that he had indeed sold the painting to Göring, but that he had not betrayed a heritage icon by Vermeer, but rather a highly accomplished painting he had made himself. In the aftermath of World War II, the Dutch government brought him to trial on charges of conspiring with the Nazis: he had sold, via a third party, Woman Taken in Adultery by Vermeer – a national treasure – to Göring. On the contrary, we probably would know nothing of this whole story to this day if van Meegeren had not determined to give himself away. They were so convincing that they were never actually analysed. When, in 1937, Van Meegeren’s forgery depicting The Last Supper fell into the hands of the collector and Vermeer expert Abraham Bredius not only it was declared as authentic, but as the artist’s seminal masterpiece.Ī string of well-concocted hoaxes continued and van Meegeren’s forgeries accumulated to become a trove with an estimated ‘market’ value of $30 million. But above all, van Meegeren’s talent was to understand exactly the intangible qualities of a Vermeer that art critics and experts were looking for, providing them with the kind of paintings they were both hoping and expecting to find. He also managed to accelerate the ageing process and create a plausible craquelure pattern. Van Meegeren spent years in Nice developing the ultimate process to create the perfect fake he gained the right paint, canvasses, wood panels and even recreated a home-made brush similar to the one Vermeer used. In Vermeer, he found the perfect artist to forge: he was a revered Old Master, little information about his life was available, and it was considered likely that the artist produced many more works than were already known about or acknowledged. Actually, the viewer’s reaction not only changes when he looks at an authentic artwork but also when he observes one that he has been informed is not basically, our perception is different when an authority figure tells us what we are looking at, a “real” or a “fake”. Nevertheless, this technicality does not apply to the everyday and the terms “art fake” and “art forgery” can be used interchangeably.īut there is more, psychological studies have revealed that authenticity also affects the way we look at artworks at a neurological level. Legally speaking, only written documents can be forged so, for example, we could have a fake painting with a forged statement of authenticity. Art forgeries, even if aesthetically pleasant or technically stunning, can cause serious misinterpretations with extremely damaging consequences, first of all in the academic field, as well as disruptions to the art market.īut what actually is an art fake? In general, when an artwork is said to be a fake, it is presented as by one artist, despite actually being created by another – and this is not necessarily a crime, as we shall see. The fact is, every artwork is an unparalleled expression of an individual creative talent and a result of a precise personal, historical and cultural context. If a fake Van Gogh appears as beautifully vibrant as an authentic one, enough that not even an experienced eye can tell the difference, why does the art world revolve around the concept of authenticity to such a large extent? Have you ever wondered what makes art really original and unique? Is it the hand that made it or the innate qualities of the work itself?
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