How to identify a fake:
secrets of falsifiers

Can you recognize if someone is lying? There are scientifically proven signals that most people unknowingly use when they lie. For example, sweaty palms, dry throat, suddenly becoming a tight collar. We tend to look up and to the left when we come up with lies, and up and to the right, trying to remember the truth (the opposite is true for left-handed people). But can you say that any object is lying? Is he really what he seems?

There are ways to recognize this lie. Studying how falsifiers learned to dust our eyes gives some clues on how to avoid cheating in the future.

The history of the art of falsification knows very amazing characters. Before becoming famous, Michelangelo was engaged in copying ancient Roman sculptures. He created a new sculpture from marble, then broke it, buried it in the garden and after some time declared that he had found Roman antiques. The cardinal, who bought this sculpture from him, only a few years later began to suspect something was wrong and demanded his money back from the seller, who became the intermediary in that transaction. However, the seller was happy to agree to a refund, because by this time Michelangelo had already created his famous Pieta and became the most sought after new artist. His supposedly Roman sculpture was sold a second time for a lot of money, but already as the original Michelangelo.

Many of the most famous counterfeiters created in the eyes of society the image of cheerful gangsters, illusionists, unrecognized geniuses. The media most often portrayed them as harmless "brothers" of Robin Hood, who deceive the extremely wealthy. Often, this path is chosen by those artists whose original works were never recognized by society. They want to show us how wrong we were when we rejected them. Very often they are caught after decades of a successful career, due to an accidentally made mistake or anachronism. Shaun Greenhalgh for 17 years has falsified anything from ancient Egyptian sculptures to watercolors of the 19th century. He was completely self-taught, bought books by which he copied style and form, ordered materials via the Internet or by mail, and used a garden shed as a creative studio. He was caught when, while falsifying the Assyrian bas-relief of the 7th century BC, accidentally made a mistake in cuneiform writing.

But not all anachronisms and errors were random. Lothar Malskat specialized in forging medieval frescoes, passing them off as allegedly found during the restoration of the church. They were so amazing that the German government ordered 4 million postage stamps depicting details of these frescoes. Success came, but only the forger knew about it, and this was not enough for him. Melskat wanted fame, he even talked about his fraud, but no one believed him. Then Melskat filed a lawsuit against himself, and as evidence of the deed he presented to the public two “temporary bombs” - two intentionally admitted anachronisms. In the first case, he portrayed a turkey, and in the second - a portrait of Marlene Dietrich. Naturally, in medieval Germany there could be neither the first nor the second.

"Temporary bombs" can be determined visually, as in the case of Melskat, or using modern technology. Otto Wacker (Otto Wacker) was brought to court after two leading world experts on the work of Van Gogh did not confirm the authenticity of several paintings sold by Wacker. A Dutch chemist named Martin de Wild was able to destroy this hoax. Examining the canvases, he found particles of lead and resin in the "Wacker" Van Gogh, which were added to the oil paint so that it dries faster. The real Van Gogh never did that. Wolfgang Beltracchi, who was recently released from prison, used titanium white to falsify the painting, while the original fake was painted ten years before the appearance of this paint. One of his fakes, by the way, was acquired by actor Steve Martin.

Such cases are not rare: a falsifier can fool an art critic, but never a forensic scientist. The only problem is that works of art are very rarely subject to forensic medical examination. Most often, there is no reason for such a procedure, and this can only be explained by the quirks and characteristics of relationships in the art world. Examination is not an expensive and not necessarily invasive research method, but the established rules in the field of trade in works of art are based on gentleman’s agreements and certain etiquette, and this boat is not so easy to rock. If the work looks good enough, and, more importantly, if the history of this work sounds convincing, then this is enough to refuse further checks. The key to defining a fake is in its origin, the documentary history of the object: contracts, links to work in archives, catalog records, receipts, and so on. If these documents are convincing, then most art dealers will never “dig” deeper. Meanwhile, when dealing with fake or stolen work, you can lose not only your commission or business reputation, but also be in the dock. On the other hand, it is enough for a wretched dealer to simply say that he was deceived, which was demonstrated by the high-profile lawsuit of the Knoedler gallery, which consciously sold fakes.

The authenticity of art is in its perception. If the world thinks the work is genuine, then it is genuine. Counterfeiters know that a convincing origin is actually more important than the aesthetic perfection of a fake or even the result of a forensic examination. Imagine a character who appears in a historical book, but is actually an invention of the author. The more details we learn about the character’s biography, the more convincing his image. Origin is a biography of a work of art, but origin, like art, can be faked.

John Myatt’s paintings looked pretty good, but any specialist is able to determine that they are painted with acrylics and not oil, like the originals of Monet and Giacometti. Meanwhile, the “experts” did not notice the obvious facts for a very long time - the origin of the fakes was so convincing. Mayat’s accomplices added fake documents to real archives, where they were later found by “researchers” in order to prove the authenticity of Mayat’s fakes.

The Vinland Map, acquired by Yale University, allegedly the first map of North America made in the 15th century, was made using synthetic ink from the 20th century. But despite this, some scholars still think that the map is genuine because of the bizarre history of its appearance at Yale University at the same time as a completely genuine manuscript of the 15th century, which seemed to be cut from the same book as “ map".

The history of fakes is full of amazing facts and witty heroes, but it also gives us real lessons on how not to be deceived in the future. It doesn’t matter how many numbers in the price tag of the picture you buy are three or seven, you are not guaranteed to be fake. But there are five tips to help reduce the risk of becoming a victim of counterfeiters.

1. Look at the backdrop of the painting or the bottom of the sculpture. Labels from old auctions or brands of previous owners may remain here. Lazy falsifiers can ignore this part of the work, hoping that you will not check.
2. Check the documentation. Not an easy task, but a necessary one. This will help you to avoid the risk of legal troubles in case the picture was stolen. You should be able to prove “due diligence” when buying, to make sure that the sale of work is legal.
3. Double check the origin. Make sure that the origin really matches this object, and is not borrowed from another. Call the galleries where the picture was exhibited, and for any suspicion - send the picture for examination.
4. Buy from reputable dealers with a good track record. Well-known merchants and auction houses are more likely to deal with genuine works. But buying online literally begs for trouble, in this case you do not see the work, you can not look into the eyes of the seller and ask questions.
5. Request an examination. This somewhat does not fit into the standard procedure, but it is necessary. If the dealer refuses the examination, be prepared to refuse the purchase. Today, works of art are often more expensive than the most elite houses and cars, and we continue to buy them based on the conclusion of an “expert” who may have hidden motives or lack the necessary qualifications.

Based on the book The Art of Forgery (Phaidon), author - Professor Noah Charney.

Anna Sidorova © Gallerix.ru