In the underworld of art dealing, forgeries by the world's most famous artists are a common occurrence, seeking to deceive collectors looking to buy masterpieces at a (comparably) discounted price. In March 2021, the Generalitat Police in Valencia, Spain carried out an investigation on a collector who was attempting to sell three forged works on the black market for a value of 12,500,000 euros ($14.7 million).
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The collector, based in Toledo, Spain, was exchanging emails with art dealers to sell the works and was asking for a commission of 10%.
The most expensive work was a forged portrait by Amedeo Modigliani, which the collector was marketing in Germany, Spain and Mexico with a value of 8,500,000 euros ($10 million). The Institut Valencià de Conservacio, however, has proven that it is not an original. Modigliani is consistently one of the ten most forged artists found on the black market.
The other two works, an El Greco work depicting Christ carrying the cross (valued at $2.95 million) and a Francisco de Goya painting of a man cloaked in red and white garments (valued at $1.7 million), were deemed fakes by the Sephardic Museum of Toledo and the Museo Nacional del Prado.
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All three of the works were accompanied by false documentation that stated they were authenticated and the Modigliani portrait had a falsified signature on the back.
Antonio López, the head of the Group of Historical Heritage of the Police of the Generalitat, said in a statement, "The resale of forgeries is a persistent problem in the art market that worries police agencies, but also collectors, dealers of art and the families heirs of the artists, who see how the illegal circuits of commerce increase."
In 2014, the Fine Art Expert Institute (FAEI) warned that 50% of art on the market was either fake or misattributed, though that number is said to be over-exaggerated. Regardless, many skilled forgers have duped even the most assiduous dealers and collectors with their reproductions. With more sophisticated technology, art forgeries will hopefully become easier to spot in the future.
