Introduction Genius Pride Revenge Fame Crime Opportunism Money Power Conclusion
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INTRODUCTION 10 THE WORLD WISHES TO BE DECEIVED … GENIUS 34 PRIDE 60 REVENGE 92 FAME 122 CRIME 148 OPPORTUNISM 166 MONEY 188 POWER 208 CONCLUSION 248 … SO LET IT BE DECEIVED NOTES 257 GLOSSARY OF SCIENTIFIC METHODS OF AUTHENTICATION 271 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 277 INDEX 285 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 291 01122014_Art of Forgery-AW.indd 4 02/12/2014 09:24 01122014_Art of Forgery-AW.indd 5 02/12/2014 09:24 THE WORLD WISHES TO BE DECEIVED… Hold! You crafty ones, strangers to work, and pilferers of other men’s brains! Think not rashly to lay your thievish hands upon my works. Beware! Know you not that I have a grant from the most glorious Emperor Maximilian that not one throughout the imperial dominion shall be allowed to print or sell fctitious imitations of these engravings? Listen! And bear in mind that if you do so, through spite or through covetousness, not only will your goods be confscated, but your bodies also placed in mortal danger. – Albrecht Dürer This may well be the most belligerent property notice ever penned. It appeared in the colophon to an edition of an engraving series called Life of the Virgin¸ published in Nuremberg in 5. Its author and the creator of the engravings, the great painter and printmaker Albrecht Dürer, had good reason to fear forgers. Dürer’s prints were wildly popular throughout Europe, highly collectible and a more affordable alternative to a painting. Dürer was perhaps the frst internationally self-promoting artist in history, more INTRODUCTION akin to Jeff Koons or Damien Hirst than the solitary, morose likes of contemporaries such as Giorgione or Pontormo. He even created what some consider the frst artist’s trademark: a stylized monogram signature featuring a small upper-case ‘D’ between the legs of a large upper-case ‘A’, the inclusion of which assured the authenticity of his prints. In 506 a concerned friend from Venice sent Dürer a print from the original 502 Life of the Virgin series. In his Nuremberg studio, surrounded by pots of pigment, coal to make ink, quill pens and sheets of vellum, Dürer examined this woodcut engraving. It looked nearly iden- tical, but it was not his handiwork. It was the work of a master forger. A quick investigation led to the artist behind the copies, a printmaker (and sometime pornographer) named Marcantonio Raimondi.2 The unquestionably skilful Raimondi had created woodcut plates from scratch, including the famous ‘ad’ monogram. The Dal Jesus family of printers then sold prints made from these plates as Dürer originals. However, while Raimondi had copied every detail of Dürer’s intricate prints, he had also included three alterations to the original that distinguished his creations as copies, and which would eventually be used as his escape clause when he was brought to court. 01122014_Art of Forgery-AW.indd 10 02/12/2014 09:24 01122014_Art of Forgery-AW.indd 11 02/12/2014 09:24 He included his own monogram, an intertwined maf‘ ’; he added the Dürer stormed off back to Nuremberg, unhappy with the result. device of the Dal Jesus publishing house, the ‘yhs’ of Christ placed He had heard the argument before that he should be fattered that his inside a squared quatrefoil; and he included two triangles arranged work was so famous as to draw copyists, so when he came to publish in the shape of an hourglass, taken from the sign on the Dal Jesus his 5 edition of Life of the Virgin, Dürer was careful to include his print shop. It took close examination to notice these additions, but warning to potential thieves. they were there. They raised the question as to whether Raimondi The history of forgery is flled with similar anecdotes that are still intended his prints to be passed off as Dürer originals or if he merely relevant today. Arguments over brand-name authenticity, copyright intended them to be an homage to the original artist. and trademark are staples of contemporary intellectual property law. Had Dürer’s case been brought to court today, Columbia University Law Professor Jane Ginsburg notes that contemporary copyright law would see Raimondi’s work as an infringement because it substantially copied the original image. The inclusion of the ad monogram would be considered ‘passing off ’ copies as originals, thereby violating trademark law.3 That the origins of artistic copyright law date back to a legal brawl between one of history’s frst self-promoting celebrity artists and a renegade Venetian pornographic printmaker- turned-forger does not detract from its contemporary application. WHY DOES FORGERY FASCINATE? Any given forgery case brings together an intriguing amalgam of the desire for fame, money, revenge, power and the expression of genius. Art forgery explores and exploits the art trade, and involves remarkable talent, treachery, detection, forensic science and a measure of mysticism – for the art world still relies, to a great extent, Albrecht Dürer, Christ Among the Doctors in the Marcantonio Raimondi, after Dürer, Christ on the word of individual experts, connoisseurs whose personal Temple, plate 5 in Life of the Virgin, 503 , Among the Doctors in the Temple, c. 506 , woodcut print, 29.3 × 20.4 cm ( ½ × 8 in) woodcut print, 29.3 × 20.4 cm ( ½ × 8 in) opinion can change an artwork’s value by millions. The undeniable technical skill of many forgers likewise impresses the public, as does But Dürer had had quite enough of forgers profting from his work the ingenuity of the confdence tricks that make forgeries of varying and brought a lawsuit in Venice against Raimondi and the Dal Jesus quality convincing. family. It was the frst-known case of art-specifc intellectual property This book will examine the adventures and misadventures law brought to trial, but the suit proved only partially successful. The of master forgers throughout history and consider the many different Venetian authorities declared that the prints were not exact copies motivations that drove them, allowing a glimpse into both their but merely excellent imitations. They ruled that Raimondi should minds and their methods. We will examine how and why these artful not be blamed for being as skilled an artist as Dürer and that Dürer tricksters – often ingenious, skilful, quirky and charming – succeeded should be fattered that his work was considered important enough in deceiving the art world and how they were eventually caught, to copy. Raimondi was required to remove Dürer’s signature from the through shrewd detective work, scientifc examination or a good plates and the Dal Jesus family was forced to sell Raimondi’s versions measure of luck. These prominent historical and contemporary true- as explicit copies, not as Dürer originals. crime stories are fascinating, illuminating and often bizarre. 2 3 01122014_Art of Forgery-AW.indd 12 02/12/2014 09:24 01122014_Art of Forgery-AW.indd 13 02/12/2014 09:24 INSIDE THE FORGER’S MIND acknowledgement for their success. When art forgers are found out, many are greeted as heroes of a sort and go on to lucrative careers post-conviction. The reasons for this remarkably regular Art thieves tend to be mercenary, have no specialized knowledge, phenomenon are complex. The wider public often considers art skills or interest in art, rarely steal art on more than one occasion and forgers to be rather loveable Robin Hood-types. The popular do not ft any consistent psychological profle. In contrast, in the world interest in art crime in general, and forgery in particular, results in of forgery, there are consistent generalizations that can be widely an audience for forgers willing to expose themselves to the public eye applied to the character and motivations of forgers. In addition, unlike upon leaving prison. art theft and antiquities looting, art forgery generally does not involve The ffth chapter, Crime, examines cases in which a forgery organized crime. It damages reputations but rarely wreaks the sort was used as a tool to commit a different crime, such as theft, as well of widespread, frightening harm of other types of art crime, with as some of the rare cases of forgers linked to organized crime. its links to mafa activity and even terrorism.4 In forgery schemes, Chapter six looks at confdence tricks and con men who lead original works are not destroyed or damaged, as in acts of iconoclasm, amateur artists into careers as criminals, showing how a talented artist antiquities looting or theft. may be manipulated by a con man into an art forgery scheme. These We might assume that money is the primary motivation for art partnerships tend to be between two people, the criminal mastermind forgery, but we see again and again that this is rarely true – although and con man behind the fraud and a technically skilled copyist. proft might be a welcome bonus. Forgers are complex psychological The seventh chapter, Money, explores the few cases in which characters, driven by many different impulses to a life of crime. We fnancial greed was a forger’s primary motivation. will examine the complexity of these motivations by addressing Lastly, while deception in the art world is the primary focus of this the primary impetuses of select master forgers, one in each chapter. book, the chapter on Power considers the broader sphere of cultural There is a decided lack of female forgers in this book; there are female forgery and investigates how forgers have sought to establish their accomplices and con men, but I know of no notable female forgers power and infuence by rewriting history – from politics to scientifc in the history of forgery. discoveries, and from religious relics to literature. Along the way, we will peer into the forger’s mind, motivation The frst chapter, Genius, will consider the legacy of the tradition and methods.