THE VALüE OF FORGERIES: A MEANTNGFUL TOOL OF ART HISTORICAL STUDY Marci Joy Hatch Depanment of Visual Arts Submitted in partial fulfilrnent of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arîs Faculty of Graduate Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario April, 1998 8 Marci Joy Hatch 1998 National Library Bibliothèque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Sûeet 395. nie Wellington Oîtawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive Licence dowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distriibute or sell reproduire, prêter, distri'buer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la fome de microfiche/nIm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or othemise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. A bstract Forgeries, in contran to authentic works of art, have often been assigned a marginal stanis and therefore have generally been neglected as valuable tools of study. This thesis offers a new perspective of forgenes, one that explores their beneficial role in three distinct fields of study: connoisseunhip, the scientific analysis of art works, and the an market. An understanding of the traditional practices of connoisseunhip provides a basis Rom which to suggest how forgeries may be utilized by the connaisseur. A survey of the various scientific techniques of analysis allows one to consider how the methods of the forger parallel the process by which authentic art works are created. Lastly, the production and sale of forgeries are intimately related to the conditions that influence the state of the art market. Therefore, forgeries may be appreciated for the valuable insights they offer to the study of art history. Keywords: Forgeries Comoisseurship, Morelli, Berenson, Friedlander, Scientific Anaiysis of Art, Van Meegeren Art Market, Riopelle. E pigraph II is the misfortune of fakes that they are almost always defined by what they are not, instead of being valued for what they are. -Mark Jones, The British Museum Dedication To Jason: For his onçoing love, support and ftiendship. Acknowledgemeots This thesis is the product of the contributions of many special individuais and organizations. Specifically, I would like to thank the following people and organizations for their assistance, without which this thesis would not have been possible: Madeline Lennon for her exceptional guidance as thesis advisor John Hatch for his editonal and substantive insights as second reader Christina Orobetz for her expertise on Riopelle Sotheby's (Canada) Inc. for its research facilities The Metroplitan Toronto Police Department and Police Museum for making their forgeries available to me Detective Neil Stokes and Detective Dan Nealon for sharing their persona1 experiences with the investigation and prosecution of art forgery in the Toronto area Yseult Riopelle for her personal reflections on the forging of her father's art My family and Wends for their continued suppon and encoura,oement TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Certificate of Examination Abstract Epigraph 1V Dedication v Acknowledgements vi Table of Contents vii List of Photographic Plates ix 1 An Lntroduction to Forgeries A Foundation for Forgenes Forgenes: A Definition Forgeries: A Categonzation Value: A Concepnial Understanding The Emergence of the AmsttsIdentity and Its Comection to Vaiue The Value of Art: A Cdtural Construction The Value of Art Monetary Worth The Value of Art: Aesthetic Worth The Value of Art: HistoricaVCulturai importance The Nature of Collecting 2 The Tools of Comoisseurship The Role of the Comoisseur Documentation and Traâition The Work of Art Itseif The Detail The ûvedl Impression Qdity Photopphs Memory Forgeries The Forger as Connaisseur 3 Forgeries and Scientific Progress: The Process of Art Making and Faking Scientific Analpis as Applied to the Study of Paintings The Foqer vs. Science: Techniques of Deception The Forgeries of Han van Meegeren: A Case Study The Problematics of Science 4 Forgenes and the Art Market: The Influence of Supply and Demand The Nature of the Art Market The Role of Auctions Jean-Paul Riopelle: Bac kground The Value of Riopelle Riopelle: The Forgex3 Target Faux Riopelle: Canadian Forgeries of a Canadian Anin Crimes Against Riopelle: The Effect of Forgeries on his Market The Riopelle Forgeries: An Expert Opinion 5 Conclusion: The Future of Forgeries Vita List of Pbotograpbic Plates Plate Page 1 Riopelle forgery. oil on canvas........................................ 124 .3 Detail of signature on Riopelle forgery ............................ 135 3 Detail of faded gallery Label and aged canvas on back of Riopelle forgery ........................................... 136 CC Detail of paint application in Riopeile forgery .................. 127 5 Detail of paint application in Riopelle forgery .................. 128 Chapter One An Introduction to Forgeries In 1972, the Cleveland Museum of Art purchased a panel painting, S1; Catherine, by Manhias Grünewald (d 1528) for f 1,000,000.' For several yean, the masterpiece of this Geman Renaissance painter was proudly displayed on the museum walls for thousands of patrons to enjoy. However, afier undergoing scientific examination, the work \vas deemed to be a forgexy and subsequently removed.' The St. Catherine panel has since been discovered to be the work of Christian Goller, an artist and skilled restorer who lives in lower Bavaria, near unic ch.' Originally commissioned for a particular client who purchased it for ~2,000,' it was later sold to a German dealer for S24,000 and eventually offered to the Cleveland Museum for $~,OOO,OOO.~At some point dwing these transactions, the piece obviously changed its natus fiom an innocent imitation to an alleged authentic work by the master Grhewaid In a recent inteMew in the Nova documentary, "The Fine Art of Faking It," Goller stated that, "Whoever calls me a forger is lying. 1 ody paint in the style of Old Masers. 1 add patina and crackle for decoration. You can't cd1 that a forgery.. 1think copies make art accessible. Everybody cm aord to hang a Grünewald in his house!' In the documentary, Goller demonstrated how he had ' Thomas Hoving, False Impressions-The Hunt for Bi3 Tirne Arc Fakes (Nnu York: Simon and Schuster. 1996) 247. Hoving, 247. Specificaiiy. processed ch& was fomd h the base coat of the painting rather than nadchalk which would be characteristic of the supposed theof production Additionally. no silver was found in the pigments, whicti normaiiy would have been present. Silver was a component used in pigments until the 1850's. "The Fie Art ofFaking It," Nova m. Richard Drw, writ and Dir. -ce Dilami, PBS, 1991. ' Hovins 246. Goiier based the St. Catherine panel on a drawing in a book that was a study for a work that supposedly was lost in a ship wreck The paintins was his interpretation of what the painting may have Iooked like. Nova, 199 1. 4 John Conkiin, .4rt Crime (Westpon: Praeger, 1994) 70. 5 "TheFine An of Faking It," Nova narr- Richard Dreyîüss, writ and dir. Denisce Düanni. PB S, 1991. Conùh~,70. produced the St. Catherine, disclosing his various techniques of trickery, and offenng insights into the world of forgery7 Naturally, the discovery of the Cleveland art forgery was alarming. Similarly, other forgeries have surfaced in reputable public and pnvate art collections, causing uproars. The individuais responsible for the phony acquisitions are often overcome with embarrassment. Who could be proud of spending tremendous surns of money on fiaudulent art? Such erron in judgment create a loss of confidence in the skills of co~oisseurshipwhich form a bais for the accepted conventions of art historical progress. Forgeries that maintain their identity as authentic works of an are highly problematic as they misinform this progress as well as misrepresent the achievements of anists.' As a source of misinformation, forgeries rightly possess a negative connotation. However, this thesis will challenge the more traditional approach to studying forgeries, which usually focuses on their detection while rejecting these works as valuable toois of study. The shocking reality is that the authenticity of approximately fi@ percent of the art in public and private collections is problernatic.9 Rather than trying to cover up their existence by destroying them or locking them away in a museurn vaulk never to be seen again, forgeries should be viewed as pieces of artistïc evidence, in contras to their more cornmon categorization as criminal evidence. In this thesis I intend to illustrate the art historical value of studying forgeries. Chapter one of this work will provide a founâation nom which to explore and analyze forgeries. To this end, this section will offer an historical basis from which 7~~?-b1991. * Daims mon, "hisicCrimes,'' The For~er'sAn: Fore- and die Phnosophv of .kt ed. Demis Dutton (University of California Press: Berkeley, 1983) 181. Dutton fùrther suggests that "reference to origins is a necessary constituent of the concb ofa work of art." nus, it is ci& to see how forgeries pose difIicuities for the an historian as weli as the generd pubk with respect to the question oforigin 182- Jon Huer, The Gnat An Hoa: Essays in the Comedv and insanhv of Coiiectible Art (Bowüns Gfear Bowling Green State University Press, 1990) 7. the concept of forgenes has developed. In addition, a clear definition of forgeries will be introduced so as to provide a framework fiom which to approach the complexities of these works.