Fake Art

The art world is flooded with forgeries, it has been estimated that only about half of the 600 works supposedly painted by Rembrandt are genuine. No great artist, past or present, has been safe from having his or her work copied by a counterfeiter, and some of the fakes have been so deceptive that only experts have been able to discover them. The number of fake paintings hanging in the world’s museums will probably never be known because the museums fear for their reputations if it is learnt that they harbour counterfeit “masterpieces”. Many museum curators now will accept a painting only after the most careful analysis and testing of its authenticity. The falsifying of paintings and sculpture has been occurring since ancient times. Occasionally people have knowingly purchased copies of art. Wealthy Romans, for instance, demanded and received copies of famous Greek statues. But in the 20th century, the market for fake art sold as being authentic has become very profitable, since artworks are now bought as investments for private collections.