The phrase ‘fake it till you make it’ has come full circle as London’s Courtauld Gallery prepares for a special exhibition of forged works of art from its collection. On view from June 17 to October 8, Art and artifice: fakes from the collection will include more than 30 works of art once wrongly attributed to artistic masters, including Sandro Botticelli and Auguste Rodin, on public display for the first time.
Around 25 drawings and seven paintings are included in the exhibition catalog alongside some sculptures and decorative works. A number of known forged works of art have been donated to the Courtauld Institute of Art for students in the Art History and Art Conservation departments to study, while others who have donated to the Courtauld Collection were found to be fakes only after careful examination and provenance analysis.
The exhibition will feature a 1840s watercolor seascape painting in the style of John Constable donated to the collection by the artist’s daughter, Isabel, which was probably painted by one of the artist’s sons years after his death in 1837. Additionally, a “Virgin and Child“(circa 1920s) faux painted by an art restorer and”extraordinary forger“Umberto Giunti in the style of Sandro Botticelli was believed to be an original by the Renaissance master until closer examination detected modern pigments used and identified a 1920s movie star as the inspiration for the painting. appearance of Mother Mary.
The Courtauld will proudly display works by notorious forgers such as Han van Meegeren, a well-known Vermeer copyist who was tried for selling paintings imitating the style of the Dutch master to the Nazi elite during World War II. Having turned to forgery after mixed success in his own artistic career, van Meegeren was able to solidify his claims on Vermeer’s originals by mixing oil paints with bakelitean early form of plastic, to simulate the texture and consistency of centuries-old oil paint dried on a surface that had escaped detection in earlier material analyses.
A drawing by British expert forger Eric Hebborn, who has puzzled galleries and institutions around the world with what he claims to be more than 1,000 forged works of artwill also be included.
Art and artifice: fakes from the collection will be accessible with a standard admission ticket to Courtauld’s Gilbert and Ildiko Butler Drawings Gallery.
Related
The position that Shear has defined in his work is one that accepts, contemplates and reinvents the possibilities of abstract painting.
Born with a speech impediment that made him unintelligible to many people, artist lemko Nikifor turned to drawing as a means of communication.
“As a Jewish American person, there’s a story there that I haven’t been aware of,” says Toby Millman.
Amanda Kim’s documentary shows how Paik anticipated the dizzying ways in which electronic and digital culture would transform human discourse.
The ancient statue, “the centerpiece of investigations into Olmec iconography”, is being repatriated by the United States.
The vote to protect one of the plots of Jorge Pérez’s luxury development is just a small victory for indigenous activists, who say they don’t feel heard.
Your list of must-see, fun, insightful, and very Los Angeles arts happenings this month, including Carmen Herrera, Robert Russell, Olivia Mole, and more.
Familiar tales from Greek and Roman mythology abound in the latest chapter in the cult series.
