Le couple de faussaires qui trompa les experts d'arts pendant des décennies

[Lexington]

A l'occasion de la sortie d'un livre, article très intéressant sur Wolfgang & Helene Beltracchi, le couple qui produisit des faux de plusieurs dizaines d'artistes jusqu'à se faire prendre sur une petite erreur, en 2010 :

 

  Citation

 

After decades of painting fakes, falsifying evidence and diligently covering their tracks, it was a single act of carelessness that brought the Beltracchis’ deception to light.

One half of the German husband-and-wife duo, Wolfgang Beltracchi, had run out of the zinc he used to create white paint for their forgery operation. He instead purchased a zinc pigment from a Dutch manufacturer who did not disclose that it contained titanium.

 

The next year, after one of Wolfgang’s creations — “Red Picture with Horses,” which had been passed off as the work of expressionist artist Heinrich Campendonk — sold at auction for a record 2.8 million euros (then $3.6 million), an inconsistency emerged. Analysis of the painting found traces of the titanium, but the substance had only been used as a white pigment since the 1920s.

The work in question was supposedly made in 1914.

This discovery sparked a chain of events that would unravel a multi-million-dollar scheme that had fooled buyers and galleries around the world. Wolfgang’s paintings had found their way onto auction blocks and into private collections, including that of actor Steve Martin. The Beltracchis had even deceived expert art assessors — or, as they have since alleged, paid one of them large enough fees to effectively buy his silence.

In 2011, after more than 30 years in business, Wolfgang and Helene were sentenced to six and four years in prison, respectively, though both were released early. They were also ordered to pay 35 million euros ($38 million) in damages.

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[Salim32]

J'avais vu il y a quelques années ce docu sur leur manège: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl8oSymoUqg
 

Dans la même série de docu et encore mieux un faussaire de grands crus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwvHr2WqzXE qui a fini par se faire attraper quand il tenté de vendre un millésime ... qui n'existait pas.

 

[Hugh]

Et les "experts"?

 

 

[Mobius]

  Le 05/06/2023 à 22:37, Hugh a dit :

Et les "experts"?

 

 

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ca ne les intéresse probablement pas de deflater le marché.

 

tu lis les rapports de vente entre un Hodinkee et ce qu'écris Perezscope

https://perezcope.com/2022/12/31/rolex-daytona-6265-the-unicorn-frankenstein-plot/