Art forgery

Art forgery is the creation or alteration of an artwork intended to deceive about its authenticity or authorship. It can imitate a known artist, invent a false provenance, or alter a genuine work.

Provenance: The documented history of an artwork’s ownership, custody, and location. A fabricated or manipulated ownership history can make a forged work appear authentic.
Han van Meegeren: A Dutch painter who forged works attributed to Johannes Vermeer and other Old Masters. His forged Vermeers exposed the vulnerability of stylistic expertise to a skilled imitator.
Joe Nickell: An American investigator and skeptical writer known for examining claims of forgery and authenticity. His investigative approach highlights the value of testing physical and documentary evidence independently.
Copy (art): An artwork made to reproduce another artwork, usually without claiming to be the original. A disclosed copy imitates a work without the deceptive authorship claim that defines forgery.
Art authentication: The assessment of whether an artwork is genuine and correctly attributed. Authentication weighs the same stylistic, documentary, and material evidence that forgers try to imitate.
The Vermeer forgeries: Paintings by Han van Meegeren falsely attributed to Johannes Vermeer and other Dutch masters. Their acceptance by prominent experts made the case a landmark in art forgery.
Thomas Hoving: An American art historian and museum director who wrote about art fraud and forgery. His public accounts brought museum and market authentication failures into wider discussion.
Pastiche: A work that deliberately imitates the style or features of an earlier artist or period. Pastiche can resemble a forged work while remaining honest about its maker and date.
Pigment analysis: The identification of pigments in an object using chemical or instrumental methods. Pigments introduced after an artist’s lifetime can expose a false attribution.
Wolfgang Beltracchi: A German art forger who created paintings attributed to twentieth-century artists. His works entered the market with invented histories and fabricated photographic evidence.

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