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Even a casual search on google will show you that art forgeries are at epidemic levels. Modern forging techniques are so good that the copies are indistinguisha

Even a casual search on google will show you that art forgeries are at epidemic levels. Modern forging techniques are so good that the copies are indistinguishable from the original with all non destructive testing techniques. Which of course are of course very undesirable to perform. I now find it difficult to accept much of what is in museums are authentic. The incentive to steal these artworks and such are simply too great. You can literally make generational wealth from selling a single famous artwork if you can pull off the swap. How hard can it be to buy off underpaid under funded museum staff?

mekal 4y ago
If it's really so easy to make forgeries now, it seems like the street value would plummet. Even if that's not the case, instead of swapping the original and risking jail time, why not just sell the cheap, perfect forgery to whatever idiot is buying stolen art? That way everyone wins! You (criminal), society (still have the original in the museum) and the buy (thinks he has the original).
- citizenpaul 4y ago
  Who said it's easy? It seems to require a team of people based on some stuff I saw. A painter that has mastered the technique of the artist being copied. A canvas/substrate maker. ,Or sometimes they can find an old unused canvas and they paint on it so it passes dating tests. The paint ingredients usually have to be gotten from very specific locations, then require an expert in creating the old style paints from it. Sometimes they can find authentic old paint to use. Someone that knows how to recreate wear, tear and time damage to match the original. Finding old materials from the same time period and working it into the forgery is a common tactic. Its quite an interesting situation if you have some free time to read or watch the many documentaries on the subject. The mona lisa has a crazy history of being stolen, borrowed and lost so many times it could easily be a fake. And that is one of the most famous well known and closely watched artworks. What does that say about the rest... I'm sure you are right that the majority of fakes are probably just sold directly to rich suckers. I don't think jail is a very high risk either. It seems most of the time these things are quietly swept under the rug when discovered even when reputable sellers get caught up in it. Of course this is on of those things that stats basically don't exist since it is all back room deals and confidential accounts. Hard to prove and as you mentioned no one wants to crash the market.
madengr 4y ago
Reminds me of the Tom Baker Dr. Who episode where the Jaggaroth commander is split through time, existing in multiple centuries. He has daVinci paint multiple copies of the Mona Lisa which stay hidden away for centuries. He then steals the "original" in the 20th century and sells all of them on the black market to fund his time experiments. Of course the Doctor goes back in time and paints FAKE on all but one canvas, leaving a note to daVinci to "nevermind the scribble, just paint over it".

mekal 4y ago

If it's really so easy to make forgeries now, it seems like the street value would plummet. Even if that's not the case, instead of swapping the original and risking jail time, why not just sell the cheap, perfect forgery to whatever idiot is buying stolen art? That way everyone wins! You (criminal), society (still have the original in the museum) and the buy (thinks he has the original).

citizenpaul 4y ago
Who said it's easy? It seems to require a team of people based on some stuff I saw. A painter that has mastered the technique of the artist being copied. A canvas/substrate maker. ,Or sometimes they can find an old unused canvas and they paint on it so it passes dating tests. The paint ingredients usually have to be gotten from very specific locations, then require an expert in creating the old style paints from it. Sometimes they can find authentic old paint to use. Someone that knows how to recreate wear, tear and time damage to match the original. Finding old materials from the same time period and working it into the forgery is a common tactic. Its quite an interesting situation if you have some free time to read or watch the many documentaries on the subject. The mona lisa has a crazy history of being stolen, borrowed and lost so many times it could easily be a fake. And that is one of the most famous well known and closely watched artworks. What does that say about the rest... I'm sure you are right that the majority of fakes are probably just sold directly to rich suckers. I don't think jail is a very high risk either. It seems most of the time these things are quietly swept under the rug when discovered even when reputable sellers get caught up in it. Of course this is on of those things that stats basically don't exist since it is all back room deals and confidential accounts. Hard to prove and as you mentioned no one wants to crash the market.

madengr 4y ago

Reminds me of the Tom Baker Dr. Who episode where the Jaggaroth commander is split through time, existing in multiple centuries. He has daVinci paint multiple copies of the Mona Lisa which stay hidden away for centuries. He then steals the "original" in the 20th century and sells all of them on the black market to fund his time experiments. Of course the Doctor goes back in time and paints FAKE on all but one canvas, leaving a note to daVinci to "nevermind the scribble, just paint over it".