The Romans

The Romans assiduously copied Greek sculptures, many of which were sold and believed to be originals by their unsuspecting purchasers.

The Chinese generally!

Faking and forgery in China dates from at least the Sung Dynasty (960-1280) when the wealthy began to collect art. Forged paintings were mostly made by students seeking to imitate the great masters . Nothing new here then!

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14th Century, Italian stone carvers

The stone carvers of medieval Italy continued in the vein of their Roman ancestors and lead the way in commercial forgery of the time frame. Faking works of art by imitating both Greek and Roman master craftsmen and creating sculptures which could and were to be sold to the rich but as authentic antiques!

Much the same tale as that of their Roman counterparts!

Jacopo di Poggibonsi:  (1418-1449)  Italian

There are many contemporary critics who label Jacopo di Poggibonsi as a "master forger". This criticism interestingly stems from his imitation of the works of Fra Filippo Lippi which Cosimo de' Medici in about 1447 realised he had copied elements of. Basically, from an Adoration hanging in the Medici Palace. However, many artists of the time, engaged in imitations of the earlier styles and after all, in translation from the French, Renaissance does mean, "rebirth."

Clearly, many Renaissance artists not only imitated earlier forms of art, but also each other's recent works. After all, it was standard practise.

History has it however, that Lippi was outraged and is believed to have hired paid muscle to track down di Poggibonsis' studio where more alleged copies were latterly found.

A few days later, thirty-one year old Jacopo, is found murdered in his bed.  Now who did that then?

Self Portrait c.

1446-49

Piero del Pollaiuolo: (1443-1496) Italian

Piero del Pollaiuolo made pastiches (copies) of works by artists such as Sandro Botticelli as illustrated here on the right.

His, 'Profile of a woman' is a straight copy of 'Portrait of a Woman' (La Bella Simonetta) and this reproduction is now housed in the Museo Poldi-Pezzoli in Milan.

Michelangelo di Ludovico di Lionardo di Buonarroti Simoni: (1475-1564) Italian

It's widely believed that the worlds greatest sculptor Michelangelo, when a student, forged an "antique" marble cupid for his patron, Lorenzo de' Medici.

It is certainly recorded that he  produced many replicas of the drawings of Italian painter Domenico Ghirlandajo (1449–1494) which were so good that on seeing them Ghirlandajo thought they were from his own hand.

      “He also copied drawings of the old masters so perfectly that his copies could not be distinguished from the originals, since he smoked and tinted the paper to give it an appearance of age. He was often able to keep the originals and return the copies in their stead.” 

Vasari on Michaelangelo

Michelangelo Self Portrait

Wolfgang Küffner: (1760-1817) German

Faked works of  Albrecht Dürer.

In 1799, a self portrait by Albrecht Dürer from the Nuremberg Town Hall, was loaned to Wolfgang Küffner. The painter successfully made a copy of the original and returned the fake in place of the original.  On the right is an image of the Kuffner fake of 1799 after Durers self portrait.

William Henry Ireland: (C 1775)  British 

Forger and Author of the Shakespeare Papers:

William Henry Ireland was the creator of many forged documents, miscellaneous papers and legal instruments believed to be William Shakespeare memorabilia. (As latterly published as original and later by his father William Henry.)

He was the least likely to become a literary master forger and made nothing of himself at school.

His first venture into forgery came after William saw how obsessed his father was at owning original Shakespeare memorabilia. This was on a trip to Stratford to collect material for Samuel's forthcoming publication,' Picturesque views on the Upper, or Warwickshire Avon.'

The first Shakespeare forgery he made was modest. A simple lease agreement for a property in Blackfriars and one closely based on one of the few genuine manuscripts available at the time bearing Shakespeare's legitimate signature. After this though, the forgeries followed thick and fast and he became more and more proficient in their execution.

As his father's acceptance of them was so rewarding, they were soon followed by others.

William Henry became more confident and ambitious, fabricating manuscripts and letters from and to Shakespeare even including a love letter to Anne Hathaway with an enclosed lock of her hair !!!!

William even became an art faker, using a coloured drawing he had bought from a local antique dealer, making it into a representation of Shakespeare performing the part of Bassanio from The merchant of Venice, complete with signature.  His father was overjoyed at all the finds and combined them into a master literary work, Miscellaneous papers and legal instruments under the hand and seal of William Shakespeare, which was published over the Christmas holiday period of 1795-1796.

With scholarly challenges as to the authenticity of these documents and drawings ensuing, finally and seeing that the game was up, William Henry confessed the forgeries to his father. But his father never believed him and died in 1800 fully convinced that the documents were real.

Shakespeare Forgery

Paul Désiré Trouillebert: (1829-1900) French

Trouillebert was a fine Barbizon painter in his own right but he also was a copyist and imitator of Corot as you will see from the image on the right. When he was first exposed to Corot’s work, Trouillebert took a very keen interest in it and immersed himself in emulating his techniques. He was so similar to Corot that if his signatures were erased and Corots forged signatures added, enormous value was added to the work.

All in all, the Corot fakes issue was compounded by Camile Corot himself as he signed many reproduced works by other artists. When asked, he said, simply because he felt honoured to be copied! 

A Trouillebert Corot

Eugenio Lucas Velasquez  (1817 - 1870) Spanish

 Velasquez was a 19th century copyist but some call faker, principally of Goya.  

Of note, his Maja vestida, d'après Goya (right) and he is believed to be the likely hand to City on a Rock which was Long attributed to Goya himself.

It is known that he painted at least two copies of Goyas Majas on a Balcony and created over 700 oils in his style.

Maja vestida,

Giovanni Bastianini: (1830-1868) Italian

Giovanni Bastianini, produced numerous neo-Renaissance works, especially busts and bas-reliefs in the style of Donatello, Verrocchio, Mino de Fiesole and other Italian Old Masters. Most of which were sold as genuine pieces to such noted museums as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Louvre.

Faker or just a copyist?  You decide.

Right: Giovanni Bastianini: Buste de femme"Aloysa Strozi"

Bastianini