This is how a fake Modigliani is hunted

The figures of oval faces and elongated proportions painted by the Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani have become the object of desire for collectors for decades. The work of an author who died in misery in 1920 has reached, almost a century later, a value that makes his pieces change hands by millionaire figures.

And the small number of originals left by the painter at his death has also boosted the business of counterfeiters , willing to take advantage of the desire of his fans to enrich himself at his expense.

One of the last cases detected has occurred in Valencia, where the Group of Historical Patrimony of the Autonomous Police has prevented the commercialization of an alleged Modigliani, Girl's Nude , after the analyzes carried out by the Valencian Institute of Conservation, Restoration and Investigation of Cultural Property (IVCR + i) will show that it was a forgery. According to experts, the original work could have reached a price close to 50 million euros.

Greta García, the IVCR + i technician who was in charge of examining the painting, had no doubt in determining its falsehood . Especially, he explains to this newspaper, when checking the materials: «They had reused the canvas of a painting of the time, from a century or so ago. We start with the macro and micro photography to see up close, more than the style of painting, the natural aging of these materials, which is something we know from restorers by experience. So you can see if the cracks are by age or are made intentionally , and if the varnish has oxidized naturally, or not .. Then the x-ray done by Dr. José Madrid at the UPV showed us for example that there was no other picture under. In addition, we also analyze in our material analysis laboratory the fibers of the fabric, the level of oxidation of the canvas and the composition of the pigments used in the table » . And if there is something that usually betrays the counterfeiters, they are pigments , says García, whose chemical components are in this case "after the artist's death."

The oil, 90 by 60 centimeters, was owned by an antique dealer and bore Modigliani's signature in the upper left corner. "On the radiograph," explains the IVCR + i technician, "we saw that it was manipulated. The preparation and paint had been scratched to reuse an old canvas . We did not have any information on the material history of the painting but the ultraviolet fluorescence showed a varnish age between 30 and 40 years. And although the canvas was over 100 years old, that did not mean that the paint or varnishes were also that old.

The antiquarian assured that they had bought the painting 35 years ago and that then the analysis of the fibers of the fabric had certified that he was over 100 years old. " That test was incomplete, and four decades later it means nothing, " says Garcia. "They had taken away the painting and painted what they wanted on it."

Then, he adds, “the IVCR + i returned it to the owner and we informed the Police, passing them a copy of the entire investigation . They found out that they were going to try to market it and that was when they intervened.

The Valencian Institute for the Conservation, Restoration and Research of Cultural Property has been collaborating since 2016 with the Autonomous Police in the three provinces of the Valencian Community. "When works are involved and in the judicial process the judge asks for some expert evidence, they request them," says the technician. «Also when they need to know quickly if the works are false or authentic and come from a robbery. They bring us pieces of archeology, paintings and sculptures ».

You can also go to the Institute any individual who wants to do a study on the pigments, materials or dating of a painting. There is a price rate, according to the analysis to be performed. «We apply the analysis techniques we deem appropriate, although we do not say whether it is false or not, unless the possible artist to whom the authorship is attributed is discarded by dating. If they bring us a picture of the XVII and pigments of the XIX come out, it is clear that it could not be from whom it is attributed . But if we match the materials but the authenticity is doubtful for the pictorial quality or some other aspect, we do not certify anything because we are a public institution. We make a material report and with that the person is already going to talk with the expert in that artist, with the curator of the specialized museum or with who has the last word about that artist, ”he says.

In the specific case of Modigliani, Greta García has spent more than a decade dedicated to studying his work from the scientific point of view . The result of his work was a method to determine the authenticity of the paintings he already exhibited in a doctoral thesis defended in 2016.

«The Institute asks us about many Modiglianis, they know we know the artist. We have a specialized research department in the 20th century , in its materials and techniques, ”explains García. «We take care of the expertise and evaluation of works of art, and that is why we collaborate with the Police».

The rebound in the value of the works of the Italian painter, says the restorer, began after World War II, “when this artist begins to like Americans and buy works from the collections of Europe that were still cheap , but also begin to fool them with fakes ». And it is that the pictorial technique of Modigliani "apparently is easy to do, and dare."

The great revaluation came in 1981, with the first major retrospective of his work in Paris. There, says Greta García, “ he is recognized as an artist with a unique style and therefore the collectors, the new rich, wanted to have a Modigliani. And this forgery must be from then ».

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

• Valencia
• Valencian Community
• culture

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