MODIGLIANI PAINTINGS IN GENOA EXHIBITION “CRUDE FAKES”

Palazzo Ducale considers itself a victim, while the curator denies any involvement. If the expert’s report is confirmed in court proceedings, the works, previously valued at millions of euros, will be destroyed

di Erika Dellacasa

GENOA – Those concerned now are the collectors, the owners of the 21 Modigliani paintings put on show last July at the Palazzo Ducale, which according to the expert appointed by Genoa’s state prosecutor’s office are all fakes. If this assessment is confirmed in court, Italian law requires the destruction of the offending works, only a few months ago valued at millions of euros. This was also the solution called for by art expert and Modigliani scholar Marc Restellini, writing in Le Monde two weeks ago. Together with Tuscan art critic Carlo Pepi, he was one of the first to brand the works on display in Genoa as “forgery on a huge scale”.

“Forgery on a huge scale”

 “I gave the Carabinieri all the information in my possession,” Restellini said, “to explain how this forgery system works. There is no doubt that the works are fakes; I said so and provided the evidence”. His comments were echoed by a triumphant Pepi: “Finally the bubble has burst. I have been fighting against the forgery of Modiglianis for years, and have been opposed and even persecuted by the art establishment. Modigliani seemed to have painted more pictures after death than when he was alive; it was an absurd situation. But this is just the tip of the iceberg”.

Expert’s report

 Following a formal complaint lodged by Pepi, in July Genoa’s state prosecutor’s office ordered the seizure of 21 suspect Modigliani works, leading to a huge scandal. Isabella Quattrocchi has now stated in her report that all the paintings are “crudely forged” – in terms of both “style and pigments”. The report also points out that the frames are “from countries in Eastern Europe and the United States, and cannot be linked to Modigliani’s context or historical period”. In the absence of further explanation, this comment has left art experts perplexed, since the frames should be irrelevant when establishing the authenticity of the works, considering that most of the paintings belong to an American collector, Joseph Guttmann. It is thus no surprise that they were produced in the USA.

Battle looming

 In short, while some are exultant over this “unmasking”, and others, such as Palazzo Ducale, see themselves as “victims, the real injured party”, others, such as exhibition curator Rudy Chiappini defend their work. The Modigliani case looks far from being solved. In fact, although the state-appointed expert has branded the seized works as worthless daubs, the owners are unlikely to sit back and watch their investment go up in smoke, and are bound to respond with expert assessments of their own. Meanwhile, it should be noted that one of the paintings from the Pasquinelli collection even boasts an Italian ministerial certificate of authenticity. The curator Chiappini stressed that he was not responsible for attributing the works to Modigliani: “I collected the information and documentation that was submitted to me for each canvas. If there has been any wrongdoing, we will need to go back to the original source of those attributions. Until proven otherwise, I remain convinced that the works are originals. And that story of the frames is ridiculous”.

http://www.corriere.it/english/18_gennaio_10/modigliani-paintings-genoa-exhibition-crude-fakes-b1264e62-f61a-11e7-9b06-fe054c3be5b2.shtml