Description
Book SynopsisAccording to Vasari, the young Michelangelo often borrowed drawings of past masters, which he copied, returning his imitations to the owners and keeping originals. Half a millennium later, Andy Warhol made a game of forging the Mona Lisa, questioning the entire concept of originality.Forged explores art forgery from ancient times to the present. In chapters combining lively biography with insightful art criticism, Jonathon Keats profiles individual art forgers and connects their stories to broader themes about the role of forgeries in society. From the Renaissance master Andrea del Sarto who faked a Raphael masterpiece at the request of his Medici patrons, to the Vermeer counterfeiter Han van Meegeren who duped the avaricious Hermann Göring, to the frustrated British artist Eric Hebborn, who began forging to expose the ignorance of experts, art forgers have challenged legitimate art in their own time, breaching accepted practices and upsetting the status quo. They have also provocative
Trade ReviewKeats provides a succinct, intelligent, and very readable summary. * New York Review of Books *
A compelling look at six forgers, their cunning techniques, and how the art world was fooled by them ... The ability of fake art to humble the experts is irresistible. It's why fakes have spawned so many exhibitions and TV programmes, and why the critic and artist Jonathon Keats's collection of six tales of great 20th-century forgers is so enjoyable. * The Sunday Times *
This book is a surprising fortean treat * Andrew Brearley, Fortean Times *
Table of ContentsTABLE OF CONTENTS ; Part One ; The Art of Forgery ; Part Two ; Forgers: Six Modern Masters ; Lothar Malskat: What is Belief? ; Alceo Dossena: What is Authenticity? ; Han van Meegeren: What is Authority? ; Eric Hebborn: What is Heritage? ; Elmyr de Hory: What is Identity? ; Tom Keating: What is Culture? ; Part Three ; Forging a New Art ; Further Reading
