The more a thing is rare, the more invaluable is. And the more invaluable is things, the more famous is. And the more a thing becomes famous, the more demand on will be even if that would take one to fake or counterfeit it. This vicious circle is the equation upon which a nice book I read is based. This book is about counterfeiting precious paintings and is called "Guide to Artistic Counterfeiting". It is also the secret behind the increasing prices of the rare and famous works of artists who left long time ago, as time and oldness serve as a one-direction valve that increases the price without any decrease in the famous paintings market. The Dutch Artist Van Gogh (whose painting "lilac roses" was sold by $45 million) who lived a long live in poverty, and was dependant on his brother – he awarded the last painting for doctor who used it to disrepair his chicken coop. In the sale halls of rare belongings, it is not void of trading in counterfeited art paintings ascribed to big artists, specially the Dutch, and we hear a lot about discovering a missing work for Rambat or Picasso or Van Gogh. But! Where are the artistic experts?! Where are the modern technologies from those counterfeited works? Firstly, let us learn about the difficulty of counterfeiting the old paintings amd antique artistic belongings. However, if it happened and a famous painting was counterfeited and was not discovered by the experts, you should know that the maker of such counterfeit is not merely a faker, but is an artist and an expert in the history of art. Of the advices that stuck in my head – which every beginner artist should be careful about – are what follows: First, an artist should be knowledgeable about the history and nature of the art of every age, in order to avoid committing a violation; for example, if you wish to counterfeit a painting for a Dutch artist who lived in the 16th century, do not use red as they could not invent it at that time. Always remember the crises that befell the famous German counterfeiter Hans Megren who was imprisoned because he sold a counterfeited painting ascribed to Artist Vermeer to the Nazi leader Herman Goreng. That painting included cobalt (Blue & Green) which was still unknown at that time. Second, the counterfeiter should possess an investigational sense and historical smartness, as it is unreasonable for example to use a brush made out of new modern materials as nylon, then not to expect that the truth about your counterfeit is going to be discovered. Of the methods of discovering counterfeits is to analyze the remains of the brush hair that is stuck on the painting textile. The sound solution here is to use a brush that is made out of natural hair (preferably the Italian or the Dutch) and to loosen the frame of the brush hair a little to allow the maximum possible hair to stick to the painting. Third, in is natural for a color that has dried before three hundred years to be dark and very hard. This thing actually is what distinguishes old paintings and make it full dusty and full of cracks and micro crimps. However, that passing centuries should not hurdle the counterfeiter that form the outcome of the great artist's struggle with their paintings; you can get the same result by pouring some coffee over the counterfeit, and put it in a oven under light fire, which will increase the hardness of colors and provides it with as enough cracks as needed. Fourth, in addition to the artistic style, there is the painting textile that should fit the type known during the specific age of the painting, and not one as those produced these days is Taiwan or Korea. Then, we should not forget the type of wood and the engraving style from which the frame is made; it is notable that the coconut wood was the material from which the frames of all the Italian and Dutch paintings were made during the renaissance era. Finally, I would like to indicate that counterfeiting is divided into many types and specializations. For example, we have a total counterfeiting that is taken from the original version (often happens when there is a missing paintings). There is the replica that is based on elements taken from a number of original works ascribed to a famous artist. There is also the so called the scanned painting where the counterfeiter simply wipes out the name of the original painter and puts his name after carrying out suitable alterations. Based on all of the above, the beginner counterfeiter should better choose the type of work that fits his abilities, and not to be tempted and dragged into what you cannot afford.
