Van Effen's critical insights
Forgery of art, Van Effen's critical insights. In his writings, he exposed unscrupulous picture dealers who, akin to their equine counterparts, skillfully passed off copies, imitations, and even outright fakes as genuine masterpieces. His astute comparisons between the deceitful practices of picture dealers and horse dealers underscored the pervasive nature of deception within the art market.
One of van Effen's astute observations was the prevalence of artists signing their works with the names of renowned masters from the past. This practice, as he pointed out, was a deliberate strategy to elevate the perceived value of the artwork, enabling unscrupulous artists to command higher prices. Van Effen's critiques, encapsulated in his writings, illuminated the darker side of the art market, where authenticity often took a back seat to the allure of prestigious names.
Beyond mere expose, van Effen employed satire as a tool to comment on societal values and the gullibility of collectors. His witty remarks about collectors who, despite their wealth, possessed only imitations of renowned works, highlighted the irony of a world obsessed with the appearance of artistic prestige rather than genuine artistic merit.
Justus van Effen's writings on art forgery not only provided a revealing snapshot of the 18th-century art world but also left a lasting impact on subsequent generations. His insights into the deceptive practices within the art market continue to resonate, serving as a cautionary tale for contemporary art enthusiasts and scholars alike.
We are aware that forgers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries are part of a lineage stretching back through history. From ancient Rome through the Renaissance and onward, the practice of art forgery has persisted. This has been well-documented, evident in legal actions taken against copyists by renowned figures like Durer in the sixteenth century and Rubens in the seventeenth century. In the eighteenth century, journalist Justus van Effen openly criticized picture dealers, and even the British Royal Academy's chaplain composed a satirical poem about the prevalence of forgeries in auctions. William Hogarth, the printmaker, further contributed to the discourse through artistic satires on art fraud.
While art forgery has been a constant in Western culture, the conducive conditions for its prevalence have evolved. The amalgamation of artists with recognizable names, collectors eager to acquire their works, and a thriving market for art has reached new heights in the twenty-first century. With the rise of the Internet, more people have access to a vast array of artworks. The increased global wealth has led to a surge in art buyers, intensifying competition for pieces by popular artists.
The global art market has expanded to an annual valuation of roughly $50 to $60 billion, with record-breaking prices set at art auctions in the 2010s. In such times, the demand for forgeries is fueled by the shortage of original works, prompting forgers to respond to the growing market demand.
Considering basic principles of supply and demand, along with numerical data on the output of known forgers and widely forged artists, as well as suspicions of unknown forgers producing additional fakes, it becomes evident that art forgery is indeed a prevalent phenomenon.
It is crucial to acknowledge that detecting and eradicating most art forgeries is an unrealistic expectation. Throughout history, some art experts expressed confidence in their ability to achieve this, from Giulio Mancini, Abraham Bosse, and Jonathan Richardson in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to Hans Tietze and Max Friedlander in the twentieth century.
Philosopher Nelson Goodman supported this notion, proposing that we cannot definitively claim we will be unable to identify falsity in an artwork that appears authentic to us now. Despite these perspectives, various deterrents hinder the eradication of fakes in the art world, explaining their prevalence today and suggesting that they are likely to persist in the future.
