This painting, Saint Jerome, attributed to the circle of Parmigianino, a 16th century Italian master, turned out to be a 20th century forgery.
Last week the second expert analysis confirmed that the painting was produced in our time, because it contained a synthetic pigment (phthalocyanine) that did not exist until the 20th century. In 2012 Saint Jerome was sold at Sotheby's New York for $842,500. The auction house has refunded the money to the buyer.
My understanding is that this "forged" painting is not a copy of Parmigianino's real work. It is an original work of art, made in the style of Parmigianino, created so skillfully, so beautifully, that it fooled the experts. This makes me very excited, because it means that there are painters, great painters living in our time who truly can paint like the Old Masters. I wish I knew who they were. I wonder if they create any work under their own name? Are they receiving the recognition for their skill?
The fact that a forger would use a modern pigment is very odd. It is easy to recreate historic pigments and for someone putting so much effort into forging a painting, this is a silly mistake. Perhaps this was not a mistake. Perhaps this is not a fake painting at all! Maybe this is a proof of time travel - someone traveled back in time to the 16th century and brought Parmigianino a tube of nice green paint as a gift from the future....
My understanding is that this "forged" painting is not a copy of Parmigianino's real work. It is an original work of art, made in the style of Parmigianino, created so skillfully, so beautifully, that it fooled the experts. This makes me very excited, because it means that there are painters, great painters living in our time who truly can paint like the Old Masters. I wish I knew who they were. I wonder if they create any work under their own name? Are they receiving the recognition for their skill?
The fact that a forger would use a modern pigment is very odd. It is easy to recreate historic pigments and for someone putting so much effort into forging a painting, this is a silly mistake. Perhaps this was not a mistake. Perhaps this is not a fake painting at all! Maybe this is a proof of time travel - someone traveled back in time to the 16th century and brought Parmigianino a tube of nice green paint as a gift from the future....