We need to know how to combat the spike in forged South African art

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The growth in fake reproductions threatens the livelihood and reputation of artists. Once the work of an artist gets tainted as easily faked, demand dwindles. The consequence for those who have invested in art is also devastating.

The art world has been dealing with fakes for more than 2 000 years, with perhaps the most notorious case being the forgeries of Dutch master Johannes Vermeer’s paintings by artist Han van Meegeren during World War II.

An added factor is that their works generally sell for under R50 000. This means sellers rarely take the time to do proper provenance research or to have the works technically analysed. These auction houses hide behind small-print clauses such as “signed as” and are mostly in Johannesburg, Durban and Bloemfontein. The galleries exist only on the internet and use popular classified advertising and online auction sites to peddle their wares. The sellers often claim to have been friends of the artists and their families and may even have someone with the same surname as the artist on staff.

At the University of Pretoria this year we introduced a master’s programme in tangible heritage conservation. The purpose of the course is to train a cohort of conservators able to preserve and protect South Africa’s cultural heritage. The analytical techniques taught are put into practice by students investigating the materiality of artworks.

The next step is to determine the colour palette. The artwork is then inspected under normal white light — often with the aid of a magnifier — to determine the surface characteristics of the artist’s technique. Substantiating information is obtained by using a high-powered USB microscope.

 

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