Are counterfeit's getting better?

[lumberjack]

Nat mentioned the infamous art forger Eric Hebborn. Look the boy up on Wiki.

He started out in art restoration and was so good at it that he began, in the words of Wiki, restoring painting on blank canvases. I love that.

Hebborn was beaten to death on a street in Rome about 30 years ago. His death may be unsolvable to this day, but understandable. Another unsatisfied customer. No mystery there.

All you T206 fakers, this is a cautionary tale.

[Balticfox]

But!

Originally Posted by nat

Hebborn never claimed that his paintings were original (and he didn't sign them with forged signatures), he just painted them to look like old masters and let his customers think whatever they wanted.

He didn't actually "forge" anything or make any counterfeits. His paintings were originals. Were they good paintings or not?

"Fine" art is 90% fraud. Van Gogh himself treated his paintings like trash and sold just one painting during his lifetime. But after his death a concerted marketing campaign by his family convinced the art world that he was a tortured genius.



Moreover if a painting is found in a garage, it's worth $millions if it turns out to have been painted by Pablo Picasso. But it's "worthless" if not. But it's the same painting! I mean is it good or not?

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

But!



He didn't actually "forge" anything or make any counterfeits. His paintings were originals. Were they good paintings or not?

"Fine" art is 90% fraud. Van Gogh himself treated his paintings like trash and sold just one painting during his lifetime. But after his death a concerted marketing campaign by his family convinced the art world that he was a tortured genius.



Moreover if a painting is found in a garage, it's worth $millions if it turns out to have been painted by Pablo Picasso. But it's "worthless" if not. But it's the same painting! I mean is it good or not?

I have been to the Van Gogh Museum multiple times and can say that his stuff looks way better after some Philosopher Stones. Otherwise the other art displayed there is way better than what he done IMHO. Art is something I have never understood and I have seen many of the "great" paintings in person. You can have a painting from the 1600s that looks like a picture it is so perfect but the slop(to me) of someone like Van Gogh is worth 1000X more.

[nat]

Here's something I wonder about sometimes: should I be glad that I don't think that I've ever bought a fake card?

On the one hand - of course! It would be bad to have wasted money on fake cards.

On the other hand - there are so many fake cards out there, that I don't think I've ever bought one might just be evidence that I'm not good at spotting them.

Now of course I think I'm good at spotting them; but that's just what I would think if I wasn't.

[hammertime]

I mean...they aren't likely to be getting worse...