Is It Art? Is It Fake?

Did you know that the root of the word artifice is art?  Does that mean that all art is artificial?  Perhaps the great 20th century surrealist Rene Magritte illustrated it best with his painting, “Ceci n’est pas une pipe,” which translates as “This is not a pipe.”  In one simple statement, he shows that both images and words are mere symbols for something we understand to be real.

However, it is often extremely difficult to determine what is real and what is fake.  Collectors, experts and museums alike have been fooled for centuries by art that was later discovered to be a forgery.  It shows that some artists are so adept at counterfeiting another’s work that their deception can go unnoticed for decades.

A recent article in Vanity Fair tells the story of one of the greatest fake art scams in history.

If you would like to read more about fakes, here are some books I would recommend.

Forged: Why Fakes Are The Great Art Of Our Age

False Impressions

The Art Detective

An excellent Rene Magritte retrospective exhibition opened this fall at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in New York City. It's coming to the Art Institute of Chicago this summer. Be sure to catch this one!!