October 24, 2012
The painting „The Procuress“ at The Courtauld Institute of Art in London, which was believed to be a painting of a dutch master Dirck van Baburen from the 17th century, is a forgery. A forensic analysis confirmed that an artificial resin, similar to Bakelite was used while painting. This resin was used by notorious forger H. Van Meegeren to give his painting a patina of age. This case shows that faith is not enough. A complex analysis including a proof of origin is needed. A proven origin of the artwork will become very important for its future sale. Fraudsters are already aware of this and they are trying to ensure an interesting origin of their artworks. Nowadays the buyer is the one who has to check up the presented origin of a painting.
