
Master art forger Eric Hebborn keeps 'playing a great trick from the grave' - pseudolus
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/day6/episode-428-bissonnette-s-sentence-art-forgery-k-pop-at-the-grammys-leolist-human-trafficking-and-more-1.5009885/how-master-art-forger-eric-hebborn-keeps-playing-a-great-trick-from-the-grave-1.5009931
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StavrosK
> On one hand, the man lived a life "that he could not afford" as a starving
> artist and supplemented his income with the forgeries.

> The second reason is more nefarious: he was pranking the art world.

 _More_ nefarious?

~~~
everdev
> Hebborn would only sell his works to art dealers and historians who "just
> should have known better."

> If an expert couldn't tell the difference between an authentic and an
> imitation piece, in Hebborn's eyes it was their own fault.

It was more than pranking, it was selling forgeries.

~~~
StavrosK
Sure, but how was the intent to prank _more_ nefarious than actually selling
forgeries?

~~~
everdev
True, nefarious is a strong word.

Sounds like he thoroughly embarrassed the art world but I would reserve
nefarious for a select group of serious crimes.

~~~
jacquesm
Embarrassing art connoisseurs is roughly equivalent with high treason in that
world. The last thing they need is for an actual artist to show they're full
of it.

Just like the clothiers didn't like the boy in the story of the Emperor.

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fredguth
I highly recommend "Beltracchi. The art of forgery" documentary at Netflix.

~~~
PappaPatat
TY, watching it right now.

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onetimemanytime
Amazing, isn't it? If he can paint so good that experts can't tell him from
extremely famous artists...shouldn't his work be valued a lot? I get the
novelty on having, say, of one the few DaVinci paintings, but art in itself is
valued as well.

>> _" On 8 January 1996, shortly after the publication of the Italian edition
of his book The Art Forger's Handbook, Eric Hebborn was found lying in a
street in Rome, having suffered massive head trauma possibly delivered by a
blunt instrument. He died in hospital on 11 January 1996."_

probably revenge...someone may have lost a fortune due to his antics.

~~~
thejohnconway
The technique of the greatest painters is often not particularly difficult to
copy. In my late teens I considered doing replica paintings to make money. I
did a few, and I was somewhat surprised at how good they looked and how easy
they were, and I’m only technically middling. (The dealer was only offering
$200-$600 for them, and with material costs, it wasn’t worth it in the end.)

Some painters are technically amazing and difficult to copy, but they are
rarely the greatest artists. John Singer Sargent is one; he had an amazing
brush technique that can’t be overworked, yet captures forms and light very
realistically - but you’d hardly call him a great artist.

~~~
ghc
I would call Sargent a great artist by any standard, and in multiple mediums.
He may have made his money in portraiture, but even then he generated pieces
like _The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit_ that are outstanding art. But
outside or portraits, his murals and bas reliefs are absolutely phenomenal and
worth traveling for.

~~~
thejohnconway
I like Sargent, and have seen a lot of his major works in person. I suppose
I’m using a pretty high threshold for “great”, which I’d reserve for the top
tier. My point was that the artistic worth of a painting is not tightly
correlated to the technical skill of its painter. Good enough is usually all
that’s needed.

~~~
eigenstuff
There's some Dali quote out there where he says he is not that technically
skilled as an artist, and if you look up close at some of his paintings in
person, you can kinda see what he's getting at. He is no slouch by any means
but he is definitely no Sargent or Vermeer. I think a lot of people who aren't
really into art assume greatness=technical prowress, in particular those quick
to poo poo modern art, but (speaking for myself at least) those who are in the
art world are more concerned with the novelty and innovation of ideas (given
some baseline level of craftsmanship, of course).

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing but respect for people who can paint
hyperrealistically, because I know and understand and appreciate the amount of
work that goes into that level of mastery. But at the end of the day, I'm
going to be far more impressed by an artist like Riusuke Fukahori who took
that skill set and used it to create a new and novel sculptural technique.
That's technical mastery combined with creative genius. That's great art.

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weitzj
Another interesting person who did forgery:
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Beltracchi](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Beltracchi)

~~~
eleclady
He forges art, nets 100m+ euros, goes to prison for 3 years. I spend 40 years
at a job I'd rather not be at, lucky to retire with 1m+ euros. Leaves a sour
taste.

~~~
jacquesm
You can still pick up a brush. 3 years in prison is nothing to sneeze at. It's
a matter of ethics, after all, if all you want to look at is the eventual
outcome we could all be bank robbers but most people prefer another life.

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mhh__
Was he murdered?

~~~
selflesssieve
From Wikipedia - "On 8 January 1996, shortly after the publication of the
Italian edition of his book The Art Forger's Handbook, Eric Hebborn was found
lying in a street in Rome, having suffered massive head trauma possibly
delivered by a blunt instrument. He died in hospital on 11 January 1996.[4]"

