Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1906-03-12
ART FDRGERIES N PARIS
An Account of the Traffic in
Spurious Paintings
AMERICA THE MARKET
Methods of a Secret Syndicate of
Dealers Observation-Disclosures That
Turn Out Fraudulent Pictures
Many shipped to This Country
Tricks to Give Aged Appearance.

TURN OuN FrauOuient i1CtureS-
Many Shipped to This Country
Tricks to Give Aged Appearance.
A curious and instructive account
OF the traffic In spurious works of
art. as conducted by the most expert
and practiced hands in Paris. is con-.
tributed by NJ Oh. Franche in a re-
cent issue of the Revue Information
ale des Publications.
AS the article deals largely with
the so-called dealer expert. few
words concerning the qualities and
functions of that important person
age, may be necessary to elucidate
the facts gathered by NJ Franehe
and make their significance clear
to American readers. To begin with.
II must be understood that the gov
eminent does not. as many are apt
to believe, hold itself responsible for
the authenticity of the articles sold
at the Hotel Drouot.
The official auctioneer (commis-
saire-priseur) may be. and frequent
~ is, ignorant OF art and all things
related to it. nor does he concern
putting of the goods sold; that task
falls TO the lot of the expert who is
chosen by the seller for his own
benefit and the protection of the
bidders II is the expert who COM
piles the catalogue. presides at the
sale and estimates the value of the
various articles.
The discoveries of NJ. Franche
show that there exists and has ex-
listed for many years kind of Sc
cret syndicate OF the more profit
gate dealer experts, whose object
is 10 monopolize the trade in works
of art and not only to countenance,
but actively to encourage the pro-
duction and propagation of fraudu-
lent limitations to serve their own
ends.
Controlling every event at the
Hotel Drouot. the dealer experts. >"
says NJ. Franche, are in a position
which enables them to instigate the
seizure Of pictures by pronouncing
them spurious. and so they declare
their vigilance by discrediting such
as do not bear their stamp. thus
achieving by ingenious If ignoble
means a practical control of the sale
of the works of art"
Here is a typical example of the
methods employed by the dealers
in spurious goods
The proprietor of a shop in Paris
having procured four landscapes by
Corot. Daubigny, Diaz and Tn.
Rousseau hired good copyist. who,
In return for a comfortable lodging
in the country with salary of 5000
a month. undertook to make TWEEN
ty-five copies with slight modifica-
lions of each of the four canyases.
In ten months the task was finished
to the satisfaction of the employer
and the hundred pictures we're sent
to this country and sold at a high
price as originals from one noted
collection or another.
An important consideration in
such cases is the necessity of imita-
ting the patina of old pictures with
artificial cracklings and so forth.
Various methods are employed with
this end in view.
Saffron bistre, black coffee and
licorice are favorite applications as
preliminary to vanishing Some
add a fatty oil to the varnish, or
a mixture of bitumen, yellow lake
and red oehre. which gives it some
thing the appearance of old varnish.
In doctoring paintings which are
wholly modern. the following pro
cess is held to be eficacious: The
painting is first vanished with
white of egg and then powdered
over lightly with very fine coffee
grounds; on this preparation is
spread a thick coating of paste.
which Is dried before a hot fire, and
then superimposed by second and
finally third coating.
|. After an hour or two the canvas
is cleaned with a sponge and an ex-
cellent result is often revealed,
though failures are rot by any
means uncommon. In successful
cases the white of egg produces an
excellent imitation of the cracking
OF old varnish. the coffee stains re-
semble the damage done by flies.
and the action OF the paste on the
pigments is not unlike that Of time
and exposure.
The application of a little yellow
varnish qualities the canvas under
treatment TO the raak OF an Old
Master and in eight or Ten months
time it VIII be in 3 fit state for adj
mission to the Hotel Drouot 1t
should be mentioned. by the way,
that experienced dealers always en-
ploy old canvas and old stretehcrs.
New York Sun.