The world of art is filled with forgeries that the unsuspecting admirer often fails to perceive at first glance.
Art in all possible forms always has the power to attract us, and that’s when we fall. Forgeries, however, are generally not conceived to deceive the public but to entertain a market eager for visual emotions and special touches. These paintings or digital representations end up becoming part of the public's imaginary catalog, almost turning them into real works. Some "works" are variations of real paintings, or perhaps new ways to express a legendary artist or an art movement.
And in the world of canvas, almost anything goes. As Picasso said, “Good artists copy; great artists steal.”
Kuadros brings you a compendium of five works that are actually products of the imagination of contemporary humorists and artists, and which have managed to convince an audience eager for new or extreme visual expressions.
The Aphrodite of William Bouguereau
Art lovers often choose this work as the most beautiful face of all paintings and it is often argued that it is a product of the great artist William Bouguereau. But it is not an oil painting but a digital work created by contemporary Greek artist and designer Alexander Scaramanga.
The work, which was created in 2006, has many fans. The image is a combination of the faces from many photos of beautiful women, not a work by Bouguereau.
And let us remember how the beauties of Bouguereau really look:
The Cats of Henri Matisse
What we can assume with a degree of certainty is that at least two original masterpieces by Matisse were used to create this forgery. Here are some possible sources of inspiration:
Upon observing the images, it all seems quite obvious. It is clear that the cats in the reproduction of Matisse's painting are retouched with Photoshop.
The desire to complement Matisse's work with cats is quite understandable: firstly, the artist himself loved cats; secondly, there are many fish in his paintings; it is quite natural to add some cats. But Matisse himself never brought cats and fish together on his canvases.
The Flowering Meadow - Gustav Klimt
British writer and journalist Kenan Malik published a whole series of photos that evoke associations with certain paintings by great artists.
The photographs feature images based on Monet, Cézanne, Turner, and Rothko. And these flowers, which are often referenced online as a painting by Gustav Klimt, and sometimes titled, for example, Spring Meadow (La Pradera). Sometimes it is known as a fragment of Klimt's painting Meadow in Flower.
Klimt did create several beautiful paintings with flowers, observe this example, which sold for $59 million at auction in 2017:
However, the photograph "Wildlife Meadow" that was the basis of the forgery was taken in 2012, in the Olympic Park in London.
Leonardo da Vinci's flying ship
The flying ship of Da Vinci is actually a digital creation made by German artist Peter Popken, who works in the Hollywood film industry.
The mentioned ship was used in the movie The Three Musketeers. This drawing was created for Orlando Bloom to hold in his hands in one of the scenes. And then it ended up in France on a flying boat that was built according to Leonardo's design.
Leonardo da Vinci never wrote about flying machines based on balloons, although he did make drawings that inspired Popken.
A Klimt Painting with Too Much Gold
You probably haven't heard of the name of modern French artist Anne Marie Zilberman.
Her work Golden Tears is commonly attributed to Klimt although, of course, it was created under the influence of his work. Even the curls of hair follow Klimt's characteristic pattern.
Here you have two authentic works by Klimt where you can appreciate the difference in color, brush strokes, and even the makeup of the central characters:
KUADROS ©, a famous painting on your wall.
