Francesco Mazzola, called Parmigianinoː Cupid Carving His Bow, detail. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien. Creative Commons Francesco Mazzola, called Parmigianinoː Cupid Carving His Bow, detail. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien. Creative Commons
New York - Five
years after a painting attributed to the circle of Old Master Girolamo
Francesco Maria Mazzola, known as Parmigianino, fetched $842 500 at Sotheby’s,
the auction house declared the painting a forgery, made nearly four centuries
after the Italian artist died in 1540.
Sotheby’s
is seeking to be reimbursed by the seller of “Saint Jerome,” according to a
complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan. The seller, Luxembourg
resident Lionel de Saint Donat-Pourrieres, received $672 000 from Sotheby’s
(net of the buyer’s premium), but “refused to return the proceeds of the sale,”
the company said in court papers. The auction house said it is giving the buyer
a full refund.
The case is
the latest fake to be discovered in the Old Master trade. Last year, Sotheby’s
returned $10 million to the buyer of a painting attributed to Frans Hals after
it determined the work was a forgery. As with Parmigianino, Hals’s authenticity
issue was determined by Orion Analytical, whose founder James Martin is
considered a leading forensic scientist and expert in art authentication.
In
December, Sotheby’s acquired Orion Analytical and started a special department
for scientific research headed by Martin.
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Like the
Hals, Saint Jerome was linked to Giuliano Ruffini, who, "according to
media reports, is under investigation for selling a considerable number of Old
Master Paintings that are considered to be modern forgeries,” Sotheby’s said in
the complaint. A 16th century painting of Venus, attributed to German master
Lucas Cranach the Elder, was seized by French authorities in March on suspicion
that it was fake. It had been sold for 7 million euros ($6.5 million) to the
Prince of Liechtenstein in 2013, according to the Art Newspaper.
Sotheby’s
contract with the seller says that the company can rescind the sale if the
painting turns out to be a counterfeit, according to the court papers. Martin
examined pigment samples from 21 different areas of the painting. Each
contained “the modern synthetic pigment phthalocyanine green," which was
first used in paints in the twentieth century, Sotheby’s said.
De Saint
Donat-Pourrieres couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.
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“While we
would have preferred to settle this matter out of court, our consignor has
refused to abide by his obligations and we have been left no other option than
to pursue legal action,” Sotheby’s said in a statement.