Fakes in the Museum

The copying of sculpture that has a long history in Western art.

Most of the works of Greek sculptors are known only through Roman copies. However, we do not know if these were sold as Greek originals or not.

We know that Michelangelo tried to sell one of his sculptures  by passing it off as antique after having buried it, to give it a certain patina. However, the buyer was not fooled by it (and wanted to know the author).

At the trial of scultptor Alceo Dossena (1878-1937) it was established that he did not produce fakes, but authentic masterpieces, in various styles, from Etruscan to Renaissance, patinating them with a procedure of which he never revealed the secrets.

Sculptures that were then resold by unscrupulous merchants, ending up in the most prestigious collections around the world.

On October 3, 2021, at the Mart in Rovereto, a truly intriguing exhibition will open, conceived by Vittorio Sgarbi and curated by Dario Del Bufalo and Marco Horak, entitled Forgery in Art. Alceo Dossena and Italian Renaissance sculpture.

It is not the first exhibition on fakes, we remember for example Falsi d’Autore. Icilio Federico Joni and the culture of the false between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries of 2004 in Santa Maria della Scala in Siena, which had the merit of shedding light on the figure of the forger, his clients and his methods.

While announcing this exhibition, Vittorio Sgarbi stated that he had identified other “authentic Dossena” artworks still exhibited as ancient art.

We are really curious to visit it and learn more!