Who has a longer

[Artem]

Who has a longer March 1, 2012, 14:10

The expert, collector and restorer told, both in Russia arranged a fake art market as one and the same picture can be in private collections and in the vaults of the famous museum and how to make the most broadsword Denis Davydov. Recorded by Theodore Swarovski. Photographer Catherine Melancon (Katherine Melancon).


Nikita Semenov, a lawyer gallery "Triumph", a consultant known antique dealers in Moscow, a former investigator SC Department of Internal Affairs in Moscow:
"Most of the fake papers appeared on the Russian market in the early 2000s, when businessmen began to accumulate profit. Forgers began to walk on the western auction, look for work, similar to the works of Russian artists, to bring them to Russia, and subjected to alteration. The market was a huge fraud. Many counterfeit works bought by collectors, banks, anyone. And another story - gifts. You are unlikely to immediately run to verify the authenticity of the gift? Imagine how much shit hanging on the walls of Kremlin, Luzhkov officials? Man always like a particular artist or period. Surkov, suppose like Modigliani. By the way, according to rumors, the administration of President more than once fell into problematic situations. For example, one employee had been sold counterfeit goods about 10-12 Russian avant-garde - Konchalovsky, Robert Falk, Kandinsky, and the list goes on. Publicity this story has received. And sometimes it comes up quite so grotesque cases. Going to give to some oligarch Roerich painting, buy original, but there is no signature of the Roerich. In fact, the artists do not always give the author's signature. And then, imagine the original ordered to put on a fake signature.

In the mid-2000s, most authoritative expert Vladimir Petrov suddenly declined, according to my estimates, about two hundred of their opinions. I think he would be preempted as a blow before something serious happens. It was a very bold step. For information about fakes to throw on the market, was coined by the project "Warning: may be a fake," which involved the publisher, Vladimir Roshchin. He has released five directories fakes, which fell more than five hundred works, many examinations of the Tretyakov Gallery, Russian Museum, the Grabar Center (the oldest restoration and one of the most respected experts in Russia. - Esquire). Then, the Tretyakov Gallery and the Center Grabar admitted that they made the wrong assessment.

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The situation has reached its apotheosis with the fakes at about 2005-07, respectively. Fortunately, nobody was shot, although the figures spent on counterfeit money off scale, three, five million dollars in any particular case. But as a result have been raised and sent to the court only two criminal cases. All this happened only because the sellers refused to refund fraud, and the victims went to the principle. If it were immediately returned the money, I doubt that the situation would have penal consequences. This is one of the most powerful samoregulyatorov art market - a return, that is, cancellation of parties to the transaction of sale and the return obtained by the contractor it.

I participated in both of these cases. The first was the case of large Moscow antiques - spouses Preobrazhensky, the inquiry which I chaired. They had a connection - Deputy Interior Minister, a former senior MUR, co-owner of the media holding "Top Secret", the staff of the FSO, Goosby and OCD. The couple had hoped to solve the problem by simply paying the money. But it turned out very resonant, and we were able to defend it. In 2004-05, Transfiguration was sold to the same person 34 paintings, 15 of which were counterfeit. In five subjects, we were able to trace the history of painting, that is set from which it is the subject of Western art have been converted, these things are, who they acquired and import and who have already passed remake experts. These functions are carried out partner - Dmitry Kuteinikov. Transfiguration operated by a single scheme. Client asked: what you need? He said, for example, Kiselev (Kiselev, Alexander, Russian landscape painter the late XIX century. - Esquire). Their co-defendant Kuteinikov (also known as Dima Bull, who managed to escape and, according to intelligence, is still in Georgia) import from abroad similar to western style work by rearranging its restorers "in Kiseleva," and passed the Transfiguration, which in turn, sold it to the client. In such transactions should involve a few people to chop off the intent: Kuteinikov knew that the painting - a fake, but it did not sell it, and denied the Transfiguration and the fact of sale, and could always say they did not know that the work of non-genuine. There were also experts who have confirmed a series of fakes. To prove the relationship between the participants of fraud, and we still managed to succeeded in proving the fact that the Transfiguration deliberately ordered the fakes on the market, sales of which may not yield the standard for 5-15 percent of Antiquaries, and one or two thousand percent profit. As a result, his wife received nine years that the Moscow City Court later reduced to six. In this case, there were many episodes that have not been proven and is not included in the charge: for example, for 4.5 million euros Transfiguration sold oligarch friend of Kandinsky and Malevich, who may have been forged. But then the buyer refused to communicate with the investigation. Maybe it did not want to compromise themselves, and maybe he managed to sell these works.


The second case - the case of Alexander Belilovskogo. Then I represented the interests of the aggrieved party. Last year, the trial and sentence. Belilovsky was known as a German art dealer (nickname - Alex Bremen), worked in the Baltics, Russia and Germany. In this story he was acting in conjunction with the head of the largest institutions of Latvia expert Yvonne Veiherte, which had as its art gallery. It was a fake Kung Carl (Russian painter who lived in the Baltic States in the XIX century. - Esquire). In fact, belonged to the subject of a brush either Polish, or German a little-known artist and has been altered by Guna. In Latvia, there are major experts on his work. Veiherte has ensured that its employees made a positive examination for forgery. They even specifically introduced into the Russian version of the examination of the text, which was to convince the victim that it is an undoubted thing. A Belilovsky claimed to know provenance of this object - say, an object hanging from his friends in the castle for 60 years. The buyer was a banker. It was sold for $ 600 thousand

When Belilovsky already in custody, the victim offered by lawyers, "Why do not you give me back my money, to pay damages? I am willing to make to the court for your liberation. " But he, though he was already 80 years old, and did not consent and did not pay, even though we knew that Belilovsky - a rich man and could easily do it.

His cousin told me that when they arrived at his apartment in Bremen with German bailiffs, to describe and to remove the apartment were in numerous paintings, the expert examined them and said, "You know, it's good, really good European work, and each the subject is worth several thousand euros. In sum, this is quite serious money. But the problem is that each picture is a fake signature, "Shishkin", "Aivazovsky", "Makovsky," and so on. These works have no value. "

Belilovsky received three or four years. Veiherte not incurred any liability, because in Riga, the criminal case against her was lying motionless. She did not accuse, but in Russia it is charged in absentia, and the evidence of her guilt is.

After these two cases there was a fracture. Now everyone understands that the sale of a counterfeit item may incur criminal liability. Well, it is important that the directories out fakes. It became obvious that Russia has a huge problem. For example, items Aivazovsky on the art market is 30%more than he wrote in his entire life. As a result, people began to buy Russian academic painting with greater caution. Work poddelschikov was not so interesting economically. But, alas, stuck the impression that the Russian market - a market for fakes, which, of course, absolute nonsense. On the Russian market there are fantastic and very real things, but they need to look not at the surface.

And now a new scandal. Andrey Vasilyev, and bought them a picture. This is one of the few collectors, for whom reputation is more important than financial issues. He does not seek to make "undercover" return of the subject and forget about the rogue, and ready to fight for justice in the courts and the police. In my opinion, the Russian art market is beginning to dominate the legal, rather than the conceptual priorities that I am very happy as a lawyer. "


Andrey Vasilyev, a psychiatrist, a collector of Russian art from great experience:
"In July 2009, a Petersburg publisher asked me to buy a painting by Boris Grigoriev's" restaurant, "said she comes from a very well known, respectable old Leningrad collection. Prior to this painting belonged to the famous art collector Alexander Burtsev, who published her first and last time belonged to him "my journal for a few" in 1914. The quality and provenance seemed to be very good, and I bought it - for $ 250 thousand And then put it on display in Moscow as part of the "Year of France in Russia" at the beginning of 2010. And there went up to the owner of the gallery and the Grabar Center staff member said that this picture was Grigorieva in their center in the spring of 2009, and they found that it was a fake. They were ready to admit its true, because it made it very skilfully, but it is not "crawled" technology: it was used pigments, which came into use only after World War II.

In March 2011 I passed the thing in the Russian Museum for the official examination in the hope that maybe there was some mistake. Just a week later all thence technologists said that the picture is beautiful and the most that neither is true. The thing was in the Russian Museum in the study from March to early June 2011, and at the same time, there was opened a large exhibition Grigorieva. Get out catalogs, and - horror of horrors! - I see in them their own picture, which, it turns out, is in the vaults of the Russian Museum in 1983. I have a feeling that with me playing in the "thimbles." I ask the broker who sold the painting to me: "Hey, how do you take it at all, what is this collection?" And he said to me: "I brought it Basner, Lena." This daughter of the composer Basner, a former long-term employee of the Russian Museum, now works in Stockholm and Helsinki. It is amazing is this: in 1983, edited by Basner out the directory where it was described - no reproduction - Grigorieva picture "in the restaurant." Next Russian Museum wrote the conclusion that my picture may be only one copy of which is they have in store. I go to the deputy director and telling them: "You know that now would be a big scandal? I probably became a victim of fraud, and behind it, Lena Basner. " Deputy Director said: "Well, Elena Basner, a special, yes. We parted with it certain number of times before. Please contact the police. We have nothing to do with it. "

After that I met with Ms. Basner, and she said she did not remember who she brought something to sell, to whom she gave money, as described in the catalog picture, but remember that the picture Grigorieva "Restaurant", located in the collection of timing, - fake. This incident consciousness. It is true, then, the police, she remembered. After our conversation, I went to the police and wrote a statement. To make a copy of this quality, you need to either work in the store, having the original before his eyes, or make high-quality photos. So, in the Russian Museum was organized by a fake picture. The police agreed with me and started checking. In the summer they gave it the effect, but it sent me a piece of paper, for no reason telling that the decision to institute criminal proceedings to refuse. We went to court, demanding the abolition of the decision.

Basner told police an entirely different story: it supposedly came to us a man by the name of the Tallinn Aranson, who previously lived in Leningrad, and he remained there in the garage of some sort of picture. Its something she bought. Larger version of the Leningrad collection forgotten - the picture, it appears, from the garage. But as the same thing appeared in the Grabar Center? It turns out that a friend came Aranson, who said: "Give me the picture for a day, I'll go to Moscow to try to sell it there." It was this friend ordered the examination under its passport. But when the Grabar Center told him that something false, it is not to disappoint Aranson, he did not say anything. That is no Aranson, nor Basner did not have this information, and of the whole structure disappears, so the most important - intent. On this basis, our result, despite the fact that there obviously is an international gang, refuses to prosecute. But still the ruling was overturned and prosecutors, and court time. Who still does a check.

In general, the market is enormous fraud, but basically it is fraud for the poor. Any sane person realizes that for five thousand dollars to buy a Chagall painting impossible. But there is a real, professional fake. This poddelschik should be congenial to man, which is considered a great master, and such people are scarce. In addition, technological, artistic, historical level of training of the experts are much higher today than ever before. Only one thing - to clone the original unknown. In my case, this is what happened: he was made a clone of things existing in the museum. That's how they rivet or a dozen Aivazovsky Shishkins and carry them to expert agencies. Any falsification of examination is still - and is available for sale. Typically, such work go to Muhosransk, over the fence of the local oligarchs, but also experts and collectors buying fakes, unfortunately, happens all the time. But people prefer not to advertise it: do not want to pass for simpletons, do not want to shine a lot of money, hoping to sell a fake.

I am asked how I, an experienced man who does not recognize a fake. This level of fraud is very difficult to distinguish. This thing in the Center of Grabar is not only passed inspection technology. About this thing in the Russian Museum two months said they would give her confirmation. I had doubts - to inflate a scandal or not. Almost all of these stories ignored. But I thought that in this case is more important than fan the scandal is that rare case in which fraud can take to clean water. "


NN, a specialist in restoration:
"Let's just no names. We, the artists who work with the old, in Moscow, about a thousand people. With each other, we talk a little, almost no contact. But customers are disjoint. And I want to emphasize we are not falsifiers, we - the restorers. People turn to us all kinds of people - dealers, collectors - with a request to perform some work with a variety of subjects. We work with antique weapons, icons, pieces of furniture and other products. People bring things offer a fee for their work. Put some demands. The work is performed, and the customer takes the item. The customer can ask to make some changes to the object, and we are making. All things with which we deal, authentic. True, in the sense that this is really the end of XIX century saber, the silver vase of the late XVIII and early XIX century dagger which belonged to the officer. Of course, perhaps some of the people coming to us after the sale of securities issued at least for objects more valuable in some way give them extra value. Forgers and fraudsters - those who sell some items under the guise of others. And we do not have this direct relationship. To say exactly who these people are, we can not, because I just do not know. Generally, to sell a fake, you need a lot of talent, intelligence, special abilities. Indeed, the relationship to the market antiques and art objects are very close and are built on trust. A serious buyer who is willing to pay big bucks for the thing, at the first available person did not buy it. And the forger must first earn a reputation.

We, restorers and experts on subjects of antiquity, has its own ethics, which is reflected in the fact that we do not sell or buy things. We only provide services, carry out various works for the restoration and reconstruction. The restorer, who sells items, suspicious persons.

Forgery - is, as a rule, old thing, with accurate dating, but with the assigned value false. It is not known whose dagger is an ancient dagger Shamil. It is not known who owned the icon is an icon of His Imperial Majesty Alexander Alexandrovich. Made a little-known author of thing becomes a work of famous masters.

There are funny stories, and they are not uncommon, when we are approached by traders and asked not to restore, and wear out things. Literally, sorry to spoil things. This is usually for the mass of things, not very serious on the importance and value. Sometimes it turns out that they are stored in ideal conditions and do not look old. These items normally sell the antique shop is very difficult, because the buyer does not believe that old thing.

With zero adulteration almost no one does - is too expensive and technologically difficult. Such cases, units, although they do occur. For example, some time ago, some artisans produced alleged collection of old Cossack sabers. But they had a serious work: written and published a book describing the history of the acquisition of this collection, created a website, organized by publication in the media. And finally sold the collection. However, in my opinion, it works with a very very ordinary people.

Usually, everything is different. That's a real sword early XIX century. These use hundreds and perhaps thousands of soldiers. It was used during the War of 1812. We ask him to restore, remove rust, clean the hilt, but keep Decaying Leather sheath. But even the customer requests to add two letters to the blade - "DD". Why should he, he said. Perhaps this sword, he will give Dime Durakov. And perhaps he vparit this thing oligarch, saying that it is a personal edged weapons Denis Davydov. And note, if this sword a little lie down somewhere and oxidation of the material will then no longer determined the course, when these two letters were printed. After all, if in painting and has some technology experts, and then with other subjects, for example, the metal - it is very difficult. Imagine that bring sighted Auntie - employee of the Regional Museum in the examination of any blade. And he who brings claims that it belonged to some thing Decembrist. The Museum opened an employee directory, and there is an old black and white photography. It looks: like? - It seems. And writes the document. So there is still a famous sword, which sell for money to the wild.

However, the actions of counterfeiters is also a positive thing. Tangible Heritage in Russia is very poor - a huge part has been lost, destroyed, removed from the country. This is a fragmented mosaic. A similar pseudo-occurring in the market, can fill in those gaps. A person who buys a sword allegedly Denis Davydov, regaining some lost history. And yet, forgers create demand for the material history, they increase the interest in it. And there is clearly a positive impact. The more that consumers also gain experience. It is now impossible to sell to some rich man his sword from the Civil War under the guise of a medieval Arab swords. Those days are gone. The people there experience and knowledge ».

http://esquire.ru/fake-art