The Forger Who Faked His Friendship With Auguste Rodin | Fake Or Fortune 

My father in-law studied art and restoration and when he was student he had to paint an icon for a exam. He found an old plank of wood in a cellar and used natural pigments and oil to make an orthodox icon. Then because he had troubles with the oil not getting dry he put the icon under a light-bulb to dry it out. He forgot about and he went on a trip for a week. On his return he found the icon almost burned and black and discharged it. 30 years later he found in a catalog this same icon presented as 17 century old one. He realized( with the experience) that only the top layer was burned and a somebody found that and restored it. Because of the heat the pigments were artificially aged and probably the plank was indeed old. Funny story.

I love fake or fortune so much. Its just hard to watch from Germany, your are on the mercy of those who put it on youtube. I like the combination of sience, art and the reasoning behind the detective work. This mindset "training" helped me to write a history book. I wished that all fake or fortune episodes could be watched at this youtube channel.

Genuinely surprised, it didn’t look that similar to the other fakes

In the end it is all about the money. If it 's a Rodin it's worth a fortune but if it's a Durig it suddenly becomes almost worthless . If a forger is able to con art-dealers and "experts" it means that he's as good as the artist he forges. It is a rather satisfying thought that from time to time those art world sharks and so called experts get conned themselves.

I admire people who really care about genuine art and the research they done it is very exhaustive. Who was going to think that a French Museum like D’Orsay had discovered those fake drawings after so long. Anyway. Those Durig’s fakes had their own story. I love the way dancers move their hands and how those movements have their meaning. Smile…. Love the story and for sure I will rewrite some narrative including Figaro’s interview to Auguste Rodin Mecredi 1906. Thanks so much. It is wonderful to be told about real artworks and fakes inclusive.

I would like to thank all involved in making these shows… such a great, exciting story… even though it did not have a happy ending, it had a great story and closure

That piece has a history of its own. Still a treasure to keep as it was done by a renowned faker.

An intriguing lesson on the inherent value of art and the art market.

The fake Durig Cambodian dancers are stiff, without the grace or movement that the watercolor that belongs to Alice has.

I don't know when this was filmed but The Met did eventually admit in 2017 that they have a collection of 4 fake Rodins, attributed to During. Alice's drawing is pretty convincing but the experts really know their stuff! I would imagine that during WWII there was a lot of stolen art and forgery. I do find these forgeries fascinating for how well they do or don't fool people.

Either it is still a possibility that it is a Rodin and the expert was mistaken (we'll sadly never know for sure) or this was one of those moments where Durig actually managed to pull more talent out of himself than he normally displayed. Either way, if it were me, I would keep the art and treasure it for my mother's sake and for how nice the piece actually is. The only thing that has changed is the price tag that a dealer would put on it.

Fake Or Fortune and Perspective are my favorite videos. I was just wondering is were aware of either and now they are here..

What truly matters is the joy the picture brought to her dear mother over the decades. For her, it was a Rodin, and it was her precious treasure. Nothing can take that away from her.

What an interesting story. But the refusal of MoMA to participate in the investigation was just really, really disappointing. Were they afraid of being sued somehow? Were they afraid of their reputation being smeared in some way? I mean, they hold a collection of drawings by a guy who was a known Rodin forger, who clearly had mental health problems, but was also a known sculptor who did some good work and some lousy work. Why refuse to assist in the investigation? I don't get it. It just seems like a bit of a dickless move on their part.

Oddly, I trust the word of the Cambodian dance expert. She knew she was seeing an artistic rendering of an actual dance performance. She wasn't feeling fakery.

Hmm shame about the result but still a very striking beautiful water color sketch , with a rich magical history thanks to the team

I luv this show--wish we had a program such as this here in the US

My favorite show, by far!

Your channel is my favorite in the RU-vid world.❤❤❤

Fluid. My word exactly. It’s also balanced.

the value is only in ur head. Asked an innocent child it will worth 1$ asked as professional but dont tell the story they cant be bothered. Its only on ur mind.

I love how everyone touches the painting with bare hands! Wear gloves people!

you said he forgot his paper and got paper from the local grocery's so there would be no water mark

Sad in one way and educational in another. Art buying, collecting, or gifting requires homework and attention to detail. Her mom and the person who gave this to her was the victims of a fraudulent act. If there is justice in the beyond, I hope the faker is paying for it.

Dr. Barndoor Grower really knows his stuff!

It is very difficult to fake someone’s signature.

It seems that one way to positively match authentic Rodin Cambodian dancers is to have photos on a microscopic level of the paper edges of all real known drawings. That way one could, using a computer & photo database , match the paper fiber characteristics of the edges together like matching two halves of a fingerprint. Rodin likely used the same ream or stack of paper since the drawings were done together in such a short time period. I'm guessing that machine made paper back then was cut & stacked together from one large common sheet. It's just a thought, & probably not a realistic undertaking.

Her mothers art also was rather extraordinary..

The titles kind of a spoiler isnt it...? Kinda sad

But, I didn't know Rodin was such an artist considering the way he and Godzilla trashed Tokyo. This is a fun series. Very interesting. I hope they continue it.

Through history and especially after WWII, not everyone has “bought”art .Through theft and then payoff they find their way to independent owners.

Gotta be honest, hearing "In the house in a Heartbeat" out of nowhere during the fanale made me feel like this sweet old lady was about to go completely apeshit and destroy the room 😂

If you don’t want a drawing to fade from sunlight, don’t hang it across from a window duh

Perhaps the expert is wrong ......I frankly think she is! It is an intriguing drawing and far more genuine looking than the previously identified fakes.

If the forger was so good, why was he not just as famous? What makes some artist great, but some just as good almost unheard of?

💜

I wonder what Rodin drawings sold for in the 1950s, would it worth the effort of faking?

I think curios forgery’s are worth collecting

i want that fake one !!!! its sooo soo beautiful where can i buy it

Amazing. In the end, only one person for the final judgment! I thought I could see in Christina's behavior that she really enjoyed being the only person one could count on. “No science, just her eye!” sayd Philip Mould. I still suspect, the drawing was an originalonly, only the signature was fake! But then again, who am I to say so? ; ))

World renowned, not even using gloves to hold that Rodin watercolor?

Some of my grandmothers paintings are out and about and worth quite a lot of money, she was a very well known local artist who taught probably one of the most famous artists of the state how to paint and draw faces as he did landscapes and sucked with drawing or painting people. Which is kinda funny. She also taught art at the college level. I own a lot of my grandmothers works and she is still living.

The drawing's style is closer to Rodin than Durig, I'd think. The signature doesn't appear to be authentic when comparing to an actual signature, though. Overall, I find it hard to believe that a restaurateur would give a Rodin as payment for painting on some pillars in his restaurant; talk about over-paying!

Phillip sees manure and he says “let’s go find my horse”. His favorite word is “encouraging”.

Hmm I doubt the verdict. I've looked at a few images online and I think it's 100% authentic. Sadly we don't get to see the fakes so it's hard to compare

“Pillars”? Unless they’re made out of salt they’re called columns.

Even though the expert gave her verdict, I'm astounded/disappointed that MoMA decided to opt-in for investigating further....would have save a lot of time for a lot of people. Sad!

I don't think proving it was a fake will diminishing the meaning it had for her mother. Of course in terms of money it is a bad thing. But to think about her mother as an artist and that she would possibly look at it for inspiration, and it had good outcomes since her mother was a prolific artist for her time.

“Close call”. But but they’re experts.

great work and allerting for living artists to make sure nobody can fake their work after their death and avoid parasites to deceive fake friendship with them

Aren’t these the people with their noses in the air that the song “putting on the Ritz” refers to?

Camille Claudel sculpted all her own marbles. Rodin didn't sculpt a one of his. Film of him sculpting marbles is totally an act.

MOMA knew their drawings were Durigs, so why didn't they want them studied? Makes no sense

Even me that I'm no expert could see the signatures were way too different....

I’m rather alarmed by Durig’s resemblance to Larry Fein.

alices looks fully fleshed not thin and posed...rodin is like the old masters and likes full figures

The thinker was originally entitled The Stinker as he is sitting on the toilet but young pranksters removed the S and added an H

He probably was applying the water color to mimic the Ikkat silk fabric that Cambodian dancers wore

insert Nilson "haha" gif

24 minutes in these are my thoughts. When comparing the drawing in question to known Rodin drawings it seems the known works are looser. I feel the drawing is done by a different hand. I prefer the drawing in question to the known Rodins. I love when this show dashes my preconceptions at the end of the show. we'll see how it turns out.

I must say, a rather good fake then. Sad😢

I wonder how many people have invest in art that is fake.

It was a genuine forgery.

I think the expert is wrong

R. ...hmm... that's how I sign my B.

Rodin was the ultimate fake. He cast none of his owne bronze sculptures and none of the marbles. All of his work is the product of craftsmen fabricating his maquettes many of them not even to scale.

I think it is henuine. It is more beautiful than many of those in the museums and MUCH BETTER than the fakes they showed. The museu

At 33:49. I honestly wanted to hear about the monkey art. A man after my artistic tastes! But seriously, during the period from the early 19th century to maybe around the 1960s lots of Americans had much money but little common sense or artistic taste. They're a type, ripe for the picking by European fraudsters pretending to be something they weren't, like this Durig fellow. I live in New York City and I've met quite a few of that type.

Durig wasn't that good.

I wouldn’t give $50 for it. People that would rather have the money won’t admit it, so they say I want other people to be able to appreciate it. She probably doesn’t even like the thing, but she can drop Rodin’s name at parties.

If it was real I want to know why that “friend” just gave it to this ladies mother? Maybe they were closer than she thinks.

I firmly feel this was Authentic. I don't believe the man that purchased it would have been one to scam, nor do I feel he would have not had it fully authenticated. The individuals involved, level of Socioeconomic status, in the era, in the geographic locations, and their "interests" speak to more than face value. This is one that both sets of experts missed, "the Host experts" merely missed a factor, and the experts judging the piece, (had they been familiar with the full "details", and "thoroughly trained, including the History + Social History, of the era"), it would have resulted in a more accurate and correct validation of the piece. Beth Bartlett Sociologist/Behavioralist and Historian USA

Looks fake

Love this show so much. The researchers are always exceptionally creative and intelligent. Anyone else want to be in this business??? 🥹❤️🙏

“State of the art science”. Science never changes, ask Fauci