My book club read The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro this month. We had a lively discussion last night about it and about art in general. Many of the people in the group go to the Minnesota Institute of Art. I have been there too but not for many years. A year ago I went to quite a few art museums. I saw a couple in Poland and quite a few in Amsterdam. It is really something to see an actual painting by a renowned artist. When I see an actual Van Gogh on the wall, I can't help but be impressed that Vincent himself touched this canvas. This book tells us that art forgery is quite difficult to distinguish from the real thing. Experts don't know as much as they think. If an art forger uses an old canvas and frame, paints the forgery exactly, covers it in India Ink, wipes it off, and bakes it in an oven, it is virtually impossible to tell the real thing from the copy. In this book the work that is forged is a Degas painting from a museum in Boston. The story is based on the theft of many paintings from an art museum in Boston. The paintings have not been recovered yet although the FBI knows who took them. The story is interesting but it is also a 'how to' manual for future art forgers.
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