A Dutch couple of forgers, accused of having produced scores of faked works, which they sold to several European galleries as by modern masters, appeared before a court in Orléans, France, on September 25th 2000.
Geert Janssen and his companion, Ellen Van Baren, aged 58 and 56 respectively, are being considered as being among the most formidable forgers of the past twenty years. Investigators said they surely had the stature of Fernand Legros, who sold scores of fakes to American collectors during the 1960s and 1970s.
Geert Janssen was able to produce works sold as by Magritte, Picasso, Dufy, Botero, Calder, Appel or Klimt, which tricked most experts. It was Ellen Van Baren who was contacting buyers throughout Europe offering paintings, watercolours or drawings at cheap prices. They even went as far as producing forged certificates of authenticity.
Both living in a castle in the tiny village of Linazay, central France, they are suspected of having carried out their activities during at least one decade. Investigators added that some of the forgeries they produced were also sold at auction and that no expert had been able to detect these forgeries.
Geert Janssen certainly was not disturbed while working in Linazay, far away from crowded cities. However a police squad from Orléans found an impressive amount of works reportedly by modern masters in the castle rented by Janssen in May 1994, mainly engravings, gouaches, drawings and oil paintings as well as many forged certificates of authenticity. They said they had seized some 1,500 fakes and learned that the forgers were selling oils at between $ 25,000 and 30,000 each.
Janssen was held during six months and released on bail after admitting that he had produced all these fakes. He told police his best reward was to learn that Dutch painter Karel Appel had without hesitation authenticated one of his fakes, which had been sold as genuine.
French police managed to corner Janssen and his companion after they were alerted by German police when investigators from the Land Kriminal Amt uncovered the trafficking of fakes following investigations in Bonn, Cologne and Hamburg.
After they arrested Janssen, French police discovered that he had already been involved in a similar case in Holland a few years ago. Ellen Van Baren on her part admitted that she had used an assumed name to sell scores of fakes to several important European galleries.
A Dutch couple of forgers, accused of having produced scores of faked works, which they sold to several European galleries as by modern masters, appeared before a court in Orléans, France, on September 25th 2000.
Geert Janssen and his companion, Ellen Van Baren, aged 58 and 56 respectively, are being considered as being among the most formidable forgers of the past twenty years. Investigators said they surely had the stature of Fernand Legros, who sold scores of fakes to American collectors during the 1960s and 1970s.
Geert Janssen was able to produce works sold as by Magritte, Picasso, Dufy, Botero, Calder, Appel or Klimt, which tricked most experts. It was Ellen Van Baren who was contacting buyers throughout Europe offering paintings, watercolours or drawings at cheap prices. They even went as far as producing forged certificates of authenticity.
Both living in a castle in the tiny village of Linazay, central France, they are suspected of having carried out their activities during at least one decade. Investigators added that some of the forgeries they produced were also sold at auction and that no expert had been able to detect these forgeries.
Geert Janssen certainly was not disturbed while working in Linazay, far away from crowded cities. However a police squad from Orléans found an impressive amount of works reportedly by modern masters in the castle rented by Janssen in May 1994, mainly engravings, gouaches, drawings and oil paintings as well as many forged certificates of authenticity. They said they had seized some 1,500 fakes and learned that the forgers were selling oils at between $ 25,000 and 30,000 each.
Janssen was held during six months and released on bail after admitting that he had produced all these fakes. He told police his best reward was to learn that Dutch painter Karel Appel had without hesitation authenticated one of his fakes, which had been sold as genuine.
French police managed to corner Janssen and his companion after they were alerted by German police when investigators from the Land Kriminal Amt uncovered the trafficking of fakes following investigations in Bonn, Cologne and Hamburg.
After they arrested Janssen, French police discovered that he had already been involved in a similar case in Holland a few years ago. Ellen Van Baren on her part admitted that she had used an assumed name to sell scores of fakes to several important European galleries.
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