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French expert for old master paintings Eric Turquin has learned from a Paris court that he had to guarantee the repayment of a painting sold in June 1994 that he had authentified as a work of Italian master Andrea Solario (Circa 1470-1520) and which in fact was a late 16th century copy, well-informed sources said on May 15th 1998.
The painting representing «Jesus Christ with a reed » was sold 4,5 million FF (US $ 750, 000) by French auctioneer Jean-Jacques Mathias on June 27th 1994 to Swiss dealer Bruno Meissner.
It was listed in the catalogue by expert Eric Turquin, one of the best European specialists regarding old masters, as an authentic work by Solario.
Mr Meissner had the painting cleaned and then showed it to several specialists who told him that it was rather a late 16th century copy by an unknown Flemish artist.
The Swiss dealer brought the case before a Paris court which named two legal experts, Frenchman Edouard Bresset and Italian Pietro C. Marani who determined that the painting was a copy of an original which had been lost long ago.
They estimated its value at 500,000 FF (US $ 83,500) and Mr Meissner then started proceedings to cancel the sale, ask for damages and have his money back.
The Swiss dealer said he had been the victim of a fraud basing his claim on the opinion of David Alan Brown, a prominent specialist for Solario's works, who had stated before the Paris sale that this painting was listed as a copy in the Solario catalogue raisonné he had published. All the more, such work had been offered for sale but without success by Sotheby's on July 11th 1979 as a Solario with an estimate of US $ 50,000, according to Mr Meissner.
Eric Turquin admitted before the court that Mr Brown had stated in a letter that he believed this painting was a copy. However, he added that the latter had come to Paris to examine the work and had finally admitted that it was a genuine work by Solario while Sylvie Beguin, curator at the Louvre, had given a similar opinion.
However neither Mr Brown nor Mrs Beguin confirmed in court that they had authetified the painting as by Solario and the judges, who admitted that Eric Turquin had acted in good faith, said there was therefore no fraud. However, they considered that the sale should be cancelled as a result of an error concerning the attribution and ordered that the vendor should reimburse Mr Meissner. This verdict nevertheless included a stunning decision regarding Eric Turquin who has been told that he was jointly responsible for such repayment meaning that he would have to pay back the US $ 750,000 in case the vendor is unable to reimburse such sum.
The judges stressed that Eric Turquin should have been more cautious regarding his opinion and that at first he would have to pay back the fees he received after selling the painting.
Eric Turquin is adamant that Mr Brown and Mrs Beguin told him that the painting , which was not yet cleaned, was an authentic work by Solario. Otherwise he would not have offered it for sale as suc . One can therefore presume that Mr Brown on seeing the painting after it was cleaned did change his mind.
The problem is that most specialists for old masters are museum curators and most of the time, especially in France they just give an oral opinion as they are not allowed to deliver statements in writing.
In France, experts are responsible for their authentifications over a period of 30 years and it is not the first time that one of them has been confronted with a controversial matter. That is why so many works are offered for sale with no clear attributions and at low estimates. As a result, when they reach record prices, people come to say that experts are stupid but on the other hand it also happens that vendors do not hesitate to lodge a complaint before a court when some works are sold at ridiculous prices in auction sales and authentified as genuine afterwards. In such cases experts are being accused of having done their job without due consideration. As a result, in one way or another they are despised by many people... Adrian Darmon
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French expert for old master paintings Eric Turquin has learned from a Paris court that he had to guarantee the repayment of a painting sold in June 1994 that he had authentified as a work of Italian master Andrea Solario (Circa 1470-1520) and which in fact was a late 16th century copy, well-informed sources said on May 15th 1998.
The painting representing «Jesus Christ with a reed » was sold 4,5 million FF (US $ 750, 000) by French auctioneer Jean-Jacques Mathias on June 27th 1994 to Swiss dealer Bruno Meissner.
It was listed in the catalogue by expert Eric Turquin, one of the best European specialists regarding old masters, as an authentic work by Solario.
Mr Meissner had the painting cleaned and then showed it to several specialists who told him that it was rather a late 16th century copy by an unknown Flemish artist.
The Swiss dealer brought the case before a Paris court which named two legal experts, Frenchman Edouard Bresset and Italian Pietro C. Marani who determined that the painting was a copy of an original which had been lost long ago.
They estimated its value at 500,000 FF (US $ 83,500) and Mr Meissner then started proceedings to cancel the sale, ask for damages and have his money back.
The Swiss dealer said he had been the victim of a fraud basing his claim on the opinion of David Alan Brown, a prominent specialist for Solario's works, who had stated before the Paris sale that this painting was listed as a copy in the Solario catalogue raisonné he had published. All the more, such work had been offered for sale but without success by Sotheby's on July 11th 1979 as a Solario with an estimate of US $ 50,000, according to Mr Meissner.
Eric Turquin admitted before the court that Mr Brown had stated in a letter that he believed this painting was a copy. However, he added that the latter had come to Paris to examine the work and had finally admitted that it was a genuine work by Solario while Sylvie Beguin, curator at the Louvre, had given a similar opinion.
However neither Mr Brown nor Mrs Beguin confirmed in court that they had authetified the painting as by Solario and the judges, who admitted that Eric Turquin had acted in good faith, said there was therefore no fraud. However, they considered that the sale should be cancelled as a result of an error concerning the attribution and ordered that the vendor should reimburse Mr Meissner. This verdict nevertheless included a stunning decision regarding Eric Turquin who has been told that he was jointly responsible for such repayment meaning that he would have to pay back the US $ 750,000 in case the vendor is unable to reimburse such sum.
The judges stressed that Eric Turquin should have been more cautious regarding his opinion and that at first he would have to pay back the fees he received after selling the painting.
Eric Turquin is adamant that Mr Brown and Mrs Beguin told him that the painting , which was not yet cleaned, was an authentic work by Solario. Otherwise he would not have offered it for sale as suc . One can therefore presume that Mr Brown on seeing the painting after it was cleaned did change his mind.
The problem is that most specialists for old masters are museum curators and most of the time, especially in France they just give an oral opinion as they are not allowed to deliver statements in writing.
In France, experts are responsible for their authentifications over a period of 30 years and it is not the first time that one of them has been confronted with a controversial matter. That is why so many works are offered for sale with no clear attributions and at low estimates. As a result, when they reach record prices, people come to say that experts are stupid but on the other hand it also happens that vendors do not hesitate to lodge a complaint before a court when some works are sold at ridiculous prices in auction sales and authentified as genuine afterwards. In such cases experts are being accused of having done their job without due consideration. As a result, in one way or another they are despised by many people... Adrian Darmon
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