Art theft officers raided an exhibition in Parma and seized 21 lithographs purportedly made by Salvador Dalí to investigate their authenticity.
Carabinieri/FacebookItalian police hold one of the suspected forgeries.
Italian police just seized 21 works of art attributed to Salvador Dalí that are presumed to be forgeries. The pieces were all part of an exhibition called “Salvador Dalí: Between Art and Myth” that recently opened at Palazzo Tarasconi in Parma.
The collection had previously appeared in Rome, where the Carabinieri’s Cultural Heritage Protection Unit began to question the art’s authenticity after a routine inspection. An investigation is now underway to confirm the legitimacy of the lithographs.
Italian Authorities Suspect Forgery At A Salvador Dalí Exhibition
Last week, authorities seized 21 lithographs from the Salvador Dalí exhibition in Parma. According to a Facebook post by the Carabinieri, the police began to doubt the authenticity of some of the artwork earlier this year after a routine inspection of the exhibition while it was on display in Rome.
“During the inspection, the kind we generally do at museums, something seemed to be amiss,” the senior officer leading the investigation, Diego Polio, told The Guardian. “We noticed that only lithographs, posters, and drawings by Dalí were on display, along with a few statues and other objects, but no paintings or anything of importance. It was difficult to understand why someone would want to organize an exhibition of such low-value works.”
Public DomainSpanish surrealist artist Salvador Dalí with his pet ocelot in 1965.
The police alerted the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation of their suspicions about the exhibit, only to learn the foundation had never been in contact with the exhibition’s organizers or curator. The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation is devoted to safeguarding Dalí’s legacy, and “Salvador Dalí: Between Art and Myth” never got its seal of approval.
“From the moment the content of this exhibition — which began in Rome and has now moved to Parma — became known, the Dalí Foundation expressed its doubts… regarding three drawings and a series of graphic works,” said a representative of the foundation, as reported by The New York Times.
The foundation sent experts to Rome to see the lithographs for themselves, and they still had doubts about their authenticity. So, when the exhibition reopened in Parma recently, the police moved in, seizing the suspected forgeries. However, the curator of the event insists the artwork is legitimate.
The Debate About The Authenticity Of The Lithographs
Vincenzo Sanfo, the curator of “Salvador Dalí: Between Art and Myth,” stands firm that he has the documentation needed to authenticate the lithographs. He says they are part of a collection called Les Chevaux de Dalí that was published in 1983.
Christie’sOne of Salvador Dalí’s horse lithographs that was sold by Christie’s in 2010.
Still, an investigation is now underway. No one has yet been charged with any wrongdoing, but the police are looking into the exhibition’s organizers, and the curator is also a person of interest.
“It’s clear that as the curator he allowed the works to be exhibited but prosecutors still have to examine his position,” Polio told The New York Times.
Sanfo, in turn, said that he was surprised by the Carabinieri’s focus on the exhibition, because the pieces are “not so valuable” and don’t “justify all the ruckus.”
“Salvador Dalí: Between Art and Myth” remains open to the public for now, but the results of the authentication are pending.
After reading about these alleged Salvador Dalí forgeries, discover the story behind the infamous Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist. Then, learn about the Monuments Men who rescued priceless works of art from the Nazis.
