Forgery scandal

The most spectacular art forgery trial in decades opened in the western German city of Cologne on Thursday, with four defendants facing charges of collecting profits of around 16 million euros ($22 million) for peddling fake masterpieces.

The quartet - two men and two women - is accused of trading phony works by major modern artists from Germany such as Max Pechstein, Max Ernst and Heinrich Campendonk on the international market.

"We are charging them with organized fraud and falsification of documents," said senior public prosecutor Günther Feld.

The prosecution has pulled out all stops in the case, reportedly calling in as many as 170 witnesses, including a collection of renowned art dealers and experts, for the 40-day trial at a regional court.

'Incredibly' convincing

The accused include two granddaughters of Werner Jäger, a wealthy businessman who died in 1992, as well as one of their husbands and another associate. The foursome range in age from 53 to 67, and many of the works they forged were presented as being inheritances from Werner Jäger's art collection.

The scandal relates directly to the sale of 14 forged works as far back as 2001, while 33 other potential incidences are still under investigation.

"Artistically, they produced incredibly well-made paintings, including a complete provenance that took familial background and the historical art context into account," said Henrik Hanscheid, head of Lempertz, a 150-year-old art dealership based in Cologne that sold some of the fakes.

Major auction houses implicated

It took years for the paintings to be identified as counterfeit after they were sold through reputable auction houses and galleries, whose representatives have expressed surprise and disappointment at the news.

"We were tricked in a very sophisticated way, just like countless other major auction houses including Sotheby's and Christie's," said Henrik Hanscheid.

But a lack of professionalism isn't to blame, he added: "As one of the leading international auction houses with a long tradition, Lempertz stands for accuracy, dependability and trust."

Art experts not directly associated with galleries also seem to have been fooled by the works, including Werner Spies, who knew artist Max Ernst personally and incorrectly identified five of the forgeries as authentic. Spies is now serving as a witness in the trial and is being sued for damages by at least one art dealer in France.

The case is considered one of the most significant art forgery trials in postwar German history.

Author: Greg Wiser, Christel Wester (AFP, dpa)
Editor: Kate Bowen