Van Gogh the Fakes Debate (Vincent van Goghs Paintings‪)‬

Within ten years of Vincent van Gogh's death in 1890, his paintings and drawings were being faked, and forgeries continue to distort our understanding of his work. Martin Bailey discusses the reasons why Van Gogh has attracted forgers in such number and then examines thirty eight works in the current catalogue raisonne whose authenticity can be questioned. In recent years there has been increasing concern about the problem of Van Gogh fakes, with a range of experts denouncing a large number of works. Even the icons have been questioned by critics, including the Tokyo Sunflowers and the Muscle d'Orsay's Portrait of Dr Gacbet. (1) Heated debates over authenticity have led to considerable confusion. Nevertheless, questions of attribution do need to be resolved, since the presence of fakes is obscuring our view of the real Van Gogh.