In total, 71 fake paintings attributed to Picasso, Rembrandt, and other celebrated artists have been seized by Italian authorities.
Italian police have uncovered a clandestine art forgery workshop in Rome, where counterfeit paintings attributed to renowned artists were being produced and sold online.
The operation, led by the Carabinieri’s cultural heritage protection unit and coordinated by the Rome Prosecutor’s Office, was launched after investigators traced forged artworks being sold through e-commerce platforms.
The works were falsely attributed to artists including Pablo Picasso, Paul-Émile Pissarro, Jean Cocteau, Dora Maar, Rembrandt, and more.
Following months of inquiries, police raided the suspect’s home in a northern district of Rome, uncovering a fully equipped forgery workshop. Inside, officers found a large collection of painting supplies, including tubes of acrylic and wax paint, brushes, canvases, stencils, and easels.
They also discovered counterfeit gallery stamps, forged artist signatures, and falsified certificates of authenticity used to pass off the works as genuine. Several completed and partially finished paintings were discovered on a worktable, appearing freshly produced by the suspect.
In total, 71 counterfeit works were confiscated. Police have not yet confirmed whether any arrests have been made. An art restorer is suspected to be at the centre of the operation.
This follows a recent bust of a Europe-wide forgery network selling fake works by Banksy, Warhol, and Klimt. A total of 38 people have been placed under investigation, including six in Spain, France and Belgium. Italian authorities say the network could have done €200 million in economic damage by flooding the art market with fake works.
More than 2,100 fake works were apprehended in seizures across Italy, France, Spain and Belgium. The works belonged to more than 30 internationally renowned artists, including Andy Warhol, Amedeo Modigliani, Banksy, Pablo Picasso, Joan Mirò, Francis Bacon, Wassily Kandinsky, Henry Moore and Gustav Klimt.