Giuliano Ruffini is a French art collector specialising in Old Masters (European painters from 13th to 19th centuries). In recent decades, however, has become the main suspect in the forgery scandal surrounding works sold or exhibited at the most prestigious art institutions. Ruffini is currently facing an arrest warrant by French officials for extradition from Italy, where he currently resides. In March 2021, Court Of Appeal in Milan dismissed the charges. He also faces tax evasion trial from Italian authorities, however he claims he is an art collector rather than art dealer and therefore is not liable for taxation.
The scandal started when in 2014 French authorities received an anonymous letter accusing Ruffini of being involved in counterfeiting several paintings including Hals, Cranach, El Greco, and Parmigiano. The battle of French authorities led by Aude Buresi and Ruffini was unleashed. Several paintings were withheld for authentication with mixed results. "Venus with a Veil" by Cranach was the object of most controversies — in 2014 French police raided the Aix-en-Provance exhibition and removed the painting to be examined. The name of the scandal of the century is perhaps because the affair involved many parties such as Prince of Lichtenstein, Sothebys, and Christies.
Many authentication reports of the allegedly fake paintings proved to be inconclusive. “Venus with a Veil” was tested seven times — two reports claimed authenticity, one described as a fake, and four were inconclusive. In the case of inconclusive investigation most prestigious auction houses withdraw from the deal, but the personal transactions depend on the buyer’s attitude. The anonymous letter accused Ruffini of baking the artworks to achieve the image of "old paint." In his house an industrial oven was found, however there was no other evidence. Ruffini was also a chef and owner of two restaurants what could explain the large oven in the basement. Painting that were confiscated during the raid were shown to be real. James Martin of Orion Analytical, Massachusetts, have found that many artworks used modern paint consisting of chemicals that only became available in the 20th century. James Martin, at the time of the analysis, was not connected to the European art world and his analysis was valued by many auction houses. This was perhaps the biggest step for the investigation.
Ruffini maintains that he had acquired the paintings from collection of Mr Andre Borie (father of his ex- girlfriend) despite limited evidence of such a collection. He also says that the authentication was always done by experts and they were the ones attributing labels to the paintings. Ruffini has also accused his former business partner, who was responsible for the sale of the "Venus with a veil" by Cranach and other allegedly fake paintings as a way for him to defraud his money. The court date for the civil suit is set on 20th May 2021, which may shed new light on the scandal.
As a result of the scandal the art world as a whole has suffered many trials and accusations. Most notably, Sotheby's has sued Fairlight Art Ventures for selling a fake of Frans Hals. In December 2019, Fairlight Art Ventures had to pay over $5m + interests and costs to Sotheby's as a compensation. What is special about Ruffini's scandal is the involvement of the French authorities. In many cases, legal owners of the artworks maintain that they are real paintings, but the official stance of the government states otherwise. The state interference in the art market affairs is rather unusual. Will it indeed be the biggest art crime scandal this century? The time will show.
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