美国国家公共电台 NPR French Museum Discovers More Than Half Its Collection Is Forged

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

A museum in southern France has discovered that half its collection of paintings thought to be by a celebrated¹ local artist are counterfeit². And it gets worse - investigators³ say that works by other regional artists could also be fake. Jake Cigainero in Paris sends us this report.

JAKE CIGAINERO, BYLINE⁴: The quaint⁵ French village of Elne on Spain's border is proud to be the hometown of the Catalan painter Etienne Terrus. He was the late 19th century artist who specialized⁶ in local landscapes and was friends with the painter Henri Matisse. After a $365,000 renovation⁷, the town was set to celebrate the grand reopening of the museum bearing Terrus's name, one of Elne's main attractions. Instead, the big reveal was that 82 paintings attributed to the artist in the museum's collection were fake.

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YVES BARNIOL: (Speaking French).

CIGAINERO: Local mayor Yves Barniol announced at the opening it was the guest curator who raised the alarm about the authenticity⁸ of the paintings.

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BARNIOL: (Through translator) Following this, we nominated a commission experts who can say with enough evidence that more than half the museum's collection was fake.

CIGAINERO: Art historian and curator Eric Forcada noticed buildings that appear in some of the paintings didn't actually exist in Terrus's time. Here, Forcada is showing a copy of one of the counterfeit works.

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ERIC FORCADA: (Through interpreter) We know the belltower here, but this building, La Chambre de la Reine, was constructed in 1958. Terrus died in 1922.

CIGAINERO: The town spent an estimated $200,000 over 20 years acquiring the works, and in some cases, was easily fooled.

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FORCADA: (Through interpreter) There are several types of fakes in the collection. There are some that were taken and just signed posteriorly with Terrus's name and others that were made expressly to look like his work.

CIGAINERO: Marthe-Marie Coderc, president of the local association Friends of the Terrus Museum, has dedicated⁹ years to raising money to buy paintings for the collection.

MARTHE-MARIE CODERC: (Through translator) Maybe we were a little naive¹⁰ to not have looked closer at the origins of these paintings.

CIGAINERO: She said members feel bad because so many people donated to help bolster¹¹ the collection. The remaining 52 paintings in the museum's decimated collection have since been authenticated¹². The town has filed a formal complaint for forgery¹³ and fraud and hopes the crooks¹⁴ will be caught, but they haven't yet named the alleged¹⁵ forgers and dealers¹⁶. Police have seized the Terrus fakes and have opened an official investigation¹⁷. They say the scam could be the racket of an even-larger network. Authorities say paintings attributed to other southern France artists in museums could also be phony. These regional artists, like Pierre Brune and Balbino Giner, they say, are easier to fake than the well-known masters. Art experts estimate that at least 20 percent of paintings owned by institutions, either on display or in the vault¹⁸, could actually be the work of someone other than the purported¹⁹ artist.

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FORCADA: (Speaking French).

CIGAINERO: "As art historians, we ask ourselves how to discern real from fakes in future generations, Forcada told French TV. "The Terrus case allows us to make a first pass at cleaning up this totally corrupt²⁰ market." For NPR News, I'm Jake Cigainero in Paris.

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

3 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

6 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

7 renovation   

n.革新，整修

参考例句：

• The cinema will reopen next week after the renovation.电影院修缮后，将于下星期开业。
• The building has undergone major renovation.这座大楼已进行大整修。

8 authenticity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• There has been some debate over the authenticity of his will. 对于他的遗嘱的真实性一直有争论。
• The museum is seeking an expert opinion on the authenticity of the painting. 博物馆在请专家鉴定那幅画的真伪。

9 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

10 naive   

adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的

参考例句：

• It's naive of you to believe he'll do what he says.相信他会言行一致，你未免太单纯了。
• Don't be naive.The matter is not so simple.你别傻乎乎的。事情没有那么简单。

11 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

12 authenticated   

v.证明是真实的、可靠的或有效的( authenticate的过去式和过去分词 )；鉴定，使生效

参考例句：

• The letter has been authenticated by handwriting experts. 这封信已由笔迹专家证明是真的。
• The date of manufacture of the jewellery has not been authenticated. 这些珠宝的制造日期尚未经证实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 forgery   

n.伪造的文件等，赝品，伪造（行为）

参考例句：

• The painting was a forgery.这张画是赝品。
• He was sent to prison for forgery.他因伪造罪而被关进监狱。

14 crooks   

n.骗子( crook的名词复数 )；罪犯；弯曲部分；（牧羊人或主教用的）弯拐杖v.弯成钩形( crook的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The police are getting after the crooks in the city. 警察在城里追捕小偷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cops got the crooks. 警察捉到了那些罪犯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

16 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

17 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

18 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

19 purported   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• the scene of the purported crime 传闻中的罪案发生地点
• The film purported to represent the lives of ordinary people. 这部影片声称旨在表现普通人的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。