Edouard MANET
1832–1883, France
Also known as: EM
Watercolor/mixed media, motif: bullfighter, 11,3 x6 cm, (23x17 cm incl. Frame). The painting was seized in a small auction house in Stockholm, May 2008. The painting had been submitted by the Swedish Pawn shop in Malmo, loan worth 73,000 SEK .. It had pledged by a private person . At the hearing he stated that he has bought the painting from an art dealer in Stockholm and that he has a certificate of authenticity from "Manet Foundation", and that on the back is a number that shows that it has previously been sold by Christie's . He has also submitted it to the auction house Sotheby's in London in 2004, estimated price: 20,000 to 30,000 GBP but for some unknown reason he Took the painting back to Sweden. He states further that he is self-taught art expert since many years and he is now a partner in an antique shop in Malmö, Sweden. Technical examination of the National Museum in Stockholm, was performed with microscope and infrared light, revealed that the painting's original signature, which is not Edouard Manet's, has been manipulated by partially being scraped away. A supplement with new ink has made the signature similar to Edouard Manet's. The district court's decision. Signature forgery and aggravated fraud. The painting has not been performed by Edouard Manet, nor signed by him.