A workshop was discovered in Rome where counterfeit classic paintings were produced.

The police seized 71 canvases. Some of the paintings were already completed, while others were still in progress. In addition to easels, brushes, paints, and other art materials, numerous catalogs of art exhibitions were found in a house in northern Rome, which the fraudsters used to verify their forgeries. They also forged authenticity certificates for the copies they created.

The police investigation began after hundreds of paintings, whose authenticity raised doubts among experts, were discovered on websites dealing in art sales. Most of these were allegedly attributed to masters of the 19th and 20th centuries.

This is not the first instance of fraud involving fake paintings by renowned artists being uncovered globally, particularly in Italy. In November of last year, the Italian police uncovered a large network of forgers that included at least six workshops and extensive trading connections. They too forged works by top artists ranging from Van Gogh to Banksy. At that time, over 2,100 counterfeit paintings were confiscated. If sold as genuine, their total value could have reached approximately 165 million dollars.