The Spanish Forger, France, ca. 1900

The Spanish Forger is one of the most famous frauds in recent history. Once sold as authentic medieval paintings and miniatures, the works of the Forger (who was in all probability not Spanish but French) are now prized and collected in their own right as forgeries. His identity is unknown, although he is thought to have been active in Paris around the turn of the century. Close to 200 works by him have been identified, mostly painted on wood panels or pieces of parchment from which the medieval writing has been scraped. Such is the case here. The other side of this leaf retains the original music of a fourteenth or fifteenth century Italian antiphonary. A secular theme such as the game-playing found here would be completely out of place in a liturgical book--such incongruities are common in the Forger's work, and often give him away.

Parchment, 187 x 134 mm.