"A true counterfeit artist has his own distinct personality; he is not simply a copyist or an imitator and his intention may be that of reproducing a style, and not a particular work of art". Vittorio Sgarbi

At Mart Rovereto an important exhibition focusing on Alceo Dossena (Cremona, 1878 - Roma, 1937), ‘genuine forger’ and author of a wealth of sculptural work in the style of the ancient and Renaissance masters.

Recognised in the 1900s as one of the most original and enigmatic figures of the art world, Dossena created authentic masterpieces capable of pulling the wool over even the most expert eyes, which critics attributed to Donatello, Simone Martini, Giovanni and Nino Pisano, Andrea del Verrocchio and other famous artists of the past.
He achieved results of such rare quality that his sculpted works were purchased by the largest museums in the world through antique dealers who in turn would suggest to Dossena which subjects and models might constitute the most opportune projects and provided him with materials.
Various exemplars were not simply copies of recognised artistic works, but a recreation of original models produced ex novo, and made according to the stylistic dictates and craftwork techniques of classical antiquity, of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries or of the Renaissance period. The scandal broke out in 1928, and Dossena then broke off all relations with the antique dealers and invited H.W. Parsons, an art historian and consultant of numerous American museums, to his workshop in Rome. Dossena showed him photographs that documented his production in its entirety. From that moment onwards the artist signed and attributed a date to the pieces he created, alternating the production of works in the ancient style with others in line with contemporary tastes.

The setting of the artist's atelier, immortalised in a 1929 documentary, is evoked and illustrated in an ideal fashion in the first hall of the exhibition. This is followed by a section dedicated to counterfeit artistic works dating back to periods of the 19th and 20th centuries. The key points of interest of the exhibition, which features over one hundred sculptures from private and public collections, comprise the comparative presentation of two recent 'fake’ works of art: a series of ‘heads’ that acquired a certain fame and were produced by way of protest by the sculptor Angelo Froglia and in jest by Pietro Luridiana, Pier Francesco Ferrucci and Michele Ghelarducci, the artists behind the "deception and trickery of the false heads of Modigliani (a.k.a. ‘Modì’)"; some paintings by Lino Frongia, who combines great technical skill and a surprising ability to identify with the works of the old masters.

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