Art and Archaeological Fakes on Display: Forty Years of Temporary Exhibitions (1915-1955)

Abstract

Since the second decade of the 20 th century, ephemeral exhibitions on art and archaeological fakes and reproductions have appeared in museums, galleries and research institutes in Europe and America. Aiming to educate collectors and curators, to denounce and raise public awareness of the fraud, and eventually to disseminate the value of fakes as historical documents, these exhibitions are something of a litmus test for the perception of, and critic on, this phenomenon over time. Drawing upon an anthology of paramount exhibitions held during the first half of the century, this research provides an insight on display strategies, as well as the patterns, reasons and purposes for exposing fakes and reproductions, tracing back both commonalities, differences and changes over time. Dal secondo decennio del ventesimo secolo, mostre temporanee su falsi e riproduzioni d’arte e archeologia sonoapparse in musei, gallerie e istituti di ricerca in Europa e in America. Con l’obiettivo di educare collezionisti e curatori, didenunciare e sensibilizzare l’opinione pubblica sui falsi e, infine, di diffondere il valore dei falsi come documenti storici,queste mostre rappresentano una sorta di cartina di tornasole per la percezione e la critica di questo fenomeno nel tempo.Basandosi su un’antologia di mostre importanti realizzate nella prima meta del secolo, questa ricerca fornisce unapanoramica sulle strategie espositive, nonche sui modelli, le ragioni e gli scopi dell’esporre falsi e riproduzioni, descrivendo sia i punti in comune, sia le differenze e i cambiamenti nel tempo.