Konstantin Akinsha, a prominent curator and art historian of Russian and Ukrainian art, has identified 14 artworks in the collection of the Palazzo de Nordis museum in Cividale del Friuli, Italy, as likely forgeries. In a Substack post and interview with ARTnews, Akinsha scrutinized the De Martiis Collection, donated in 2015 by the late collector Giancarlo De Martiis, which includes works attributed to Russian and Ukrainian modernist painters. He points to suspicious provenances involving Jean Chauvelin, a disgraced French art dealer, and Boris Gribanov, a convicted forger. A specific still life attributed to Olga Rozanova (1915-17) is nearly identical to a 1999 painting by contemporary Russian artist Andrei Saratov, who confirmed he did not paint the museum's version. Elisabetta Gottardo, the municipal head of culture, acknowledged Akinsha's authority and pledged further investigation.
This matters because it exposes ongoing vulnerabilities in the authentication of Russian and Ukrainian modernist works, a market long plagued by forgeries. The case highlights how small museums, relying on donated collections with questionable documentation, can become unwitting hosts to fakes. It also underscores the role of expert scrutiny and digital platforms like Substack in holding institutions accountable. If confirmed, the forgeries could erode trust in the provenance of similar works and prompt stricter verification protocols for donations to regional museums.