ACCLAIMED South African artist Father Frans Claerhout is causing a furore in
art circles after revealing to a Sunday newspaper that hundreds of his
paintings are forgeries.
The 83-year-old Belgian-born artist, of Tweespruit in Bloemfontein, told the
Rapport newspaper that forgeries were printed and sold as originals
by a Bloemfontein art dealer.
Cecile Loedolff, vice-president of the Association of Art in Pretoria and
Absa bank’s art manager, said their gallery had two Claerhout paintings that
were purchased in the 70s.
”We decided long ago not to buy his paintings … Rumours of this nature
have been around for a long time. I don’t touch a Claerhout,” she said on
Sunday.
”I find it very strange that nobody became suspicious earlier. In the last
few years Claerhouts have been issued at the speed of white light.
Claerhout never dates his paintings and that could be one of the reasons why
the fraud was not spotted earlier, she said.
”It’s really a pity that it took him such a long time to go public. He’s not
going to sell his works that easily anymore.”
She said his earlier works were ”beautiful” but the later paintings became
formulaic.
”It does not have any investment value for a corporate company.”
Marilyn Martin, director of art collections for Iziko Museums in Cape Town,
said the SA National Gallery bought two Claerhouts in the 60s.
Martin said she doubted whether the latest revelations would influence the
value of his original works: ”Artwork should have their intrinsic value.”
She said owners of his work should take their investments to an art expert
or auctioneer, or even Claerhout himself, to authenticate them.
”My personal perspective is that when you buy art, you buy for yourself
because you like it and you enjoy it. But obviously it’s not a nice feeling
if you know you were cheated.”
Asked whether she did not find it suspicious that so many Claerhouts were in
circulation, Martin replied: ”We were not aware of the number of Claerhouts
on the market, and you know, some artists are very prolific.”
Antiques and arts specialist Stephen Welz said art lovers would probably not
be able to spot the difference between a fake and an original.
Claerhout — according to Welz — has been painting for the past 50 or 60
years, but according to the newspaper report the forgeries have only been in
circulation for about three years.
”A period of uncertainty about his paintings might follow with people
staying away from his work, but things will sort themselves out again. Now
might well be the time to buy an original,” he said.
Claerhout admitted in a newspaper interview on Sunday that the Bloemfontain
art dealer, someone he has reportedly known for 45 years, had been
falsifying his works.
”[She] confessed to me. This has been going on for years. Hundreds of my
works have been falsified,” he reportedly told the newspaper.
He was unable to explain why he had not disclosed the information earlier.
Neither Claerhout nor his art dealer could be reached for comment on Sunday.
Free State police representative Superintendent Annelie van der Bank said
she had no knowledge of any police investigations into the alleged fraud.
The West Rand police in Gauteng, however, confirmed that a docket had been
opened in Johannesburg where an apparently fake painting was bought.
Superintendent Milica Bezuidenthout said details on the case were still
sketchy.
Claerhout was born in Belgium in 1919 and came to South Africa as a Catholic
missionary in 1946 after completing his studies in priesthood. He leads a
solitary life at a Roman Catholic convent outside Tweespruit in the Free
State. He has always been beloved for leading a simple life and donating
most of his earnings to the church and local community. – Sapa