A Modern Imitator of Early Netherlandish Painting in Spain: The Valls Marín Forger

Abstract

The Valls Marín Forger may be considered as one of the most successful forgers of early Netherlandish paintings, as a kind of Iberic Joseph Van der Veken. He seems to have worked during the first half of the 20^th century, principally for the Spanish art market. He succeeded in selling paintings created with his own hands as genuine Flemish works to well-known Spanish collectors, such as the editor José Lázaro Galdiano, the physician Carmelo Valls Marín and the art historian José Camón Aznar. His main sources were probably photographs of paintings by Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden and Hans Memling but he could also have used German works as models. Like many forgers of his time, he worked as a restorer. Sometimes, he went beyond the mere restoration of an old painting and sought to increase its market value by adding faces and architectural details in the style of the Flemish Primitives. One of his most spectacular ‘hyperrestorations’ concerns a panel with the Presentation to the Temple by the Aragonese Master of Sijena (beginning of 16^th century), which he tried to turn into a painting in the style of Memling.