SERBIA: Controversial exhibition by Professor Daniel Ermes Donde opens in Belgrade

Record ID: 785177

  • Title: SERBIA: Controversial exhibition by Professor Daniel Ermes Donde opens in Belgrade
  • Date: 17th November 2006
  • Summary: WIDE SHOT OF THE EXHIBITION
  • Embargoed: 2nd December 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Serbia
  • Country: Serbia
  • Reuters ID: LVADEIJ6JM0X6A61PWL8ALIR9PD7
  • Story Text: An exhibition of Professor Daniel Ermes Donde, one of the greatest legal forgers in the arts was opened at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Belgrade.
    The exhibition titled VIP Collection includes copies of Van Gogh's paintings, those by Klimt, Renoir and Degas.
    Professor Daniele Ermes Donde has become well known throughout Europe and the U.S. for pioneering a new trend in the art market: Faux-Art, demanding the legislation of forgeries with certificates.
    By exhibiting his Faux-Art, Donde founded an association of master forgers called Le Musee Imaginaire in 1986.
    "I have created a new movement in art which hasn't existed before. Fabricators did not exist in art, they were people working from the shadow. So I had this brilliant idea that I've decided to use. I have created a legal movement for an illegal thing, which I think is the greatest idea in the world. I have given a killer a permission to kill. I have given a fabricator the license to fabricate. In my opinion one of the greatest ideas," said Donde.
    Donde has received numerous honourary doctorates and professorships over his career.
    His clients range from captains of industry to sports and showbiz celebrities.
    The often asked questions regarding Faux-Art include whether it makes sense to use the terms genuine in association with it. Or, if the reputation of the Faux-Artist is limited to a closed circle of people, guaranteed only so long as the Faux-Art remains undetected. Such dilemmas add a touch of controversy to Donde's work, and precisely these sorts of questions surface wherever he exhibits his collections.
    Belgraders did not seem to have a problem with the fact that they were not looking at originals but copies of well-known, and expensive paintings.
    "Why not? This is part of the learning process. That is how kids start, by copying somebody and every time they learn something new. It is actually beneficial for everybody," a man at the exhibition said.
    Milica Vukosavljevic, another Belgrader visiting the exhibition said that Donde is not lying to anyone.
    "He (Donde) openly says what it is - a copy. He is not cheating or lying to anyone."
    All of the forged paintings exhibited in Belgrade may be purchased at reasonable prices of 1,000 to 2,000 EUR (1280 to 2560 USD.)
    A certificate is supplied with each work, and the Faux-Artists signature can be found on the back of the painting.
    The painter said his intention is to enable those who don't have the money to buy originals to still enjoy them.
    "My message is enough with expensive art affordable only to billionaires. I bring the art to everyone and not only the rich ones. Enough with such prices, lets bring art to everybody's homes," Donde said.
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