Rome police discover a secret workshop where fake paintings imitating the styles of Pablo Picasso, Rembrandt, and other renowned artists were created and sold online.
Officers raided a house in the northern part of Rome and uncovered an illegal operation. The counterfeiting was allegedly led by an art restorer. Investigators gathered what they described as “significant evidence” linking him to the fraudulent scheme.
During the raid, police seized 71 fake paintings, some completed and others still in progress. They also found hundreds of paint tubes, brushes, stencils, and canvases in various sizes. Fraudsters had used art catalogues and forged certificates of authenticity to trick buyers into believing the works were genuine.
The investigation began after authorities identified suspicious online sales of artworks bearing the signatures of painters active in the 19th and 20th centuries. The forgers had replicated works by Mario Puccini, Giacomo Balla, and Belgian artist Anna De Weert. Police have not yet determined how long the operation had been running or how much the criminals profited from the scam.
This latest discovery follows a major crackdown just months ago. Then Italian police dismantled a Europe-wide forgery network that produced fake artworks attributed to Banksy, Andy Warhol, Gustav Klimt, and Picasso.
