The allegedly forged Venus attributed to Lucas Cranach the Elder
The Italian Carabinieri have arrested one of the most notorious Old Masters forgers in the world. Pasquale Frongia is allegedly one of the most important members of an Old Masters forgery ring put together by art dealer Giuliano Ruffini. Authorities suspect Ruffini of having had a hand in art forgery for about three decades, having sold Old Masters forgeries to many of the world's top museums and galleries. Ruffini, his son Mathieu, and Frongia allegedly made about $220 million from selling Old Master forgeries across Europe and the United States, passing them off as originals by Parmigianino, Frans Hals, and El Greco, among others. Most notably, he is alleged to have sold a forged Venus painting that he passed off as being by Lucas Cranach the Elder. In a matter of months, the forged Cranach made its way to the Colnaghi Gallery and eventually to the private collection of the Prince of Liechtenstein. This caused a bit of a scandal when French authorities confiscated the Prince’s Cranach as part of the investigation. Ruffini himself was arrested last November on charges of fraud and money laundering. He is currently under house arrest awaiting trial.
Frongia was arrested previously in relation to the Ruffini ring in 2019. French authorities have investigated the Ruffinis since 2014 and issued arrest warrants for Ruffini and Frongia. However, a court in Bologna declined to extradite them because, to them, the charges were inconsistent. One of the main pieces of evidence connecting Frongia to the Ruffinis is a series of money transfers Frongia received from Mathieu Ruffini, including one for about $740,000 from a UBS Swiss bank account. Despite Mathieu claiming not to know anything about his father’s business, Frongia claims that this money was payment for restoration work he did on behalf of Ruffini. Mathieu was arrested along with his father but is now out on bail. Giuliano Ruffini has disputed the forensic evidence that investigators used to prove the paintings he sold are modern forgeries.