The Da Vinci Con? Beijing Gallery Accused of Displaying “Fakes”

We’re always keen to let you know about opportunities to enjoy quality art, whether it’s contemporary work or celebrated classics. After all, there’s more to life than smartphones and shopping malls. So an exhibition of work by Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci and his circle should be a definite recommendation. Only 17 works worldwide are confidently attributed to the hand of Leonardo, and to have two of them in Beijing would be a real coup.

But there’s a catch. The exhibition, at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) until Dec 8, has been accused of presenting fakes. While I did once write a piece describing a work by a CAFA professor as “the worst painting in the world ever", before you accuse us of cultural snobbery, note that that these claims have come from Chinese art experts, and have been reported by state publications China Daily and Global Times.

At the heart of the controversy is Nicola Barbatelli, director of the Museo delle Antiche Genti di Lucania, who claimed to have discovered a lost Leonardo self-portrait, known as the “Lucan Portrait”. Who painted it and whom it represents are still hotly debated in the art world, though supporters point to fingerprint evidence and what may be Leonardo’s writing on the back. The other work exhibited is of Mary Magdalene, and is generally accepted to be the work of Leonardo and one of his students.

However, You Yong, an influential art blogger, took to Weibo to blast the quality and authenticity of the other works on display.

“This exhibition is a blatant mockery of Da Vinci, his times, and the general public. The showpieces fail to convincingly support the theme, and they are a revelry of fake paintings and imitations,” he said.

The response from CAFA was measured and careful.

“Controversies surrounding epic paintings are not rare in the world. For example, industry insiders are still bickering about who is the real painter of the Song Dynasty landscape scroll, A Thousand Lis of Mountains and Rivers,” Zhang Zikang, director of the CAFA Art Museum, told China Daily. “In recent years, studies on Da Vinci in Italy and other places in the world have been revolving around his great artistic genius. However, after I viewed the exhibition, what impressed me was that Da Vinci is a great artist, but not a great teacher, as his paintings are far better than his students’. This discovery affords modern education a salutary lesson,” Zhang commented.

If you want to judge for yourself, then admission to the gallery is a very reasonable RMB 15 (RMB 10 concessions), children under 120cm are free, and there are several other exhibitions currently on display.

Leonardo and His Outstanding Circle, till Dec 8
All ages. RMB 15 (RMB 10 concessions, free under 120cm). Tuesday-Sunday, 9.30am-5.30pm (last ticket sale 5pm). CAFA Art Museum. No. 8 Hua Jia Di Nan Street, Chaoyang District. (6477 1575) www.cafamuseum.org/en 
朝阳区花家地南街8号.

READ: Fun Day Trips to Make the Most of the October Holiday in Beijing

Photos: Nico Barbatelli via Wikimedia Commons, chinadaily.com.cn