Art history's greatest pranks: from Michelangelo's fake Cupid to Modigliani's forged heads

The art world has a rich history of hoaxes and practical jokes, often perpetrated by its most celebrated figures. In the Renaissance, a young Michelangelo buried a sleeping Cupid sculpture to make it appear ancient, then sold it as an antique to Cardinal Raffaele Riario. When the cardinal discovered the fraud, he demanded a refund from the dealer but was so impressed by Michelangelo's skill that he commissioned a Bacchus statue instead. In the late 18th century, Antonio Canova and patron Abbondio Rezzonico conspired to create a painting they presented as a self-portrait by Giorgione at a Roman party, fooling artists and historians. The forgery was only exposed years later at the TEFAF fair. In 1984, three students in Livorno—Michele Ghelarducci, Pietro Luridiana, and Pierfrancesco Ferrucci—fabricated stone heads they claimed were by Amedeo Modigliani, who supposedly threw sculptures into canals before moving to Paris. Renowned critics Giulio Carlo Argan and Bruno Zevi authenticated the works, sparking global headlines. The students confessed after a month and a half, revealing they made only one head; the other two were by local artist Angelo Froglia, who said his aim was to expose how media and collective persuasion shape beliefs. The incident blurred the line between hoax and performance art.