Forged Masterpieces: The True Copy BERLIN Show on Geert Jan Jansen

The story of Geert Jan Jansen, the Dutch forger who created 1,600 fake artworks by Picasso, Miró, Dufy, and Appel, is the subject of the performance 'True Copy BERLIN' by Belgian company BERLIN. The show runs October 3–4 at Teatro Vascello in Rome as part of the Romaeuropa Festival 2025. Jansen, born in Waalre in 1943, studied art history and befriended American art dealer Michel Podulke of Mokum Gallery in Amsterdam. After his own gallery failed, he began signing Appel lithographs as originals. He later painted an Appel that sold for a high price, then sent another to a London auction house; a photo sent to Appel was declared authentic. Jansen produced about 100 works sold as genuine by galleries. He then assumed the identity of Jan van den Bergen, an art dealer from Orléans. In 1994, he presented a Chagall drawing, an Asger Jorn tempera, and an Appel painting at Karl & Faber auction house in Munich. Expert Sue Cubitt noticed a printing error on the Chagall certificate; the Chagall archive declared it fake. Cubitt withdrew all works, and police in Stuttgart traced other paintings by the same artists offered by Van den Bergen. His address was false—a wine bottle company. Police raided a farm near Poitiers, France, seizing 1,600 forgeries and arresting Jansen and an accomplice. The performance raises questions about authenticity in the art market. Jansen claims 20–40% of museum works may be forgeries.