20 paintings by Amedeo Modigliani, which were presented at last year's exhibition in the Palazzo Ducale in Genoa, proved to be fakes of the artist's original works. This conclusion follows from the results of the examination, which the team of specialists conducted during the last few months, writes The Telegraph. At the same time, at least one of the fake paintings has a certificate of authenticity issued by the Italian government.

The exhibition at which these works were presented was opened in Genoa in late May. Doubts in the authenticity of the paintings expressed the collector and art expert Carlo Pepi, who saw the photos of the exhibition in social networks. At first, the organizers of the exhibition did not take Pepy's criticism seriously, calling it baseless, and even threatened to sue him - for damage to his reputation. They explained that earlier these works were exhibited in the largest museums in Europe - this is enough to not doubt their authenticity.

However, later the Italian prosecutor's office nevertheless decided to conduct an audit. The result - 20 of the 60 paintings presented at the exhibition were fakes. "I'm trying to fight the fake work of Modigliani for many years. Sometimes it seems that after his death he created much more work than during his lifetime. What we found is just the tip of the iceberg, "says Carlo Pepi.

According to him, Modigliani is one of the most frequently copied artists. This contributes to the price of his work: for example, the picture "Reclining Nude" is the second most expensive art items sold at public auctions.