German museum discovers prized Monet is a fake

0 Comments | AFP, February, 2008

BERLIN (AFP) — A German museum said on Thursday it had discovered that its prized Monet painting "The Seine at Port Villez" is a fake.

A spokesman for the Wallraf-Richartz Museum and Foundation Corboud in Cologne in western Germany said a research project carried out as part of an upcoming exhibition revealed that the work was not painted by the Impressionist master.

"Our restoration department examined some 70 paintings with X-rays, with infrared technology and paint tests to deconstruct and explain the painters' techniques for an exhibition starting in two weeks," Stefan Swertz told AFP.

"There were several things that made us take a closer look at 'The Seine at Port Villez' and we have absolutely no doubt that it was not painted by Monet," he said....