0:00:03 > 0:00:07The art world...where paintings change hands for fortunes.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09Selling at $95 million.
0:00:09 > 0:00:10But for every known masterpiece,
0:00:10 > 0:00:13there may be another still waiting to be discovered.
0:00:13 > 0:00:14That's it. That's it, isn't it?
0:00:14 > 0:00:17That is it. That is our painting.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21International art dealer Philip Mould and I have teamed up
0:00:21 > 0:00:23to hunt for lost works by great artists.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25We use old-fashioned detective work
0:00:25 > 0:00:28and state-of-the-art science to get to the truth.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32Science can enable us to see beyond the human eye.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35Da-dah! Oh, wow!
0:00:35 > 0:00:38The problem is, not every painting is quite what it seems.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40You successfully faked Lowrys
0:00:40 > 0:00:43even while you were at school, didn't you? Yes.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45It's a journey that can end in joy...
0:00:45 > 0:00:48Oh! Isn't that great? It's wonderful.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50..or bitter disappointment.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53I can't cope with this roller-coaster.
0:00:53 > 0:00:54What a nightmare.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01In this episode, we're on the trail of a work of art believed to be
0:01:01 > 0:01:05by arguably the world's most famous sculptor,
0:01:05 > 0:01:07Auguste Rodin.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11Could the man who created The Kiss and The Thinker
0:01:11 > 0:01:15also have given us this enchanting sketch of a woman dancing?
0:01:16 > 0:01:20The more time I spend with this drawing, the more I like it.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Our quest to find out the truth about a cherished possession
0:01:25 > 0:01:27leads to Paris
0:01:27 > 0:01:31and the little-known story of the sculptor's last great passion.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34I just didn't realise there was so much behind the scenes.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36I'm absolutely gobsmacked.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40It's an investigation that plunges us into a forgery scandal
0:01:40 > 0:01:43that has stunned the art world.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48Imagine, fakes at the heart of the French art establishment.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53The latest forensic techniques could help make our case.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58They say that one's stroke is like one's fingerprints.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01But the final decision rests on the opinion of an expert
0:02:01 > 0:02:03with a keen eye for an impostor.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12What's for sure is that,
0:02:12 > 0:02:16whatever the outcome, this is a very close call.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30Of all the requests for help we receive
0:02:30 > 0:02:32from Fake Or Fortune viewers,
0:02:32 > 0:02:36it's the ones that mention big names that really get our pulses racing,
0:02:36 > 0:02:40like Picasso, Monet or van Gogh.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43And one concerning a particularly captivating picture
0:02:43 > 0:02:47'by another giant of the art world has caught Philip's eye.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50'So I'm on my way to meet him at the gallery, to find out more.'
0:02:50 > 0:02:52Hi, Philip. What have you got?
0:02:52 > 0:02:55There's one that really intrigues me.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59A drawing by the great sculptor Auguste Rodin.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03When I was a student in Paris, I used to go to the Musee Rodin a lot,
0:03:03 > 0:03:06because I loved being around his sculptures, particularly The Kiss.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08And I would sort of hang around in front of it
0:03:08 > 0:03:10trying to think French intellectual thoughts.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13Did you ever get round to doing any real work at university?
0:03:13 > 0:03:14No, not a lot.
0:03:14 > 0:03:19But this is intriguing, because it's a drawing by Auguste Rodin.
0:03:19 > 0:03:20Have a read of this.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22"When my mother died in 2010,
0:03:22 > 0:03:26"I inherited a watercolour that she always insisted was a Rodin
0:03:26 > 0:03:28"of a Cambodian dancer,
0:03:28 > 0:03:32"given to her as a thank you when my parents lived in Mexico."
0:03:32 > 0:03:33Intriguing.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36"Knowing my mother, and her artistic life in Mexico,
0:03:36 > 0:03:38"I believe it to be a genuine Rodin.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41"Can you help?" Now, that's all very interesting,
0:03:41 > 0:03:45but actually it has nothing in there in the way of firm provenance.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47No, but there's a lot to play for,
0:03:47 > 0:03:51because anything by the great sculptor is interesting
0:03:51 > 0:03:54and to get a drawing or watercolour by him,
0:03:54 > 0:03:55that's a prize worth having.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59Born in Paris in 1840,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02Auguste Rodin worked as an ornamental craftsman,
0:04:02 > 0:04:06until his genius for sculpture began to be recognised.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10By the 1880s, his daring, unconventional approach
0:04:10 > 0:04:12established his reputation
0:04:12 > 0:04:15as the most famous sculptor of the modern era.
0:04:15 > 0:04:21His most influential creations included The Kiss, The Thinker
0:04:21 > 0:04:25and, in the heart of Westminster, The Burghers Of Calais.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29What defines much of Rodin's sculpture
0:04:29 > 0:04:34is his extraordinary ability to impart human movement and gesture
0:04:34 > 0:04:36in a single, dramatic moment.
0:04:38 > 0:04:43And this artistic style characterises his drawings, too.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48He was also a prolific draughtsman,
0:04:48 > 0:04:51making over 10,000 sketches and watercolours,
0:04:51 > 0:04:55including a series of a troupe of dancers from Cambodia,
0:04:55 > 0:04:59who toured Europe at the turn of the 20th century.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02Today, these vibrant images of Cambodian dancers
0:05:02 > 0:05:07are highly prized by collectors and rarely come on the market.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09So, we're eager to find out more
0:05:09 > 0:05:12about a potentially exciting discovery.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18Owner Alice Thoday has offered to bring her picture
0:05:18 > 0:05:20to the gallery, for examination.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24Although she now lives in Lincolnshire,
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Alice was born in Mexico, to Belgian parents.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31When we see the drawing in the flesh,
0:05:31 > 0:05:33will it stand up to close scrutiny?
0:05:34 > 0:05:36On first inspection of this,
0:05:36 > 0:05:39I think there are characteristics of the drawing
0:05:39 > 0:05:41that look rather encouraging.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43She looks like a Cambodian dancer
0:05:43 > 0:05:46and, if it is by Auguste Rodin,
0:05:46 > 0:05:50we know that he did about 150 drawings of them.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Alice believes her picture was given to her mother,
0:05:54 > 0:05:57while they were living in Mexico in the 1940s.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59So, take us back, then, Alice.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01In the letter you sent us,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04this belonged to your mother and she was given it.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07She was given it when she and my father lived in Mexico.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11My mother had been an artist in Belgium.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15And somebody that worked with my father
0:06:15 > 0:06:17owned or part-owned a restaurant called,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20my mother thought, La Vie Parisienne.
0:06:20 > 0:06:25And he asked her to paint some scenes of French life on these...
0:06:25 > 0:06:27I think they were freestanding pillars.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30And this was in a restaurant in Mexico? In Mexico City, yes.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34And so she did that, and as a thank you, he then gave her the Rodin.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Where he got it from, I don't know.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38And what was the name of this chap?
0:06:38 > 0:06:40Somebody called Jimmy Heineman.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44I mean, that would be an incredible payment,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47for painting a restaurant. With the greatest respect to your mother,
0:06:47 > 0:06:51who I'm sure was brilliant, but nonetheless, to be given a Rodin.
0:06:51 > 0:06:52Yes.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54Since Alice was a child,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57her mother has always taken great care of the drawing.
0:06:57 > 0:06:58It clearly meant a lot to her.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02She said, obviously, with watercolours,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05they're very prone to being damaged by light.
0:07:05 > 0:07:06By sunlight, especially.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09So she always made sure, in the afternoon, when the sun came in,
0:07:09 > 0:07:12the curtains would be drawn, so that it was in the shade.
0:07:12 > 0:07:13I was going to say,
0:07:13 > 0:07:16that's what's quite encouraging about this drawing.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19At first glance, the colours are still there.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24And in the corner of the picture, there's a signature,
0:07:24 > 0:07:28which appears to read "A Rodin".
0:07:28 > 0:07:30If Alice's picture is genuine,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33then it could be worth a considerable sum.
0:07:34 > 0:07:35I mean, I can imagine a lot of collectors
0:07:35 > 0:07:37wanting to get hold of this.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41Really? I mean, it's a very attractive image.
0:07:41 > 0:07:42Valuing it now is a little bit difficult,
0:07:42 > 0:07:46but I know something not dissimilar at auction recently
0:07:46 > 0:07:48made about ?110,000.
0:07:48 > 0:07:49Really?
0:07:49 > 0:07:53And what's your intention, if we do prove that it is a Rodin?
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Do you want to sell it? I don't know.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59It would almost be nice for it to be appreciated
0:07:59 > 0:08:03by more than just me and my cats, if you see what I mean!
0:08:03 > 0:08:05And if we discovered it to be a fake, how would you feel about it?
0:08:05 > 0:08:08I would still love it, because I just think it's beautiful.
0:08:08 > 0:08:09You know, even if it's a fake.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12Whoever did it did a really good job.
0:08:12 > 0:08:13Well, we'll give it a go.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15I mean, I think it's an exciting-looking thing.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18I think we've got everything to play for here.
0:08:19 > 0:08:20And with Alice's blessing,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23I'm keen to take a closer look at the picture
0:08:23 > 0:08:26to get a better feel for its age and its quality.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29The more time I spend with this drawing,
0:08:29 > 0:08:32the more I'm getting to like it.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36I like the way that the artist has managed
0:08:36 > 0:08:40to capture genuine movement.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43These hoops of thought -
0:08:43 > 0:08:46it's not just from one angle, it's from another angle.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Although we know Rodin best as a sculptor,
0:08:49 > 0:08:53he was an equally accomplished artist on paper.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Whether he was shaping a model in clay
0:08:55 > 0:08:58or using a pencil to capture a dancer in mid-flow,
0:08:58 > 0:09:00his intention was the same -
0:09:00 > 0:09:04to record the essence of movement.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07And we know Rodin said that sculpture is just drawing
0:09:07 > 0:09:11in all its dimensions. In other words, a three-dimensional drawing.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15So, in order to get a greater feel for this,
0:09:15 > 0:09:17we have to get to the drawing itself.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23The backboard is now...
0:09:23 > 0:09:29is now removed from the main frame and I can take it out,
0:09:29 > 0:09:31and now to get a look for the first time
0:09:31 > 0:09:33for probably a very long time.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36It's hinged.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40It's certainly got an appearance of age.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46I can easily see this being a century old, possibly more.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51This swiftly executed drawing is made up of only a few lines
0:09:51 > 0:09:54and a splash of watercolour on paper,
0:09:54 > 0:09:59but replicating it might prove very tempting to a faker.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02If you look at the painted areas,
0:10:02 > 0:10:05particularly at the top of her dress,
0:10:05 > 0:10:10around her cleavage, you can see that the watercolour has separated.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15In that way that it does when you have too much water.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17And it's added a sort of
0:10:17 > 0:10:22feeling of texture, feeling of character, to the drawing.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27The distinctive use of a deftly confident wash of colour
0:10:27 > 0:10:29is an encouraging clue.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32But is this from the brush of Rodin?
0:10:32 > 0:10:35Or has a forger simply tried to fabricate his technique?
0:10:39 > 0:10:42And to establish whether Alice's picture is genuine,
0:10:42 > 0:10:46we need to call in our specialist researcher on provenance,
0:10:46 > 0:10:50Dr Bendor Grosvenor, to investigate the history of the drawing.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56Can he find any evidence that it belongs to the genuine series
0:10:56 > 0:10:59of Cambodian dancers by Rodin himself?
0:11:01 > 0:11:04It's thought that Rodin made about 150 drawings of Cambodian dancers
0:11:04 > 0:11:09and we know 120 are already in the Musee Rodin in Paris.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12I've had a check in other major museums of the world
0:11:12 > 0:11:14and found 21 authentic works,
0:11:14 > 0:11:17which potentially leaves fewer than ten in private hands.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20In other words, if Alice's picture really is genuine,
0:11:20 > 0:11:22then it's an extremely rare thing indeed.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Now, early provenance is always extremely useful
0:11:25 > 0:11:28when we are trying to establish the authenticity of pictures like this,
0:11:28 > 0:11:30so one of the first things we need to do
0:11:30 > 0:11:32is have a look in the early sale records
0:11:32 > 0:11:35and exhibition history of Rodin's drawings
0:11:35 > 0:11:37and see if we can find anything at all
0:11:37 > 0:11:40that might be a match for Alice's picture.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43'So I'm going to look in the online records
0:11:43 > 0:11:45'of some of the leading galleries in Paris,
0:11:45 > 0:11:47'for any sales of Cambodian dancers.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52'And I think I might have spotted a potentially significant lead.'
0:11:53 > 0:11:58The very first exhibition of Rodin's drawings was in Paris in 1907,
0:11:58 > 0:12:02at the well-established art dealership called Bernheim Jeune.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04And I'm hoping that, for such a major place,
0:12:04 > 0:12:06they would have produced a catalogue,
0:12:06 > 0:12:08so, if they did, we need to find it.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11'Typically, any art sales catalogues
0:12:11 > 0:12:14'would contain descriptions and images of the pictures.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18'So, it's vital I find one of these catalogues,
0:12:18 > 0:12:20'to see if we can spot Alice's drawing.'
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Rather helpfully, there's a catalogue online here.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27Dessins de Rodin, October 1907, Paris,
0:12:27 > 0:12:29chez Monsieur Bernheim Jeune.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31Here we go. Right, number eight.
0:12:31 > 0:12:32Cambodgienne.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34Number 14, Cambodgienne, number...
0:12:34 > 0:12:37Oh, dear, there's 156 drawings listed here,
0:12:37 > 0:12:41and I can see dozens and dozens of things just called "Cambodgienne".
0:12:41 > 0:12:46I'm afraid this is a rather useless list, from our point of view,
0:12:46 > 0:12:48because there's absolutely no description here at all,
0:12:48 > 0:12:50it's not illustrated. In other words,
0:12:50 > 0:12:53there's nothing that we can firmly link to Alice's picture.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57This is a significant setback.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59This means we can't know which, if any,
0:12:59 > 0:13:02of the pictures in the sale are Alice's.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07And it is now extremely difficult to build any kind of paper trail.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16To find out more about the origins of the picture,
0:13:16 > 0:13:20I'm on my way to Lincolnshire, to visit Alice at her home.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23She's offered to show me some of the mementos she has
0:13:23 > 0:13:25from the time her family spent in Mexico,
0:13:25 > 0:13:27when her mother was given the drawing.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31Could there be a fresh lead among the family photos
0:13:31 > 0:13:32and cherished possessions?
0:13:34 > 0:13:37Alice, I want to find out more about your mother, first of all.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40This is her, I see. Yes, this is on their wedding day.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44What a beauty she was. My goodness.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46This was taken in Belgium,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49and that is my mother and her identical twin sister,
0:13:49 > 0:13:53and they both studied art at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Brussels.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58Alice's mother, Suzanne Daco,
0:13:58 > 0:14:01married her father, Paul Genachte, in 1939.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04They then moved to Mexico City,
0:14:04 > 0:14:07where they joined a vibrant expat community.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11While Paul worked for a local power company,
0:14:11 > 0:14:14Suzanne continued her artistic interests.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17Is this something she did as a profession, then?
0:14:17 > 0:14:19Basically, it was a hobby for her.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22She didn't have a job, as such. She was just an artist.
0:14:22 > 0:14:23Is this in Mexico?
0:14:23 > 0:14:25That's when I was born, yes,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28so that's my mother showing me to my sister.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30My sister was four years older.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32And what about the work your mum did?
0:14:32 > 0:14:34This, I'm assuming, is one of hers, is it?
0:14:34 > 0:14:36Yes, that's one of hers. This woodcut.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38Suzanne Daco.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40Yes, D-A-C-O.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42Well, she clearly had talent, didn't she?
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Yes. Did she exhibit at all, do you know?
0:14:45 > 0:14:47She did do a one-woman show.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49There's an article in this magazine.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51In this? In Hoy.
0:14:51 > 0:14:52"Today" in Spanish.
0:14:52 > 0:14:53One of the top magazines
0:14:53 > 0:14:56across the whole of the South American continent.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58If you were going to compare it to something now,
0:14:58 > 0:15:01it's not quite Time magazine, but it's not far off.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03Yes.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05Look at this, there's a whole page on her in here.
0:15:05 > 0:15:06"Exposicion Daco."
0:15:06 > 0:15:08So, Daco Exhibition.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13This sheds new light on Alice's mother in Mexico.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16She established herself as an artist of high calibre
0:15:16 > 0:15:18and significant reputation.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22Could this explain why Jimmy Heineman,
0:15:22 > 0:15:24a colleague of Alice's father,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27would have given her a valuable Rodin drawing,
0:15:27 > 0:15:31in return for her work at the restaurant La Vie Parisienne?
0:15:33 > 0:15:35We've got a number of options, haven't we?
0:15:35 > 0:15:37Either Heineman gave it to your mother
0:15:37 > 0:15:39because he knew she was an artist
0:15:39 > 0:15:42and she was the kind of woman who would appreciate it.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45Yes. Or it's not a genuine Rodin.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Oh, I do think it is.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49And so he just gave it to her as a lovely drawing
0:15:49 > 0:15:52and the family folklore has become that it's a Rodin.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Whichever of those options it is, the answer is in there somewhere.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59Yes. And where we need to look first is at Jimmy Heineman
0:15:59 > 0:16:00and find out more about him,
0:16:00 > 0:16:02because at the moment, he is the big mystery.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10I've learned something potentially very significant today.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13Alice's mother was clearly a much more serious artist
0:16:13 > 0:16:14than it first appeared.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18She had at least one exhibition - I would assume more than one -
0:16:18 > 0:16:20and was an artist of some renown.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24But who was Jimmy Heineman? I haven't learned much about him.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27And he is the key to unlocking this mystery.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31Encouraged by what I've discovered at Alice's house,
0:16:31 > 0:16:34I'm heading back, to catch up with Bendor and Philip,
0:16:34 > 0:16:37who thinks he's discovered some significant stylistic similarities
0:16:37 > 0:16:41between Alice's drawing and one of Rodin's most famous works.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46The more I think about it,
0:16:46 > 0:16:50there's a real chance that we can connect Alice's drawing to Rodin,
0:16:50 > 0:16:52to the great artist himself.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54And it may not be obvious,
0:16:54 > 0:16:58but I can see a real link between Alice's drawing, a watercolour,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01and one of the great works by Rodin, The Thinker.
0:17:01 > 0:17:06You see, they both have that single idea of crystallising a gesture
0:17:06 > 0:17:11in an original and dynamic way, in order to say more about the subject,
0:17:11 > 0:17:15about the happening. In the case of the drawing, it's about dance,
0:17:15 > 0:17:17it's about whirling movement.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20In the case of The Thinker, of course, it's about contemplation.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22It's about thought.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24The thing that's worried me from the beginning,
0:17:24 > 0:17:26I have to admit, is the idea that
0:17:26 > 0:17:28Alice's mother would be given a genuine Rodin
0:17:28 > 0:17:31as a casual gift, in return for, you know,
0:17:31 > 0:17:33doing a bit of painting in a restaurant.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35It doesn't feel quite right to me.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38We have to be careful with Rodin, because he was massively faked,
0:17:38 > 0:17:41not just his drawings, but his sculptures, as well.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45Rodin's drawings were faked almost as soon as he was dead.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47Here's one which is by Odilon Roche,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50who was a contemporary of Rodin's and an amateur artist.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52And he was getting fake Rodin drawings
0:17:52 > 0:17:54into really quite well-respected exhibitions
0:17:54 > 0:17:57just months after Rodin died.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Roche's drawings were stamped with a little gallery stamp, OR,
0:18:00 > 0:18:01at the bottom right-hand corner.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03And actually, for years afterwards,
0:18:03 > 0:18:05that stamp was taken as a sign of authenticity,
0:18:05 > 0:18:08even though they were on fake drawings.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12Although one of the earliest-known fakers of Rodin's work,
0:18:12 > 0:18:16Odilon Roche concentrated on forging a different aspect
0:18:16 > 0:18:18of the French artist's output.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21His studies of nudes.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24So, I believe, as far as Alice's picture is concerned,
0:18:24 > 0:18:27we can rule out Roche as a suspect.
0:18:27 > 0:18:32But we need to be very wary of other fakers who specialised in drawings
0:18:32 > 0:18:34of the Cambodian dancers.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38I mean, it just shows what paramount importance it is to actually get
0:18:38 > 0:18:41a provenance for this, to link this drawing,
0:18:41 > 0:18:44to link Alice's mother, back to Rodin.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47Well, key also is finding out who was Jimmy Heineman?
0:18:47 > 0:18:49The man who, as far as Alice is concerned,
0:18:49 > 0:18:51gave the drawing to her mother.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53And I came across this photograph of Jimmy Heineman.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56There he is with his wife in the 1940s, in Mexico.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59So, it places him certainly, at least, in the right country.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01And he was a very successful
0:19:01 > 0:19:04and very influential businessman in Mexico City.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08So, is he the kind of man who could have afforded a Rodin?
0:19:08 > 0:19:10I would say yes. And I've done a bit of work,
0:19:10 > 0:19:12trying to find out more about the restaurant,
0:19:12 > 0:19:14La Vie Parisienne, and of all things,
0:19:14 > 0:19:17I've found a reference to it in a novel by Jack Kerouac,
0:19:17 > 0:19:19the famous beat author.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22And he writes, "La Vie Parisienne, I picture it,
0:19:22 > 0:19:24"a restaurant in Mexico City.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27"I go in, order a good white Bordeaux and a filet mignon.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31"For dessert, pastries and strong coffee and a cigar."
0:19:31 > 0:19:35Lovely. Well, I think I can very conveniently confirm the restaurant
0:19:35 > 0:19:37did a good line in steaks, because I've got a menu here.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41Wow! Have a look at that, see if anything grabs your fancy.
0:19:41 > 0:19:42I like the artistic front cover.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46And in fact, it seems that this was quite an artistic restaurant,
0:19:46 > 0:19:49because we've got an advert here from an exhibition they put on
0:19:49 > 0:19:53of the leading Mexican artist Maria Izquierdo.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55It's a very romantic thought, isn't it?
0:19:55 > 0:19:58This bubble of artistic chic in Mexico.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01And could it be that, in that milieu,
0:20:01 > 0:20:06this drawing passed from one pair of hands to another?
0:20:09 > 0:20:13To gather vital information for the investigation, we've come to Paris,
0:20:13 > 0:20:17where there is a museum dedicated entirely to Auguste Rodin.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22Could Alice's picture be part of one of his most
0:20:22 > 0:20:27remarkable sequences of work? It was here in Paris, in 1906,
0:20:27 > 0:20:30that Rodin first encountered the Cambodian dancers.
0:20:30 > 0:20:35They travelled to the French capital with their king, Sisowath.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37This was a celebrated royal visit,
0:20:37 > 0:20:39an historic cultural event,
0:20:39 > 0:20:42and commemorated ties between the two countries.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48Could Alice's pictures show one of the magical dancers
0:20:48 > 0:20:51that captured Rodin's imagination?
0:20:51 > 0:20:54To find out more, I've arranged to meet Veronique Mattiussi,
0:20:54 > 0:20:57archivist at the Musee Rodin.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02Let's look at these pictures here. This is from a magazine of the time.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04And this is Rodin, drawing the dancers here.
0:21:09 > 0:21:14On 10 July 1906, Rodin went to the Pre Catelan Theatre,
0:21:14 > 0:21:18where he watched the dancers perform live for the first time.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21The very next day, he began drawing them.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24Was he drawing them as they were dancing,
0:21:24 > 0:21:29or did he ask them to stop and pose? Ah, non.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43Rodin's fascination with the Cambodian dancers
0:21:43 > 0:21:45has been dubbed his final passion,
0:21:45 > 0:21:49just a decade before the French master died.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51He was interviewed a lot in the papers, so this is from Le Figaro.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54This is 1906. This is at the time.
0:21:54 > 0:21:59"So, for me, I feel that by looking at them, my vision has expanded,
0:21:59 > 0:22:03"I look higher and further and, finally, I have learned."
0:22:05 > 0:22:07When the dancers went to perform in Marseille,
0:22:07 > 0:22:09Rodin was in such a rush to follow them
0:22:09 > 0:22:11that he forgot his drawing paper.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23This could be an intriguing lead,
0:22:23 > 0:22:26so I'm keen to find out exactly what type of paper
0:22:26 > 0:22:29was used for Alice's picture.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32So this frantic concentration of activity
0:22:32 > 0:22:37to produce 150 sketches and drawings was probably in two cities.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39And he must have just drawn and drawn and drawn
0:22:39 > 0:22:40and, of course, so quickly.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52What we've got is evidence of the impact of the Cambodian dancers
0:22:52 > 0:22:53on Rodin in his twilight years.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56I mean, there was a thunderbolt, but nonetheless,
0:22:56 > 0:22:58it created this lasting emotion in him.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00He'd never seen anything like these dancers before.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03And he suddenly felt this was something new for him,
0:23:03 > 0:23:06something new that he could learn,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09and produce this incredibly intense bout of activity.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16It's clear to me now that Rodin was mesmerised by the Cambodian dancers
0:23:16 > 0:23:21and that's why he produced so many drawings in such a short time.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30Meanwhile, I have a rare opportunity to take a closer look
0:23:30 > 0:23:34at a prized collection of genuine Rodin sketches of Cambodian dancers,
0:23:34 > 0:23:37with curator Sophie Biass-Fabiani.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41Can I spot any stylistic clues
0:23:41 > 0:23:44that could help prove that Alice's picture
0:23:44 > 0:23:47was created by the same hand?
0:23:47 > 0:23:49What do you think of Rodin's Cambodian works?
0:23:49 > 0:23:53All the Cambodian are outstanding.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56This is a special, divine moment, I would say.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59He's gifted, and he's using it and...
0:23:59 > 0:24:02it's just a pleasure to see it.
0:24:02 > 0:24:03One of the things I notice,
0:24:03 > 0:24:06and it reminds me of the drawing we're researching,
0:24:06 > 0:24:09is these very diluted watercolours.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13They're almost like blots, aren't they, rather than strokes?
0:24:13 > 0:24:16Yes, and he's using it to have accidents in some way.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18He's trying to cause accidents.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20I mean, this is what's so fascinating
0:24:20 > 0:24:22about this whole process, these drawings.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Here you have too much water. That's using the accident.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29He's just doing the same thing in sculpture, also.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31This is really encouraging.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35Sophie has confirmed that this particular use of watercolour,
0:24:35 > 0:24:37which I'd spotted on Alice's drawing,
0:24:37 > 0:24:40is, in fact, a recognised technique of Rodin's.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43But because these pictures are so simply constructed,
0:24:43 > 0:24:46with only a few strokes of paint and pencil,
0:24:46 > 0:24:50we need to be sure we fully understand his overall style.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54What are the characteristics of these Cambodian dancers?
0:24:54 > 0:24:56Well, it's a lightness,
0:24:56 > 0:25:01making figures completely floating, without gravity.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04That's really what dance is about, you know, defying gravity,
0:25:04 > 0:25:07and he's defying gravity in his drawing.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11And you can see that there's no ground.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13He's not interested in the details.
0:25:13 > 0:25:19The faces are always very simply done.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22Here, you don't even have a nose or the eyes, you know.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27And one of the other characteristics is the slightly contorted way
0:25:27 > 0:25:30in which the hands are expressed
0:25:30 > 0:25:32and these rather attenuated,
0:25:32 > 0:25:34elongated arms.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37Well, that's what I guess caught him,
0:25:37 > 0:25:39interested him.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43This way of being round, whatever happens.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46It is a little exaggerated, maybe.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52I'm encouraged by what I've seen of these Cambodian dancers
0:25:52 > 0:25:55and what I've learned about Rodin's distinctive way
0:25:55 > 0:25:56of using watercolour.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02If Alice's picture isn't genuine,
0:26:02 > 0:26:03then we would have to be dealing with
0:26:03 > 0:26:05an exceptionally skilful forger.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16Meanwhile, Bendor is finding the provenance trail
0:26:16 > 0:26:17particularly difficult.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21There's no sign of the picture in any art sales in Europe,
0:26:21 > 0:26:25so if the drawing was given to Alice's mother by Jimmy Heineman
0:26:25 > 0:26:30sometime in the 1940s, just when and where did he buy it?
0:26:32 > 0:26:35Alice has told us her mother was given this drawing
0:26:35 > 0:26:37by someone called Jimmy Heineman,
0:26:37 > 0:26:38so the question is
0:26:38 > 0:26:42whether we can link Heineman to any Rodin sales or exhibitions
0:26:42 > 0:26:45in the first half of the 20th century.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48By the outbreak of the Second World War,
0:26:48 > 0:26:50Jimmy Heineman's family had properties and businesses
0:26:50 > 0:26:52on the east coast of the United States.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56So, I'm going to see if there's any record of a Heineman
0:26:56 > 0:27:01buying Alice's picture at a sale there, in this timeframe.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03There's a series of exhibitions and sales
0:27:03 > 0:27:06on the East Coast of the United States in the 1930s.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08There's a notice in the Washington Post.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11"Collection of Rodin drawings has been loaned
0:27:11 > 0:27:15"by the distinguished sculptor Professor Ernest Durig,
0:27:15 > 0:27:17"Rodin's last pupil,"
0:27:17 > 0:27:21"to whom the drawings were given in 1911, as a token of friendship.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24"Professor Durig will be present at the exhibition,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27"and will explain the artistic value of the collection."
0:27:27 > 0:27:29There's a reference here, in the New Yorker magazine,
0:27:29 > 0:27:31to another exhibition of Rodin drawings.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34In fact, they're also from Professor Ernest Durig.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36That's in 1937.
0:27:36 > 0:27:41Four of those drawings are sold at auction in 1937 in New York.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46This could be an important new lead for the investigation.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49Ernest Durig claimed to have been a pupil of Rodin's
0:27:49 > 0:27:51and was selling his works in the States.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55So, could Alice's drawing have been bought from Durig
0:27:55 > 0:27:57at one of these sales?
0:28:02 > 0:28:06Back in Paris, I've arranged a surprise for Alice.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10We're watching a traditional Cambodian dancer in a tiny theatre,
0:28:10 > 0:28:14to see if we can find any evidence that Alice's picture was drawn
0:28:14 > 0:28:16directly from a live performance.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21We've been in touch with the prestigious Royal Cambodian Ballet,
0:28:21 > 0:28:23a celebrated group that still performs
0:28:23 > 0:28:25this centuries-old tradition today.
0:28:25 > 0:28:31And their top dancer has agreed to put on a special display for us.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34Her hands. It does. And the feet. And the feet.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40By watching her dance,
0:28:40 > 0:28:44can Alice and I identify whether her picture resembles the elegant moves
0:28:44 > 0:28:47that inspired the artist?
0:28:51 > 0:28:53THEY APPLAUD
0:28:56 > 0:28:58Watching you, the thing we were so drawn to
0:28:58 > 0:29:00was the movement of your hands,
0:29:00 > 0:29:02especially because you bend your hands, my goodness,
0:29:02 > 0:29:04I can't believe how you do that.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08What we were thinking is, if this is a genuine Rodin,
0:29:08 > 0:29:10we would hope that the movement
0:29:10 > 0:29:14bears a strong resemblance to a dance, to reality.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17Do you look at that and think, "Yes, I recognise that"?
0:29:17 > 0:29:19Yes, I recognise.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22We can see that's a classical dance.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25If you were going to recreate this pose here, the top half anyway,
0:29:25 > 0:29:28what would that look like? It would look like this.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32Brilliant bit of foreshortening. Head just slightly tilted.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34This would have been done so quickly.
0:29:34 > 0:29:35Yes. If you think about it.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39You're dancing, Rodin is drawing. I mean, this is a matter of seconds.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43And I suppose by the time he's finished putting pencil on paper,
0:29:43 > 0:29:45the dance will have changed.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48So perhaps he's combining several movements.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53Does this position... does it have a name?
0:29:53 > 0:29:54We tell, "Khbat".
0:29:54 > 0:29:56Khbat. Khbat.
0:29:56 > 0:29:58And how many different positions are there?
0:29:58 > 0:30:06There are lots. I don't remember exactly, but maybe more than 2,000.
0:30:06 > 0:30:07Really? Yes.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11I mean, this Khbat, as you call it, does it have a meaning?
0:30:11 > 0:30:14Yes, some Khbat have meaning.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17Like this is...
0:30:17 > 0:30:20smile. How lovely.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22It's just... It's so graceful.
0:30:22 > 0:30:24It's so elegant to see you do that.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26I mean, I'm encouraged.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29And certainly having seen you dance and seeing this,
0:30:29 > 0:30:33it just makes us realise so much what Rodin,
0:30:33 > 0:30:35if this is indeed by Rodin... Why he was so enthralled.
0:30:35 > 0:30:39Why he was so enthralled and what he was seeing.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44This is really encouraging.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46The dancer believes the hands in Alice's picture
0:30:46 > 0:30:49do indeed match the traditional Cambodian dance,
0:30:49 > 0:30:52which she's studied all her life.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00Meanwhile, Bendor has been attempting to find evidence
0:31:00 > 0:31:03that Jimmy Heineman, who gave Alice's mother her drawing,
0:31:03 > 0:31:06bought pictures at art sales in the States.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09And he's made a surprising discovery about the man
0:31:09 > 0:31:10who hosted some of them.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12I've been trying to make a link between Jimmy Heineman
0:31:12 > 0:31:15and these exhibitions of Rodin drawings
0:31:15 > 0:31:17on the east coast of the United States in the 1930s.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20I'm afraid I can't, because no catalogue was published.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23However, I have found out a few rather alarming things
0:31:23 > 0:31:25about the host of those sales.
0:31:27 > 0:31:31It turns out he was, basically, a bit of a fantasist.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35Born Ernst Durig, in Switzerland in 1894,
0:31:35 > 0:31:39Durig was an aspiring sculptor and, throughout his life,
0:31:39 > 0:31:42he claimed to have been Rodin's last-ever student.
0:31:42 > 0:31:44But we can find no evidence to back this up.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49And I've discovered that Durig would frequently show this photograph
0:31:49 > 0:31:52of him and Rodin together as proof of their friendship.
0:31:54 > 0:31:59Taken in Rome in 1915, it's the only record of the two men ever meeting.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02Durig, perhaps trading on that claim,
0:32:02 > 0:32:04secured some important portrait commissions.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07I've got here, for example, a rather nice photo of him
0:32:07 > 0:32:10standing next to his bust of the then-President, Harry S Truman.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14Durig was a well-regarded sculptor in his own right.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17But after his death in 1962,
0:32:17 > 0:32:18it was found he had also been
0:32:18 > 0:32:21a highly accomplished, and prolific, forger.
0:32:21 > 0:32:27After he died, they discovered a cache of fake Rodin drawings,
0:32:27 > 0:32:31including a large number of Cambodian dancers.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34This is obviously extremely alarming
0:32:34 > 0:32:36and I think the first thing we have to do
0:32:36 > 0:32:38is go and see some of these Durig fakes
0:32:38 > 0:32:41and see if they bear any resemblance to Alice's picture.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44This is a worrying development.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47Ernst Durig duped many in the art world.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50Could he also be responsible for Alice's picture?
0:32:54 > 0:32:57But I'm still on the trail of Jimmy Heineman,
0:32:57 > 0:32:59the man who gave the picture to Alice's mother.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04I've made contact with one of his relatives, his daughter, Marilyn,
0:33:04 > 0:33:06in New York.
0:33:06 > 0:33:10'Can I find any evidence that he was a serious art collector,
0:33:10 > 0:33:13'the type of man who would have bought a genuine Rodin?'
0:33:15 > 0:33:17I wanted to hear more about your father, Marilyn.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19Was he a collector of any kind?
0:33:19 > 0:33:22Yes, we had quite a bit of art in the apartment,
0:33:22 > 0:33:24in the house where I was a child growing up,
0:33:24 > 0:33:27but I can't say for certain who the artists were.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29There was rather an eclectic mix.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33He owned what my parents used to refer to as a fake Bruegel,
0:33:33 > 0:33:37because it wasn't really, but it looked very Bruegel-ish.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40And he at one point... There were, um,
0:33:40 > 0:33:44monkeys who were painting pictures at the Central Park Zoo,
0:33:44 > 0:33:46and so my father owned some monkey art.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48Hang on a minute!
0:33:48 > 0:33:51So he owned a fake Bruegel, I'm not massively encouraged by that,
0:33:51 > 0:33:54I've got to be honest. And then he owned monkey art?
0:33:54 > 0:33:56Yes. Monkey art.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59And then, he might have owned a Rodin.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02It's a pretty eclectic mixture, if he did.
0:34:02 > 0:34:07Yes, I'm quite sure he was very eclectic in his tastes.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09'This doesn't sound too promising.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13'But I wonder if Marilyn has any evidence which connects her father
0:34:13 > 0:34:15'directly to Alice's family.'
0:34:15 > 0:34:17After you all contacted me,
0:34:17 > 0:34:22I went into a cabinet and found an old photo album of my father's.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26There were photographs taken of friends in Mexico City,
0:34:26 > 0:34:30and one of them was my father and Paul, so...
0:34:30 > 0:34:32Oh, Alice's father. Yes.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35So this is the first visual evidence
0:34:35 > 0:34:38that connects Jimmy Heineman to Alice's family.
0:34:38 > 0:34:42And here he is with her father, Paul Genachte, in Mexico.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47Well, that was interesting. That was very interesting.
0:34:47 > 0:34:49Marilyn has confirmed certain things for us,
0:34:49 > 0:34:51which has been really useful,
0:34:51 > 0:34:54so her dad, Jimmy, was in Mexico City at the right time,
0:34:54 > 0:34:57he did know Alice's father. There's a photograph of them together.
0:34:57 > 0:35:03When it comes to his art collection, that's not quite so promising.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05I mean, I'm wondering if,
0:35:05 > 0:35:08as well as his fake Bruegel, did he have a fake Rodin
0:35:08 > 0:35:10and that's what he gave to Alice's mum?
0:35:16 > 0:35:18Meanwhile, back in Paris,
0:35:18 > 0:35:22I'm taking Alice's picture for some forensic analysis.
0:35:23 > 0:35:27Having spent 25 years restoring Rodin's drawings,
0:35:27 > 0:35:31can conservator Claude Laroque identify any clues from the paper
0:35:31 > 0:35:34which could prove that the drawing is genuine?
0:35:35 > 0:35:37When you look at Rodin drawings,
0:35:37 > 0:35:40how do you analyse a piece of paper like this?
0:35:40 > 0:35:42First of all, you have to look
0:35:42 > 0:35:46if it's a machine-made paper or handmade paper.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48So, for example, this paper is a machine-made paper.
0:35:48 > 0:35:52How can you tell that? How it looks like.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56In the second part of the 19th century and in the 20th century,
0:35:56 > 0:35:59most of the paper is machine-made.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02And Claude has confirmed that Alice's drawing
0:36:02 > 0:36:05was produced on machine-made paper, too.
0:36:05 > 0:36:10But is there anything distinctive that could link it to Rodin himself?
0:36:12 > 0:36:14Sometimes, do you get watermarks on Rodin watercolours?
0:36:14 > 0:36:18Yes, yes. Some imprint of the papermaker.
0:36:18 > 0:36:23A watermark is an indication from the manufacturer.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27Unfortunately on this paper, we don't have anything.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29That's frustrating.
0:36:29 > 0:36:30With no watermark,
0:36:30 > 0:36:34there's no way of proving exactly where this paper came from.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36It seems that, for once,
0:36:36 > 0:36:40forensic science can't help us in this investigation.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43But can Claude, from her years of experience,
0:36:43 > 0:36:47spot anything that would suggest Alice's drawing is a fake?
0:36:49 > 0:36:50As far as the research we've done,
0:36:50 > 0:36:53I can't find anything specifically about this drawing
0:36:53 > 0:36:56that we would not expect to find in a Rodin drawing.
0:36:56 > 0:36:57No.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00Well, sometimes I have seen some fakes.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02Well, just look at it and say,
0:37:02 > 0:37:07"No, it's absolutely not from Rodin's hands."
0:37:07 > 0:37:10But some fakes can be done in a very good way.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17I was hoping that, with the help of Claude,
0:37:17 > 0:37:19we could find some clues in Alice's drawing
0:37:19 > 0:37:22that could link us firmly to the great master.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24But it seems that we can't.
0:37:24 > 0:37:28Although she did leave us with an interesting thought.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31If it is a fake, it's a good one.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42I'm worried that the lack of any solid forensic evidence
0:37:42 > 0:37:43for Alice's picture
0:37:43 > 0:37:48makes it harder to prove it's a genuine work and not a clever fake.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52And what's worse, I've received a worrying tip-off
0:37:52 > 0:37:53about a forgery scandal
0:37:53 > 0:37:56which has recently shaken the French art world.
0:37:58 > 0:38:03In 2014, France's premier national art gallery, the Musee d'Orsay,
0:38:03 > 0:38:07invited a leading expert to study their collection of Rodin drawings.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09And she concluded that many were fakes.
0:38:14 > 0:38:16You can't really overstate the impact of this discovery.
0:38:16 > 0:38:22Imagine, fakes at the heart of the French art establishment.
0:38:22 > 0:38:25Not just anywhere, but in there, in the Musee d'Orsay,
0:38:25 > 0:38:29one of the best-known museums, not just in France, but in the world.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32Imagine what they felt when they read this document,
0:38:32 > 0:38:34which I've managed to get hold of.
0:38:34 > 0:38:36This is what lifted the lid on the scandal
0:38:36 > 0:38:41and the Musee d'Orsay has given me three fakes from their collection.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43I'm going to break the news to Alice,
0:38:43 > 0:38:48show her the fakes and see if they bear any resemblance to her drawing.
0:38:49 > 0:38:53The forgeries duped experts for generations.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55And a number of the fakers have been identified.
0:38:55 > 0:38:59What's particularly concerning is that one of the known culprits
0:38:59 > 0:39:02is Ernst Durig,
0:39:02 > 0:39:05the man Bendor discovered selling Rodin fakes in America
0:39:05 > 0:39:09before Alice's mother was given her picture.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12How does Alice's drawing compare to his forgeries?
0:39:15 > 0:39:18So, here we have the rogues' gallery.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20Let's start with this one.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22Now this is a work by the man who claimed to be
0:39:22 > 0:39:24Rodin's last pupil, Ernest Durig.
0:39:24 > 0:39:28And he has done a copy here of a Cambodian dancer.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32He was producing these drawings primarily in the 1920s, 1930s.
0:39:33 > 0:39:35This picture by Ernst Durig
0:39:35 > 0:39:38is the first fake Cambodian dancer we've discovered.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42And it's alarming that it lay undetected in the Musee d'Orsay
0:39:42 > 0:39:44until so recently.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48So, what do you think, in terms of making a comparison between the two?
0:39:48 > 0:39:52That seems much more static, much more contrived.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54But they took that as being genuine.
0:39:54 > 0:39:55This was thought to be genuine.
0:39:55 > 0:40:01Durig copied Rodin's drawings across the spectrum, if you like.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04These were all in the Musee d'Orsay
0:40:04 > 0:40:07and, until 2014, they were thought to be genuine.
0:40:07 > 0:40:10The art establishment has known about Durig
0:40:10 > 0:40:13since he was first exposed in the 1960s.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18But no-one imagined his fakes would still be conning people today.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23So now, when you look at your drawing,
0:40:23 > 0:40:27and you realise the extent of the fakery,
0:40:27 > 0:40:29and also how recently this has come to light...
0:40:30 > 0:40:33If I had come with my drawing a year ago,
0:40:33 > 0:40:35I'd have been very different.
0:40:35 > 0:40:37You could have snuck it in under the wire. Snuck it in!
0:40:37 > 0:40:40"Hello! Here's my genuine Rodin."
0:40:43 > 0:40:47I was utterly amazed, I didn't realise he was so faked
0:40:47 > 0:40:51and that there was such a story behind the Rodin watercolours,
0:40:51 > 0:40:54the works of art. And it's just like,
0:40:54 > 0:40:56where do you start to separate what's true
0:40:56 > 0:40:59from what's not true, what's a fake?
0:40:59 > 0:41:02I just didn't realise there was so much behind the scenes.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05I'm absolutely gobsmacked.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07The emergence of Ernst Durig,
0:41:07 > 0:41:10whose forgeries duped the Musee d'Orsay for so long,
0:41:10 > 0:41:13is a major concern for Alice.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16The drawing her mother cherished for so many years,
0:41:16 > 0:41:18could it be a Durig fake?
0:41:24 > 0:41:28Meanwhile, I've come to New York, for the annual Old Master sales,
0:41:28 > 0:41:30and, while I'm in town on business,
0:41:30 > 0:41:34I want to follow up a new lead on the forger, Ernst Durig.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38At the prestigious Museum of Modern Art,
0:41:38 > 0:41:42there are over 150 drawings by Durig.
0:41:42 > 0:41:47These were donated to this respected institution after he died,
0:41:47 > 0:41:53and this collection contains several images of fake Cambodian dancers.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59This is the most important series of Durig works in existence.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02And if Alice's picture is by Durig,
0:42:02 > 0:42:08then we really need to compare it to this cache of fakes at MoMA.
0:42:09 > 0:42:11We've been negotiating with the museum,
0:42:11 > 0:42:14trying to get access to that unique file of information
0:42:14 > 0:42:17that proves that Durig was a faker of Rodin
0:42:17 > 0:42:19and also of his Cambodian drawings.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22Now, if we CAN get access to that,
0:42:22 > 0:42:25we may be able to prove what Alice's drawing is.
0:42:25 > 0:42:26Is it a work by the faker?
0:42:26 > 0:42:30In which case, it's worth, I don't know, a couple of hundred pounds.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33But could we, though, prove it was by Rodin?
0:42:33 > 0:42:36?100,000.
0:42:38 > 0:42:42But after several discussions, MoMA turned our approaches down.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46They said they would be happy to talk about Rodin,
0:42:46 > 0:42:48but not about Durig.
0:42:48 > 0:42:53MoMA's refusal to let us study their Durig collection is a setback.
0:42:56 > 0:43:00But there's one final piece of evidence we can investigate.
0:43:01 > 0:43:03Back in London, Alice and I are taking her picture
0:43:03 > 0:43:06to the country's leading signature analyst.
0:43:08 > 0:43:12Adam Brand is often called as an expert witness in court cases,
0:43:12 > 0:43:14to assess whether a document has been faked.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20Can he identify whether it was the French master himself
0:43:20 > 0:43:22who signed Alice's drawing?
0:43:23 > 0:43:26He's been studying Rodin's genuine signature
0:43:26 > 0:43:29on some of his authentic pictures.
0:43:32 > 0:43:34Adam, tell us what we're looking at here.
0:43:34 > 0:43:37You're trying to find unique peculiarities that,
0:43:37 > 0:43:41in combination, are likely to be only found with one author.
0:43:41 > 0:43:45The key thing about Rodin is the fact his writing is very connected
0:43:45 > 0:43:48and the beginning tends to taper in.
0:43:48 > 0:43:50Then it goes to a covering stroke there.
0:43:50 > 0:43:52Do you see the fact he could've stopped there?
0:43:52 > 0:43:55Well, he doesn't. And it pushes down into the lower zone.
0:43:55 > 0:43:59He starts his R with an up stroke, rather than a down stroke.
0:43:59 > 0:44:01He has a slight loop in the O.
0:44:01 > 0:44:04He opens up his D, he gives a loop here.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08And it's very connected. And the finish is clear.
0:44:08 > 0:44:10And then he has an underlining paraph.
0:44:10 > 0:44:14So can Adam spot any of these distinct characteristics
0:44:14 > 0:44:16in the signature on Alice's picture?
0:44:17 > 0:44:20The beginnings of signatures, and the ends of signatures,
0:44:20 > 0:44:24are very important. Now, you're not getting that smooth entry,
0:44:24 > 0:44:26you're getting a nick.
0:44:26 > 0:44:28And you get to this O.
0:44:28 > 0:44:33The difficulty with this O is the fact it doesn't give you a loop.
0:44:33 > 0:44:35It hasn't got the clarity that you get from Rodin,
0:44:35 > 0:44:37which is going round like that
0:44:37 > 0:44:40and the little open top going off to that direction.
0:44:40 > 0:44:42It's very odd.
0:44:42 > 0:44:44And this, what worries me about this,
0:44:44 > 0:44:47is that the D has totally disappeared.
0:44:47 > 0:44:50But at the end, you have an issue here.
0:44:50 > 0:44:52What you've got is quite a weak finish.
0:44:52 > 0:44:56Most of Rodin's known signatures have quite a strong finish.
0:44:56 > 0:45:00They finish with a certain amount of definiteness.
0:45:00 > 0:45:01With gusto. With gusto.
0:45:01 > 0:45:06Interestingly, this signature is not weak all the way through,
0:45:06 > 0:45:10because then suddenly you get a finishing paraph, this underlining,
0:45:10 > 0:45:12which, again, becomes very strong.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15So one can't say, "Oh, well, he was feeling tired,"
0:45:15 > 0:45:17because suddenly he picks up the energy again.
0:45:17 > 0:45:19Now, that energy should be in there - and it isn't.
0:45:19 > 0:45:24On your assessment, Adam, could that signature be by Rodin?
0:45:24 > 0:45:30I would be slightly doubtful that it is a Rodin signature, I'm sorry.
0:45:30 > 0:45:31No.
0:45:31 > 0:45:34Interesting. Are you ever wrong? Yeah.
0:45:34 > 0:45:38Could you be? Yeah. Oh, am...? Am I ever wrong? Yes.
0:45:41 > 0:45:46With Adam doubting the authenticity of the signature on Alice's drawing,
0:45:46 > 0:45:49it's now time to regroup and catch up with Bendor,
0:45:49 > 0:45:51who has some news on the forger, Ernst Durig.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58I've been having another look into Ernst Durig's life
0:45:58 > 0:46:00and I found some newspaper reports and photographs
0:46:00 > 0:46:03that shed some more light on his rather eccentric career.
0:46:03 > 0:46:07Here he is on the left at the White House, next to Herbert Hoover,
0:46:07 > 0:46:11and they're unveiling this really rather extraordinary
0:46:11 > 0:46:13giant bust of George Washington.
0:46:13 > 0:46:15I mean, that is a monster. Nasty thing.
0:46:15 > 0:46:18Quite how Durig ever thought he could get away with his claim
0:46:18 > 0:46:21he was a pupil of Rodin's and then make sculptures quite that bad,
0:46:21 > 0:46:25I don't know. He was evicted from his home rather brutally,
0:46:25 > 0:46:26which is rather tragic.
0:46:26 > 0:46:30Eventually, he ended up, rather sadly, in an asylum.
0:46:30 > 0:46:32He died in 1962.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34But it was only after his death that he was revealed to be
0:46:34 > 0:46:36a prolific forger of Rodin's drawings.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38Talking of forgers,
0:46:38 > 0:46:41I was a bit disheartened with the signature analysis we did
0:46:41 > 0:46:44of Alice's picture. So I rang the Musee Rodin,
0:46:44 > 0:46:47to see what else I could find to try and bolster our case
0:46:47 > 0:46:49and they told me, when he gave drawings to his friends,
0:46:49 > 0:46:51he didn't generally bother to sign them.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54If they wanted them signed, and asked him to do so, he would say,
0:46:54 > 0:46:56you know, he couldn't be bothered,
0:46:56 > 0:46:59and get them to copy a signature themselves.
0:46:59 > 0:47:00So, we're left with a situation,
0:47:00 > 0:47:02which I can hardly bear to contemplate,
0:47:02 > 0:47:06where you might have a genuine Rodin and a fake signature.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09With this news about Rodin's signatures,
0:47:09 > 0:47:12how do Durig's fake Cambodian dancers compare,
0:47:12 > 0:47:15when held up against Alice's picture?
0:47:17 > 0:47:19Obviously, there is so much to play for here,
0:47:19 > 0:47:24but I've managed to dig out from Baltimore Museum Of Art two fakes,
0:47:24 > 0:47:27two proper fakes, established works by Durig.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30And I think it's fascinating, when you look at these
0:47:30 > 0:47:32and you keep Alice's drawing in mind,
0:47:32 > 0:47:37there's a sort of boneless, flaccid quality in the way they're done.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39I mean, look at that arm there on the left,
0:47:39 > 0:47:41with those sort of banana leaf-like fingers.
0:47:41 > 0:47:44There's a sort of lack of anatomical authority.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46And look at the woman on the right.
0:47:46 > 0:47:48Look at the characterisation.
0:47:48 > 0:47:49She's overly sexualised.
0:47:49 > 0:47:53She doesn't look like a Cambodian dancer.
0:47:53 > 0:47:57And then, when you put both of them next to Alice's drawing,
0:47:57 > 0:48:01I don't know what you feel, but there's a dynamism.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04When Alice's drawing popped up in between those two there,
0:48:04 > 0:48:07it felt immediately like someone had turned the music on,
0:48:07 > 0:48:09because that feels to me more convincingly
0:48:09 > 0:48:11like someone who is actually doing a dance,
0:48:11 > 0:48:15whereas the two Durigs on the left and right feel terribly forced,
0:48:15 > 0:48:18composed like little sort of stiff mannequins
0:48:18 > 0:48:20that someone has tried to bring to life, but failed.
0:48:20 > 0:48:21Philip and Bendor
0:48:21 > 0:48:25don't think Alice's picture looks like a Durig forgery.
0:48:25 > 0:48:29But having exhausted the scientific and provenance research,
0:48:29 > 0:48:31there's only one course of action left.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37There is no other way to judge this picture now,
0:48:37 > 0:48:39other than stylistically.
0:48:39 > 0:48:42And there's one woman who has spent more time
0:48:42 > 0:48:45studying Rodin drawings than anybody else.
0:48:45 > 0:48:47But not only those. The fakes, as well.
0:48:47 > 0:48:50The dark, as well as the light.
0:48:50 > 0:48:55We need her to examine Alice's picture and give us her views.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02It was Christina Buley who uncovered the recent
0:49:02 > 0:49:05fake scandal at the Musee d'Orsay
0:49:05 > 0:49:09and it's her verdict that the art market will look to.
0:49:09 > 0:49:12It's vital she studies Alice's picture,
0:49:12 > 0:49:16to determine if, indeed, it is a genuine and undiscovered work
0:49:16 > 0:49:18by Rodin.
0:49:18 > 0:49:21She could be our last hope in cracking this case.
0:49:22 > 0:49:25Before she examines the picture in the flesh,
0:49:25 > 0:49:29can she tell us what clues will sway her decision?
0:49:29 > 0:49:32Usually when we get to this stage, where we have someone like you
0:49:32 > 0:49:35look at the drawing, we would have built a strong case for
0:49:35 > 0:49:38our painting or drawing with the provenance
0:49:38 > 0:49:40and we just haven't been able to do it with this one.
0:49:40 > 0:49:42So, it all comes down to you
0:49:42 > 0:49:46and your stylistic assessment of the drawing.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49How confident can you be that you'll be right?
0:49:49 > 0:49:55There are more than 7,000 drawings and I have had the chance to study
0:49:55 > 0:49:59those drawings for nine years, when I was working at the Musee Rodin.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02And I have come across many, many fakes.
0:50:02 > 0:50:03So, when you are trying to determine
0:50:03 > 0:50:05whether a Rodin drawing is authentic,
0:50:05 > 0:50:09what sort of traits, what sort of characteristics are you looking for?
0:50:09 > 0:50:14Well, you're looking for a very fluid line.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17From the top to the bottom.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20And even, in the Cambodian series,
0:50:20 > 0:50:24you would find the "ligne du nu", as Rodin would say.
0:50:24 > 0:50:29The line of the nude, yeah. The line of the nude through the costume.
0:50:29 > 0:50:31This is encouraging.
0:50:31 > 0:50:35But has Christina spotted any of these distinctive traits
0:50:35 > 0:50:37in Alice's picture?
0:50:37 > 0:50:40Christina, I know you've not seen the drawing in the flesh,
0:50:40 > 0:50:43but you've seen some images of it. What are your first impressions?
0:50:43 > 0:50:47Well, I would say there are some very good elements in this drawing,
0:50:47 > 0:50:51for example the costume, the watercolour, the monochrome.
0:50:51 > 0:50:53That is very typical of Rodin.
0:50:53 > 0:50:59And the simplification and also the black crayon on the costume.
0:50:59 > 0:51:01That is quite Rodin-esque.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04Is there anything that struck you in these images that you thought,
0:51:04 > 0:51:06"Hmm, not so sure"? Well,
0:51:06 > 0:51:13I find that the general aspect of the Cambodian dancer is a bit clumsy
0:51:13 > 0:51:15and, in many fakes,
0:51:15 > 0:51:19the feet and the arms and the head
0:51:19 > 0:51:26seem to be combined around a general body and the costume.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29Now, for the first time,
0:51:29 > 0:51:33Christina will carefully study the original picture itself.
0:51:34 > 0:51:36It's hard to know which way Christina is going to go.
0:51:36 > 0:51:39But, for Alice, it's hugely important
0:51:39 > 0:51:40that this drawing is genuine.
0:51:40 > 0:51:43It's such an important part of her family history.
0:51:43 > 0:51:47Her mother painstakingly and carefully looked after this picture
0:51:47 > 0:51:50for years. Alice knows all about that.
0:51:50 > 0:51:54And so, if the drawing isn't genuine, it means that
0:51:54 > 0:51:56that was all for nothing
0:51:56 > 0:51:59and that story doesn't really have any meaning any more.
0:51:59 > 0:52:02And I think that would be really disappointing.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08Christina has got a really tricky job.
0:52:08 > 0:52:11There's no science to fall back upon.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13There's no provenance either.
0:52:13 > 0:52:16She's just got to use one thing and one thing only - her eye.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21What's for sure is that, whatever the outcome,
0:52:21 > 0:52:23this is a very close call.
0:52:25 > 0:52:28To make her decision, Christina needs to return to France,
0:52:28 > 0:52:31to compare her notes on Alice's picture
0:52:31 > 0:52:35with her previous investigations into Rodin's Cambodian dancers.
0:52:47 > 0:52:50Four weeks later, Christina sends a letter to the gallery,
0:52:50 > 0:52:54so we've called Alice back to hear the official verdict on her picture.
0:53:01 > 0:53:06Hi, Alice. Hello, Alice. Hello. Are you ready for this?
0:53:06 > 0:53:09Yes. As ready as I'll ever be.
0:53:09 > 0:53:11We've received a letter from Christina Buley,
0:53:11 > 0:53:15who is the world authority on Rodin drawings and who's looked at yours.
0:53:15 > 0:53:17And her verdict is in this envelope.
0:53:17 > 0:53:19How exciting.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21And, Alice, it's...
0:53:21 > 0:53:24it's really worth considering what we could be dealing with here,
0:53:24 > 0:53:27if your drawing is proved to be right.
0:53:27 > 0:53:30It would be a very important addition
0:53:30 > 0:53:35to the known body of works by Rodin on paper.
0:53:35 > 0:53:37And, should it be proved conclusively right
0:53:37 > 0:53:39to the satisfaction of the art world,
0:53:39 > 0:53:43we could be talking about ?100,000.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46Shall I open it? Please do.
0:53:46 > 0:53:48OK.
0:53:48 > 0:53:50Let's see what she has to say.
0:53:52 > 0:53:54It starts... "After thoroughly studying the graphite
0:53:54 > 0:53:57"and watercolour drawing of a Cambodian dancer
0:53:57 > 0:54:00"you presented today, I am sorry to inform you...
0:54:00 > 0:54:04"I do not recognise the hand of Auguste Rodin."
0:54:06 > 0:54:07Oh, my goodness. Sorry, Alice.
0:54:07 > 0:54:10No, that's fair enough.
0:54:10 > 0:54:12SHE SIGHS
0:54:12 > 0:54:13We...
0:54:13 > 0:54:17As you know, it came down to the stylistic analysis of it.
0:54:17 > 0:54:21Yes, yeah. And she clearly doesn't feel that it is by him.
0:54:23 > 0:54:26Could it be...? Well, I suppose, then, it must be a fake.
0:54:26 > 0:54:29Christina does believe she can identify the artist
0:54:29 > 0:54:32responsible for Alice's picture.
0:54:35 > 0:54:37She does say who she thinks it is by.
0:54:37 > 0:54:41A renowned faker of Rodin's drawings -
0:54:41 > 0:54:42Ernst Durig.
0:54:42 > 0:54:45The man who claimed to be Rodin's last pupil
0:54:45 > 0:54:49and who fooled the art world for decades.
0:54:49 > 0:54:53I have to say, I am surprised by the assertion that it is Durig.
0:54:53 > 0:54:54It still strikes me as too good,
0:54:54 > 0:54:58too confident, to be by someone who was faking,
0:54:58 > 0:55:00someone who didn't really feel that they were naturally doing
0:55:00 > 0:55:04a depiction of a Cambodian dancer. I still really like it.
0:55:04 > 0:55:05Well, the only thing I would say is
0:55:05 > 0:55:07Christina has made it her life's work
0:55:07 > 0:55:11studying all of Rodin's drawings and the fakes by Durig.
0:55:11 > 0:55:15And she goes into some detail about why she thinks it isn't by Rodin.
0:55:15 > 0:55:18And she feels that it has more of the distinctive...
0:55:18 > 0:55:21what she calls the distinctive stylistic marks of Durig
0:55:21 > 0:55:26and far fewer of those of Rodin. How interesting.
0:55:26 > 0:55:28This is closure, in art world terms, I am afraid.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31She is the person we go to.
0:55:31 > 0:55:35Therefore, we have to live by her verdict.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38So, the official verdict is the picture is by Durig.
0:55:38 > 0:55:41This means that Jimmy Heineman bought a clever forgery,
0:55:41 > 0:55:44which he would later give to Alice's mother.
0:55:46 > 0:55:48I'm sure it was given to my mother in good faith, but the...
0:55:48 > 0:55:49It could well have been,
0:55:49 > 0:55:52because Durig was not outed as a faker at that time.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55Yeah. So, Jimmy Heineman could have thought that
0:55:55 > 0:55:57this was a genuine Rodin. Yeah.
0:55:57 > 0:56:01I shall look at it slightly differently from now on.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04But treasure it nonetheless, I hope. Oh, yes. And thank you so much.
0:56:04 > 0:56:07It's just... I did want to know, so now I know.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10Well, I'm sorry it wasn't the verdict we all would have wanted.
0:56:10 > 0:56:12That's all right. It was never for the money.
0:56:12 > 0:56:14It was just to find out...
0:56:14 > 0:56:16where it came from.
0:56:16 > 0:56:17It will still go on my wall, though.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24Sometimes, regrettably, on Fake Or Fortune,
0:56:24 > 0:56:27we have to overturn, rather than prove, family legends.
0:56:33 > 0:56:36And with Alice's picture, the faker, Ernst Durig,
0:56:36 > 0:56:38had us guessing till the last minute.
0:56:42 > 0:56:44Well, I think Alice took that very well,
0:56:44 > 0:56:46with her typical generosity of spirit.
0:56:46 > 0:56:49And I hope it's of some comfort to her that we have, at least,
0:56:49 > 0:56:52shed a light on an area of Rodin's work that is less known -
0:56:52 > 0:56:56his drawings and, in particular, his drawings of Cambodian dancers.
0:56:56 > 0:57:01It's just unfortunate that they have been so hugely faked and those fakes
0:57:01 > 0:57:05have worked their way all around the world, even as far as Mexico City.
0:57:05 > 0:57:07And, of course, it's a reminder, isn't it, how,
0:57:07 > 0:57:10when one is dealing with a great international artist,
0:57:10 > 0:57:12when the stakes are really high,
0:57:12 > 0:57:14how quickly the world of fakery can follow?
0:57:15 > 0:57:18And then when you're dealing with a really great faker,
0:57:18 > 0:57:21someone who has studied their subject from the inside,
0:57:21 > 0:57:25how soon the waters can then become muddied.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29And how truth and deception can then be so difficult to tell apart.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34If you think you have an undiscovered masterpiece,
0:57:34 > 0:57:39we'd love to hear from you, at...