{"id":226,"date":"2025-04-27T22:09:43","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T05:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/?p=226"},"modified":"2025-05-05T07:22:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T14:22:14","slug":"a-crime-for-all-seasons-how-to-forge-a-mucha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/2025\/04\/27\/a-crime-for-all-seasons-how-to-forge-a-mucha\/","title":{"rendered":"A Crime for all Seasons- How to Forge a Mucha"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I am Calamity, and I have devised the perfect crime: forging Alphonse Mucha lithographs and selling them at full auction price. This is a crime for all seasons, especially when the print’s subject matter is Spring, Summer, Winter, and Fall. Alphonse Mucha\u2019s The Seasons<\/em> series is comprised of four individual lithograph prints, often sold together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Combined
Alphonse Mucha. 1896. The Seasons (series). Each panel: 103×53 1\/4 cm. Lithograph poster. The Mucha Foundation, Prague, Czechia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Seasons <\/em>was commissioned and printed by the F. Champenois printing company in 1896, designed by Alphonse Mucha, with additional sets printed in 1897 and 1900. This series was originally printed in France, but was distributed throughout Europe, especially in Czechia, where Mucha was from. The lithographs were printed on vellum, Japan paper, or satin, depending on the edition, and the only other material used for prints is the ink used to print the lithograph. There are several editions of this work available for sale online, but the only consistent owner of Mucha\u2019s The Seasons<\/em> series is the Mucha Foundation in Prague, Czechia. While some notable cases of art forgery have gained notoriety, the sheer amount of forged works within the art world allows for lower-value forged works to pass through the market somewhat unquestioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A statistic of forgeries:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some experts estimate that up to half of the art market might be plagued with forgeries or misattributions -Sotheby\u2019s Institute of Art, 2023<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I chose Mucha\u2019s The Seasons<\/em> series to use as the subject of my forgery because of its relative popularity and value. Three print editions of this series were made during Mucha\u2019s lifetime, and prints were fairly common and reasonably priced at the time. Complete editions of Mucha\u2019s The Seasons<\/em> series have sold at Christie’s auction house, with one auction in 2000 selling the series for $25,850. Adjusted for inflation, this price nearly doubled, with the worth in 2025 being equivalent to $48,352. Additionally, due to the amount of prints originally produced and sold during Mucha\u2019s lifetime, it would not be surprising for intact prints to reappear in the market. The Seasons<\/em> series is fairly rare at auctions, with other prints by Mucha appearing more often in the market. Therefore, The Seasons<\/em> series brings high selling prices, especially when the entire series is sold together. Additionally, it would not be terribly surprising to find a collection of The Seasons<\/em> series with multiple prints of an edition together. When forging this series, additional copies could be printed and sold, rather than just creating a single copy of the work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to begin your forging career<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Of course, the first step in this process is deciding you want to be a criminal. Once you move past the questionable ethics of this job, remember the profitability, and remove yourself from the fear of being caught, you can begin learning how to hone your craft. Lithograph printing is a somewhat complicated process, especially with no prior experience. However, there are numerous resources available online, with both articles and videos explaining the full, in-depth process of making and printing lithographs. There are some materials needed on the front end to complete the lithograph process. Some of these materials can be purchased new, but other materials will need to be purchased from an antique or vintage store to ensure they pass methods of authentication. A lithograph stone is the main component of the lithograph process, and a period-accurate stone can be purchased either online or from an antique or vintage store for around $100. Another item that has to be purchased from Mucha\u2019s time period is the vellum, paper, or silk that will be printed on. These materials can be purchased for around $25-$50, depending on the chosen material and size. Additional materials include sponges, gum arabic, nitric acid, mineral spirits, lithotine, turpentine, and a roller, which in total cost around $100. The hardest material to source is period-accurate ink, which is now significantly more restricted than it was in Mucha\u2019s time. In the 1890s, lithography inks contained metals, like cobalt and chromium, to print vibrant colors. With additional concerns about cancer and other dangers when working with these inks, the industry has changed to primarily using soy-based inks. Some antique and vintage shops still sell these metallic inks, however it is not easy or common to find. A solution to this problem is mixing my own ink, which can be done with thinner metal inks used to color thicker print ink. Many print houses in the 1800s and early 1900s mixed their own inks, so this solution could even prove more accurate to the time, and therefore more likely to defeat the primary methods of authentication. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The nitty gritty<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

or how to put your nose to the grindstone and create lithograph prints<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lithography stones were traditionally composed of a special limestone mined from a quarry in Germany, but additional sources of limestone can be used as well. The stone must first be sanded to grain and level the stone, which helps create a fine grit surface to draw on. Hopefully now you can appreciate the heading of this section. When drawing, lithography crayons are used, which have a high oil content. After drawing, the first etch is done, which begins the chemical process before printing. The rest of the lithography process includes repeating the etching steps, followed by the actual printing process. A lithography stone only needs even pressure to apply ink. While professional printhouses and studios use lithography presses to print from stone, a similar process can be achieved at home. While this is a somewhat involved process, all forgeries need additional expertise and specialization to pass off as the real thing.\u00a0For more information on this process, feel free to watch the video below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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