Can Paintings Be Successfully Copied?

The forgery of paintings has become increasingly popular in Indonesia as the law has been unable to combat the crime. Just how lucrative is this black market? TEMPO stole into the forgery network to take a peek.

September 11, 2000

"IF LOOKS COULD KILL"

The saying goes: "if looks could kill", but does this apply to paintings? One navy doctor, a friend of artist Djoko Pekik, bought a painting for Rp5 million. The painting was alleged to be a Pekik (Indonesia’s most expensive painter, whose works have fetched up to Rp1 billion) original. Unfortunately upon seeing the photo, Djoko Pekik informed his friend that the painting was a fake. As a result the doctor became emoti

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