Spanish Forger

The Spanish Forger (French: Le Faussaire espagnol) is the name given to an unidentified individual who, in the late 19th to early 20th century, created a large number of forgeries of medieval miniatures.

The Spanish Forger's works were painted on vellum or parchment leaves of genuine medieval books, using either blank margins or scraping off the original writing.

[6] His works were very deceptive when created, but over time it has been recognized that the faces of individuals in his pictures have "sugary expressions" inconsistent with genuine medieval illuminations.

In 2009, Lucia Burgio, Robin Clark, and Richard Hark performed spectroscopic investigation, comprehensive analysis of pigments by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence, upon five of the Spanish Forger’s miniatures in order to determine with scientific certainty that the forgeries were exactly that.

[4] In January 2009, it was announced that the Victoria and Albert Museum purposely acquired five examples of the Spanish Forger's work for their collection "for what it tells us about late 19th-century perceptions".