Three Russian brothers are the leading lights of the legal forgery business. Monsters and Critics explains why buyers use their services:

Their customers are diverse. ‘Some just want a famous masterpiece for their apartment, or want to surprise their wife,’ Yevgeny said. ‘Recently, an ambassador bought a Mona Lisa copy for his embassy. Some collectors also order a copy of an original they own. They then put the original in a safe and hang the copy on the wall,’ he added.

The Posin brothers have sold their copies as far away as Australia and Japan. Over the years, they say they have painted more than 500 pictures.

A growing trend is for customers to ask for modified copies of famous paintings. ‘Customers ask to for their wife and child to be included in a Rembrandt,’ Mikhail explained. ‘We do this but, frankly speaking, we are not thrilled. It adds something strange to the picture,’ he said.

Being Van Gogh (Monsters&Critics)