John Myatt

Following the successful launch of John Myatt’s Monet in Giverny, the artist brings us two new limited editions in the style of the great Impressionist, showing his famous gardens in Normandy, specially created for Monet to paint. The new works are ‘La Barque 1887’ and ‘The Waterlily Pond at Giverny’, two iconic works of impressionism.

'La Barque 1887' was painted when Monet decided to reintroduce figurative elements in his landscape paintings. 'The Waterlily Pond at Giverny' is a key part of the bigger Water Lilies series; a huge number of paintings and drawings from around the artist's garden, which occupied Monet until his death and includes dozens of canvases creating a panorama of water, lilies, and sky in his studio inspired by his Giverny garden.

The exquisite genius of artist John Myatt is an amalgamation of many elements: an unrivalled eye, a dedication to research and learning, and a relentless pursuit of perfection. But as an artist, he is so very much more than the sum of his component parts. His is a self-knowledge that can come only through extremely fortuitous birthright, or years of lived experience.

In combining this heightened awareness for his craft with a genuine and enduring love for bringing old masterpieces to a new and wider audience, Myatt’s journey has been a veritable masterclass, more than fifteen years in the making. From Monet to Matisse and Van Gogh to Vermeer, Myatt’s past portfolio of ‘genuine fakes’ traverses most styles and subjects of any note from the annals of art history.

John Myatt’s paintings are a unique way to understand the spirit and methods of history’s greatest artists. Although Myatt now emulates the masters while adding his own panache, that luxury wasn’t always afforded to him. To support his family as a single father, Genuine Fakes began on the wrong side of the law, when Scotland Yard detectives called his immaculate imitations of work by art world heavyweights like Marc Chagall, Vincent Van Gogh and Henri Matisse “the biggest art fraud of the 20th century”.

After a short stint behind bars, the detective who arrested him became the first person to commission a legitimate Myatt, followed by the barristers who wanted mementos of the case. Over 20 years later, Myatt’s work is prized by private collectors and he works with law enforcement to help expose would-be fraudsters.

Myatt has managed to perfectly capture the styles and techniques of countless celebrated artists, and hugely enjoys the dialogue he has with past masters through his work.

John believes that the works Monet painted at Giverny are some of his finest. “They show him at the peak of his powers, and they were a deeply personal project for him,” he explains. “It almost seems like a crossover into music; as you’re looking at the different colours, there’s almost a symphonic element going on under the surface of the painting and music in the way those colours speak to each other.

“You can really discern this when you’re actually painting – when you’re doing it from the inside, you can see how Monet faced the problem of painting the works at Giverny, where the gardens were created for him especially for painting, enabling him to explore different lighting without travelling; he was already internationally famous and at last had the luxury of being able to paint for himself.”

The genius of John Myatt comes from his combination of his own creative skill with his in-depth study of the artists whose work he recreates. “It’s hugely important for me to understand them well. You can sit and stare at Monet’s work for two or three hours and suddenly notice something you’ve never seen before. You are always learning from working in the style of Monet, because he lived for such a long time and went to so many different places as an artist. The Giverny pieces show him as man who was totally at the top of his game, and they are timeless”.

John Myatt has recreated two of Monet’s classic Giverny views in the pieces ‘Harmony in Green: The Japanese Bridge (965)’ and ‘Avenue of Flowers II’ available individually or as a stunning set of two.

John believes that the works Monet painted at Giverny, in the garden created by Monet especially for him to paint, are some of his finest. “They show him at the peak of his powers, and they were a deeply personal project for him,” he explains. “It almost seems like a crossover into music; as you’re looking at the different colours, there’s almost a symphonic element going on under the surface of the painting and music in the way those colours speak to each other.

Named after John's now-infamous ad in Private Eye magazine for convincing replicas of classical works, the innovative Genuine Fakes series showcases the talent that led to his supporting role in one of the most sophisticated art frauds in history. Alongside an upcoming feature-length film about his incredible story, Genuine Fakes: The Hopper Collection reflects the enduring interest in the artist, who has appeared on television shows including Fake!

Hopper's cinematic aesthetic - characterised by the juxtaposition of light and darkness, and a theatrical voyeurism that inspired the Hollywood director Alfred Hitchcock - is captured in the saturated colours of the signed limited edition prints.

Amongst the selection are interpretations of some of Hopper's best-known works, including 'Nighthawks' (1942) and 'New York Movie' (1939), which are currently on display at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Modern Art respectively.

Each of the intricate frames has been handmade by a team of craftsmen in the UK. An original hand-carved 18th century mould was used to recreate an authentic period design using sustainably sourced wood.

A plaster resin mix was used for the decoration, which is applied to the primed wood moulding. The frames were then carved and pierced by hand before being hand-stippled to create the beautiful colour finish. This was followed by a gentle burnishing with an agate stone, before it is sealed with a delicate application of wax.

He’s got one of the most fascinating stories in the art world, so it was our pleasure to reveal the Spring/Summer 2021 collection by the infamous art forger John Myatt. For these stunning limited edition prints, he took on Claude Monet and Marc Chagall. No detail was spared, with every hand-embellished canvas presented in a frame cast from an original 18th century mould. He told us: “It’s so good that it could be, just could be, a real one.”