The art historian and Modigliani specialist Christian Parisot was sentenced to two years in prison with 16 months suspended, and fined E8,000 ($12,000) by a Paris court on 18 April, for faking drawings by Jeanne Hébuterne, Modigliani’s mistress and model. Ms Hébuterne committed suicide, pregnant and aged just 21, the day after Modigliani died in 1920. In 2002, Parisot organised an exhibition of her drawings in Segovia, Spain: however, many works were seized by the police after Luc Prunet, Jeanne’s great nephew, claimed they were forged. This has since been confirmed in a court-ordered report by the French expert Gilles Perrault. Nevertheless, Mr Parisot denies the charges and is appealing the verdict. Only three Hébuterne works have ever appeared at auction; one, an undated Portrait de Femme, sold for FFr116,000 ($15,804) in 2000 at Drouot.
Originally appeared in The Art Newspaper as 'Modigliani expert sentenced'