Please send a mail to e.posin@web.de or call 0179 / 1892042 (Eugen Posin)
and a copy to
archimbold@aol.com (Semion Posin)

The Posin Brothers are renowned artists who can, at the request of their world-wide clientele, paint either an original work of art or a copy of an already famous masterpiece. The three master-copists studied at the Academy of Arts in Leningrad and for the last fifteen years have specialized in copying paintings by famous artists.

Countless articles in magazines and newspapers as well as many television documentaries testify to their talents. Perhaps you wish to buy a copy of a famous Renaissance painting, or maybe your taste leans towards  more toward Impressionism, Expressionism or the Barock. In either case the three Posin-Brothers can recreate a masterpiece from the past that is so like the original, you will not be able to tell the difference.

Please see at www.kunstsalon-posin.de

 

http://www.wwd.com/eyescoop/the-family-that-paints-together-3333714?navSection=eyescoop&module=recent_es

http://www.wwd.com/eye/people/the-family-that-paints-together-3333714/print-preview/

Russian Brothers Gain Fame Replicating Monet and Da Vinci

by Rosemary Feitelberg /www.wwd.com

Posted Friday October 8, 2010

The idea of three sixtysomething Russian brothers earning their keep by painting fake masterpieces in Berlin might sound like an off-Broadway farce, but that reality belongs to Mikhail, Yevgeny and Semyon Posin. In fact, their knack for creating copies of Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, William Turner, Leonardo da Vinci and other artistic greats for commercial purposes has left them with little time to work on their own art. Raised in Siberia, the trio first studiously painted imitations as part of their training at Leningrad Arts Academy. In 1984, they fled communist rule to relocate to Berlin, where they initially worked for other galleries before opening the Art Posin gallery in 2001.

In step with their scholarly approach, they allow themselves only the amount of time the original artist took to complete a specific work. “If an artist only needed one month to do it, that’s what we do. We try to climb into the skin of the artist,” Mikhail Posin explained.

They now produce 80 paintings a year, with each taking anywhere from one month to 18 months to complete and selling for about $1,000 and up. Many of their clients first caught a glimpse of their knockoffs at The Forgery Museum, which houses 145 of their creations and attracts 50,000 visitors each year to the northern Germany space that opened in 2007. But the Posin’s clients (many of whom hail from Japan, Australia, the U.S. and Germany) need not question whether the paintings are authentic. Each is marked on the back as a reproduction, in compliance with the law. That still did not deter one buyer from trying to resell a William Turner copy as an original to an art collector in Antwerps in 2001. The ploy landed him in jail.

On occasion, clients ask that images of family members be added to, say, the Mona Lisa. Others buy replicas of prized art they already own, so that the original piece can be stored in a safe. While there’s no disputing the brothers are professional copycats, Mikhail Posin bristled at the mention of “copies.” “He said, “We paint pictures — not copies — a picture with a soul. Every picture has a soul, and we try to do that. A picture has to be alive.”

 

www.artfake.net

http://www.artfake.net/copyists.html

the world greatest copyists

The Posin Brothers  Russian Legitimate Copyists

Mikhail, Eugeni and Semjon Posin are three Russian brothers working in Germany who make a living by copying famous works of art such as Van Gogh, Renoir. Bernardo Strozzi , Pissarro and so on. All are brilliantly reproduced. from their studio the Kunstsalon Posin, Berlin

They have achieved dramatic commercial success and some notoriety in that country.

 

www.yong-germany.de

http://www.young-germany.de/news-verwaltung/news-singleview/article/3c6d97a6e0/three-brothers-paint-world-famous-replicas-in-berlin.html?no_cache=1&1%3FcHash=3c6d97a6e0

Three brothers paint world famous replicas in Berlin

We’ve all seen the masterpieces from famed artists like Renoir, van Gogh, and Da Vinci but those that can actually afford such works of art are very few. Now three brothers in Berlin are painstakingly creating replicas of famous renowned paintings.

Russian-born Michael, Evegni, and Semjon Posin have painted replicas of works by Renoir, van Gogh, Da Vinci and Dürer, to name but a few. The brothers have even replicated the Mona Lisa, which took them a year to complete. Their work is painstaking. They do more than just copy the artist’s work, they study the artist’s biography with care so as to understand the time and influences surrounding the piece to be as loyal to the original as possible.

The Posin brothers studied at the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg although they fled the Soviet Union in the 1980’s. They are all art historians and painters; however, they gravitated towards painting replicas out of a need to pay the rent. Their replicas are now bought mostly by customers from the US, Japan, and Australia and retail for between 400 and 20,000 euros.

The Posin brothers’ works are so near to the original that con-artists have nearly successfully sold them as such, although the brothers have distanced themselves from this behavior. To legally paint replicas for sale, the newly created work must be modeled after an artist who has been dead for 70 or more years. The work must also be either smaller or larger than the original work.

A museum housing some of the Posin brothers' replicas is set to open in the state of Brandenburg sometime in late 2007.

 

www.independent.co.uk

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russian-brothers-make-forgery-a-serious-art-form-675520.html

Russian brothers make forgery a serious art form

By Imre Karacs in Berlin Tuesday, 26 June 2001

With a few darting brushstrokes, the master adds a dash of ochre to the luminous background, checks that all 14 sunflowers are accounted for and steps back to admire his work. Another genuine Van Gogh copy bearing Vincent's signature is ready for sale at the Art Salon Posin in Berlin.

With a few darting brushstrokes, the master adds a dash of ochre to the luminous background, checks that all 14 sunflowers are accounted for and steps back to admire his work. Another genuine Van Gogh copy bearing Vincent's signature is ready for sale at the Art Salon Posin in Berlin.

"It has taken me all night to paint it," sighed Mikhail Posin, one of the three Russian brothers who make their living by forging famous oeuvres. This version of Van Gogh's 14 Sunflowers in a Vase will fetch the equivalent of nearly £1,000; a snip compared with the seven-figure sum required to buy the original in Japan. And unlike the other Van Gogh, the Berlin version comes with a certificate of authenticity.

The Posin brothers, graduates of the illustrious Leningrad Arts Academy, also paint in their own inimitable style but most of their customers prefer slightly more established masters. Monet is the current number one, closely followed by Van Gogh and Renoir.

Dozens of familiar pictures hang in the basement gallery in Berlin's prosaically working-class Neukölln district, not far from the studio where the great Konrad Kujau, author of the Hitler Diaries, painted his fakes after he came out of jail. The Posins moved here in January, and business is blossoming.

A customer who foolishly tried to sell two Posin Turners abroad is now languishing in prison, but the brothers themselves are perfectly legitimate. Under German law, the work of any painter dead for at least 70 years can be reproduced, provided the copy is an inch shorter than the original, and its origin clearly marked at the back.

Evgeni Posin, a Rasputin lookalike, was the first of the non-conformist troika to flee communism in the 1980s. He enjoys living in the West, though insists that money is not what drives him. "We are doing this out of our love for art," he says.

The brothers have similar tastes and styles. The Renaissance is their favourite period, but the Old Masters require more work, and therefore cost more. A copy of Bernardo Strozzi's Old Lady in Front of the Mirror carries a price tag of DM11,500 (£3,500).

"We have to paint with the same kind of inspiration, technique and speed as the painter we are copying," Evgeni Posin explains. "Van Gogh took a day or two to finish a painting, so we can't take any longer, either." But every work requires weeks of preparation and practice, he adds hastily. He had spent a month, for instance, studying Camille Pissarro's style, though he then managed to complete the work in one day.

A pile of reference books in the gallery helps customers to choose the painting they will hang in their living rooms. The Posins use the same kind of canvas and materials as their forebears. "You don't just get a copy," says Evgeni Posin. "We put our soul into the work. What you get is art."

And next month the gallery will stage an exhibition of "lost art", all lovingly brought back to life by the Posins.

 

www.dw-world.de

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,2367600,00.html

Mastering the Art of Copying Masters in Germany

Original paintings costing millions of euros are out of reach for a majority of the population. But painstakingly created copies by a trio of painters in Germany might prove to be an affordable alternative.

Three men with beards and long curly hair work together on a large canvas in their studio in Berlin's Neukölln district. One mixes new colors on a palette while the other two men paint. Looking up close one can see that some of their brushstrokes are fine, made with a fine goat-hair brush, while others leave layers of color as thick as a finger using a trowel.

 

By taking a few steps back, visitors can see exactly what the three brothers have been painting for the last six months. It's an amazingly accurate copy of Rembrandt's "Night Watch."

 

Becoming the artist

 

When it comes to reproducing famous artworks, Michael, Evegni and Semjon Posin are among the best in Germany. Renoir, Dürer or van Gogh -- their repertoire covers all the grand masters from five centuries of art history. Evgeni Posin explained that copying a painting isn't really that difficult; giving it a soul is a real challenge.

 

"Reproducing a painting doesn't just mean copying what you see," he said. "You have to capture the essence of the original. That means going through the same processes as the artist. You need to be familiar with their techniques and their way of life, and their brushstrokes. You need to become the artist."

 

That means painting at the same speed as the original artist too. An artwork by Raphael or Rubens can take months to complete, while impressionist paintings can be reproduced in a flurry of activity lasting just a few hours.

 

Larger than the original

 

It's a craft the Posin brothers learned at the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, Russia. All three are qualified art historians and painters in their own right. Not satisfied putting their skills to use for socialist propaganda, they left Russia in the 1980s and moved to Germany. To pay the bills they began copying masterpieces from a wide variety of artists.

 

The resulting artworks can easily be confused with the originals. One con-artist has already tried selling two of their William Turner reproductions as originals, and nearly got away with it. But Evgeni Posin said he and his brothers do their best to steer clear of the criminal art market.

 

"What we do is completely legal," he said. "We don't try and pass off our artworks as originals -- we're not frauds. We stick to the rules, which say the reproduction must be a few centimeters bigger or smaller than the original, and the artist must have been dead for at least 70 years."

 

A museum for fakes

 

The key to accuracy is careful research. Instead of looking at art books, the brothers travel to the museums where the originals are displayed. Copying the Mona Lisa, for example, kept them busy at the Louvre in Paris for an entire year. That attention to detail comes at a price. A "genuine" Posin copy can cost anywhere between 400 and 20,000 euros.

 

Most of the customers come from the United States, Japan and Australia -- from architects looking for an abstract Malewitsch to retired couples looking for a Dürer to hang in their living room. German businessman Gerold Schellstede has purchased more than 30 Posin paintings himself. He said he plans to open a museum dedicated to the reproductions in the eastern German state of Brandenburg later this year.

 

"A lot of people are unable to see these paintings in the museums of Paris or Madrid," he said. "They can't afford it, or perhaps they think they don't know much about art. That's why we want to make these works accessible – who knows, maybe they'll capture their interest. Maybe one day they'll even get to see the originals and make a comparison."

 

The Art of Imitation: Russian Brothers Fake Masterpieces

JakartaGlobe (The Art of Imitaion: Russian Brothers Fake Masterpieces)

09.April 2010  by Filip Bubenheimer

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/arts/the-art-of-imitation-russian-brothers-fake-masterpieces/368555

Equally worded:

EarthTimes 12.März 2010 (Being Van Gogh: Russian brothers fake art masterpieces - Feature)

The China Post 08.April 2010  (Trio are masters at copying artwork)

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/art/arts/2010/04/08/251654/Trio-are.htm

In a smoky art salon, tucked between kebab stands and international-call shops, Mona Lisa’s fixed smile hangs alongside Vincent van Gogh, staring from an earless self-portrait.

This is the Berlin gallery of Russian brothers Yevgeny, Semyon and Mikhail Posin, who make their living painting imitations of the world’s most famous masterpieces.
Their works are not exactly forgeries, but very good copies or reproductions. The Posin brothers are said to be among the best of their kind in the world.
Only experts would be able to distinguish a Posin copy from the original — if the brothers did not mark the back of their paintings to comply with the law.

Indeed, one of the brothers’ clients has been jailed for attempting to resell a Posin copy as the original, to an art collector in Antwerp, Belgium. “An idiot,” Yevgeny Posin said of the audacious swindler.
The tight-lipped troika have a certain aura about them, and look as though they had jumped straight out of a 19th-century Russian photograph.
“We master all periods because we are excellently trained. We know virtually no other artist who has our skills,” said Mikhail Posin, 61, the youngest of the three.

The Posin brothers, who work out of Berlin’s Neukoelln district, make it clear that they no longer needed to prove their talent, with good reason. Orders never cease, and a German collector has opened a museum featuring nothing but the Posins’ imitations. The Forgery Museum, 120 kilometers south of Berlin, has attracted more than 40,000 visitors since 2007.
The Posins grew up in Siberia and graduated from the Leningrad Academy of Arts before coming to Germany in 1985 as dissidents from the Soviet Union.
“We were already copying art when we were children,” Mikhail said. After their arrival in Germany, the harsh reality of the German art market forced the brothers to rediscover their early talent.

“We fake art because we enjoy it and because it earns us a good living,” said Yevgeny Posin, 62.
“Copying is like acting. We have to empathize with the artist,” Mikhail said. “In the case of van Gogh, we did not cut off an ear, but we read his letters to put ourselves into the painful state he must have felt.”

The brothers take the same amount of time to copy a painting as the original artist took for the creation. Once, the Posins threw a visiting painter out of their gallery after he claimed he had specialized in copying Claude Monet’s water lilies.
“He said it would take him three weeks, but this is absurd. Monet painted them within three hours,” Mikhail said.

A Posin copy costs at least 600 euros ($800), and there is no upper limit. “Some people think artists have to be poor to make good art, but being hungry does not improve one’s paintings,” Yevgeny said.
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 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.”

The Posin brothers also paint their own motifs, most of which are inspired by religious images. Their personal art does not fly off the shelves in the same way as the fakes, but the brothers say creating and copying art are two disciplines that benefit from each other.

“Someone who cannot create good pictures cannot copy well either,” Mikhail said. On the other hand, he said, practicing one’s hand on the finest examples from art history caused no harm either.

“I’d like to create more from my own artistic inspiration,” Mikhail said. Unfortunately, their thriving copying business leaves little time for self-fulfillment. 

DPA

 

 

 

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