“Naked”: the Paris Court of Appeal considers that the sculpture by Jeff Koons is a forgery of a photograph by Jean-François Bauret.
The name of Jeff Koons appears again in a French court decision. In recent years, in fact, the American artist has been the subject of several convictions for counterfeiting, and the decision of the Paris Court of Appeal of December 17, 2019 only prolongs a judicial past unfavorable to the artist.
In this case, the Court addressed the case of the porcelain sculpture entitled “Naked”, depicting two naked children held by the shoulder. Created in 1988, the work was to be exhibited at the Center Pompidou in 2014 as part of the retrospective devoted to Jeff Koons before being damaged during its transport. The heirs of photographer Jean-François Bauret have nonetheless sued Jeff Koons, his company who manages the production, exhibition and promotion of his works, and the Pompidou Center in forgery of a photograph taken by Bauret in 1970, entitled “Children “And representing two naked children in a pose similar to that of the children of” Naked “. Withdrawn from the exhibition, the work, on the other hand, appeared on the various supports of the exhibition sold to the public.
