Since their discovery in the 17th century, antique paintings resulted in creation of forgeries. First publication of books on antique painting took place when colored drawings were made and spread. Bellori and Bartoli's book on paintings from Nasonii's tomb had a great success in whole Europe. In the 18th century a lot of paintings were discovered during the excavations made for the king of Naples at Herculaneum. European travellers were very curious about these discoveries, but could not visit the site because of restriction ordered by the napoletan governement. However, some painted fragments said to be taken from Herculaneum could be bought in Rome. In reality these paintings were forgeries made by Giuseppe Guerra, who pretend to restore them. After the whole story was discovered, it was told by Caylus, Winckelmann and Padre Piaggio in their corrispondence. Antiquarians tried to understand why the colors of antique paintings lasted so long. They made some researches upon wax-painting technique. This work had some repercussions on the choice of products used in the conservation of antique painted plasters. The study of the making of forgeries helps in understanding the context in wich evolved the forger. In fact, forgers tried to make their paintings look pleasant and ... genuine. The knowledge of forgers'tricks and the scientific analyses makes easier the detection of forgeries.
