Les fausses reliures peintes des XIIIe et XVe siècles de l’italien Icilio Federico Joni (1866 – 1946)

Amis Bibliophiles bonjour,

Lorsque l’on évoque le faux en bibliophilie, on pense généralement aux manipulations effectuées au niveau du papier, des pages, des gravures, d’un envoi, à la recomposition d’un exemplaire complet à partir de plusieurs incomplets, voire dans le cas de la reliure, à un réemboitage qui ne serait pas signalé, ou à de fausses armes… mais on pense moins souvent aux fausses reliures elles-mêmes.

Et pour cause, compte-tenu des efforts que demande une reliure d’artiste, un faux, pour être crédible aux yeux des experts, demanderait une telle expertise et une telle quantité de travail, que le retour sur investissement ne serait pas garanti. Quel serait pour le faussaire l’intérêt d’un faux demandant les mêmes qualités que celles d’un artiste du livre, avec en plus le risque de se faire démasquer. La reliure d’art est une discipline trop technique, et qui demande trop de temps pour se prêter à une contrefaçon lucrative.

Il existe pourtant un exemple récent de faux en reliure, aux frontières de la bibliophilie, ce qui explique le succès que cette entreprise de contrefaçon a rencontré.

Le faussaire, Icilio Federico Joni (1866 – 1946), est un peintre italien de la ville de Sienne. Abandonné à sa naissance et confié à l’hôpital des enfants abandonnés de Santa Maria alla Scala. Très jeune, il se passionne pour la peinture italienne du XIIIe au XVIIe siècles et il va tirer profit du développement du marché international des antiquités pour produire et vendre, à l’aide de complices, des faux d’oeuvres des peintres primitifs italiens du XIVe et XVe siècles.

Il cible particulièrement des grand collectionneurs étrangers, souvent américains, qui sont, eux et leurs experts, bluffés par la qualité des oeuvres de Joni; ainsi les collectionneurs Wilmerding et Berenson, ou le grand bibliphile américain Robert Hoe.

Si Joni réalise en effet des tableaux inspirés des maîtres italiens di Buoninsegna, Pietro Lorenzotti ou Beato Angelico par exemple, il se consacre aussi à la production de reliures peintes sur ais de bois, inspirées de celles employées sur les livres de comptes de la ville de Sienne du XIIIe au XVe siècle. Son succès et sa « crédibilité » réside dans le fait que Joni ne tente pas de reproduire les reliures de Marius Michel, Padeloup ou Le Gascon, mais capitalise bien sur son talent d’artiste peintre pour proposer ces reliures à la frontière de la bibliophilie et de l’art pictural.

De ce travail va naître une série de fausses reliures peintes, dont on connaît aujourd’hui une quinzaine d’exemplaires (cf. M. Foot, A Pair of Bookcovers of the late 19th Century by I.F. Joni, The Bookcollector, 1985).

Il faut avouer que même si l’on sait désormais qu’il s’agît de faux, leur qualité les rend très désirables.

Icilio Federico Joni avoua la supercherie dans ses mémoires parues en 1932, da Le Memorie di Un Pittore di Quadri Antichi. On imagine alors le scandale et la mine déconfite des experts et autres antiquaires qui avaient joué les intermédiaires entre les complices de Joni et les collectionneurs.L’histoire retiendra que ses toiles et reliures sont aujourd’hui très recherchées et figurent souvent dans de grands musées, la petite histoire, elle, retiendra que Joni signait ses oeuvres de l’acronyme PAICAP, littéralement Per Andare In Culo Al Prossimo, que je vous laisse le soin de traduire, mais qui est évidemment un pied de nez aux experts et aux grands amateurs.

H

12 Commentaires

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  4. J’ignorais également tout de ce faussaire dont les réalisations sont spectaculaires. Je dois avouer que je ne connais rien non plus aux livres de compte siennois du XIVe s. … Une petite recherche sur internet montre toute la diversité de sa production ainsi que l’une de ses oeuvres qui passera en vente le 31 mai :
    https://chiswickauctions.co.uk/lot/170531-lot-48/

  5. Passionnant. J’ignorais tout.
    Bravo pour la nouvelle version de ce qui n’est désormais plus un blog… Un grand pas de franchi !
    Amitiés,
    Gonzalo

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