Born in the Netherlands, Jansen opened his own art gallery in the 1970s. While a gallery owner, he began forging works by Karel Appel. He continued to forge and sell Appels throughout the 1980s. He also forged works in the style of Pablo Picasso, Gustav Klimt, Joan Miró, and Vinvent van Gogh. His operation was discovered in 1994. In 2000, Jansen was sentenced to one year in prison. Jansen now works for the Van Gogh Studio, a gallery in Amsterdam that sells high quality Van Gogh reproductions.
By Elliot Penn
Sources:
Schutten, Henk. “Master Forger Geert Jan Jansen on trial in France.” Internet Archive Wayback Machine. 26 September 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20051229225528/http://www.museum-security.org/00/170.html