The exposure

Colombia/Bogotá - 1989/1993

Marisa Schmitt-Viassone copied a total of 120 portraits of Simón Bolívar and historical figures –
of which 11 have been identified up to now as copies

Marisa Schmitt-Viassone was on a five-week tour through South America in 1989. Shortly before her flight home, she still had a few hours left and decided spontaneously to visit the National Museum in Bogotá. There, to her astonishment, she discovered two of her portrait miniatures of the liberator Simón Bolívar (one in a guard uniform, one in a black frock coat). Both were identified as originals by the artist José María Espinoa Prieto, who frequently portrayed Bolívar around 1830.

For Marisa, the struggle to prove her authorship began. Based on her preliminary drawings and sketches, she was able to prove it beyond doubt, but was only heard after four years. In 1993, her copies were officially recognised as such in the museum’s catalogue of miniatures. She donated a Bolívar miniature to the museum that she herself still had in her collection and signed it with her own name „Marisa Viassone“ in addition to „J. M. Esp.

Simón Bolívar (J. M. Espinosa), Kopie von Marisa Viassone, Nationalmuseum Kolumbien/Bogotá – Simón Bolívar (J. M. Espinosa), copy by Marisa Viassone, National Museum Colombia/Bogotá

Simón Bolívar (J. M. Espinosa) Kopie von Marisa Viassone, 1955, Nationalmuseum Kolumbien/Bogotá

Schenkung von Marisa Schmitt-Viassone an das Nationalmuseum Kolumbien/Bogotá, 1994: Bolívar-Porträt-Kopie, signiert mit J . M. Esp. und Marisa Viassone – Donation by Marisa Schmitt-Viassone to the National Museum of Colombia/Bogotá, 1994: Bolívar portrait copy, signed J . M. Esp. and Marisa Viassone

USA/Providence - 2000

SIX MINIATURES, PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT TO BE ORIGINALS, TURNED UP IN PROVIDENCE IN 2000

Dr. Maury Bromsen from Boston – a great connoisseur, biographer and collector in North America of documents and pictures of Simòn Bolivar – wanted to donate parts of his extensive Latin American collection to the John Carter Brown Library in Providence. Before the donation in January 2000, experts were called in for a current appraisal. Until then, the miniatures had been estimated at $40,000 each.

His collection included six miniatures that were said to be originals by painters Meucci, Legros and Espinosa. Dr Maury Bromsen had bought them at auction in New York in 1967 at the Parke Bernet auction house, now Sotheby’s, for $1,200 per miniature. After the experts Beatriz González from Bogotá and Dr. Carlos F. Duarte from Caracas had examined the miniatures, they had considerable doubts about their origin. The three Epinosa copies by Marisa Viassone were already recognised in Bogotá at that time and her painting style was well known. Since the pieces were not allowed to be taken out of the frame, the experts recommended that Marisa Schmitt-Viassone take a look at them herself. On site, she was able to prove her authorship of the six miniatures based on her preliminary drawings and sketches.

Venezuela/Caracas - 2002

Simón Bolívar im schwarzen Gehrock, J. M. Espinosa, Porträt-Kopie von Marisa Viassone, John Carter Brown Library, USA, Providence – Simón Bolívar in a black frock coat, J. M. Espinosa, portrait copy by Marisa Viassone, John Carter Brown Library, USA, Providence

Simón Bolívar im Profil, von A. Meucci, Porträt-Kopie von Marisa Viassone, John Carter Brown Library, USA, Providence – Simón Bolívar in profile, by A. Meucci, portrait copy by Marisa Viassone, John Carter Brown Library, USA, Providence

Simón Bolívar im Profil, von A. Meucci, 1830, Porträt-Kopie von Marisa Viassone, John Carter Brown Library, USA, Providence – Simón Bolívar in profile, by A. Meucci, 1830, portrait copy by Marisa Viassone, John Carter Brown Library, USA, Providence

Simón Bolívar auf Haiti im Exil, J. M. Legros, Porträt-Kopie von Marisa Viassone, John Carter Brown Library, USA, Providence – Simón Bolívar in Haiti in Exile, J. M. Legros, portrait copy by Marisa Viassone, John Carter Brown Library, USA, Providence

General Francisco Paula Santander von J. M. Espinosa, Porträt-Kopie von Marisa Viassone, John Carter Brown Library, USA, Providence – General Francisco Paula Santander by J. M. Espinosa, portrait copy by Marisa Viassone, John Carter Brown Library, USA, Providence

AMONG NUMEROUS ANTIQUITIES FROM THE LATIN AMERICAN COLONIAL PERIOD, TWO COPIES WERE ALSO FOUND HERE, WHICH UNTIL THEN HAD BEEN CONSIDERED ORIGINAL WORKS BY J. M. ESPINOSA

When the well-known Venezuelan Bolívar collector F. John Boulton died in 2002, Marisa Schmitt-Viassone and the experts at the National Museums One of her copies also was hanging there. In the course of the investigation, it became clear that Manuel Bustillo had maintained an intensive and friendly business relationship with F. John Boulton from New York. By letter, Manuel Bustillo had successfully offered and sold him numerous antiques. He unscrupulously invented an antique provenance for the pieces. For F. John Boulton, they were virtually untraceable in the 1950s and 1960s. Today, the „Colección Bolivariana“, which also includes numerous pieces of furniture, paintings and documents from the era of Simón Bolívar, is accessible to the public in the form of the „Fundación John Boulton“.

Marisa Schmitt-Viassone was also able to identify another Bolívar copy as hers in the collection of the National Art Gallery in Venezuela Caracas (GAN).

Sammlung Venezuela Caracas F.J. Boulton — Simón Bolívar im schwarzen Gehrock (J. M. Espinosa), Porträt-Kopie von Marisa Viassone, Sammlung Venezuela Caracas F. J. Boulton – Simón Bolívar in a black frock coat (J. M. Espinosa), portrait copy by Marisa Viassone, Venezuela Caracas Collection F. J. Boulton

Simón Bolívar im schwarzen Gehrock (J. M. Espinosa), Porträt-Kopie von Marisa Viassone, Galería de Arte Nacional (GAN), Caracas – Simón Bolívar in a black frock coat (J. M. Espinosa), portrait copy by Marisa Viassone, Galería de Arte Nacional (GAN), Caracas

Further reveals

The well-known auction house Parke-Bernet – today Sotheby’s – in New York also mistakenly appraised Marisa Viassone’s copies as originals

In 2002, a private collector from New York asked the National Museum (the expert Mrs. Beatriz González) to examine her Bolívar miniature for authenticity. Marisa Schmitt-Viassone was sent a picture digitally and immediately recognised that it was a copy she had made. The collector had bought it from the Parke-Bernet auction house in New York around 1960. There, Manuel Bustillo had offered the copies as originals. Even experts were convinced of their authenticity.

The exposure

Colombia/Bogotá - 1989/1993

USA/Providence - 2000

Venezuela/Caracas - 2002

Further reveals

Further links

The novel based on the true story