Here follows my letter of complaint to Catawiki Customer Support. I am waiting for a reply. ( Their messaging system does not accept attached photos. I include photos of 3 out of the 4 suspect paintings here.) Dear...., I wish to bring to your attention an extremely serious matter, regarding two of Catawiki’s “PRO TOP” sellers, which I am sure will be of interest to you. These two sellers are: Ditta Caiazzo and Rosa. My suspicions were first aroused in 2020 when two years after my purchase of a painting, lot number 22018945 from Ditta Caiazzo, I removed the glass from the frame and found traces of paint which was still wet (!) adhering to the inside of the glass. Another painting from the same seller bought at around the same time and purporting to be by Giuseppe Aureli, lot no. 22408477, I recently find to be mere copy of a finer work. I decided to take works sold by Catawiki which claimed to be Giuseppe Aureli (1858-1929) as a sample and research them as being potential frauds. The two sellers, amongst others, which seem to be most guilty of criminal misrepresentation in this respect are the above-mentioned Ditta Caiazzo and Rosa. Here are some of the results, in chronological order, of my findings: 02.12.2018. Lot number 22408477. Ditta Caiazzo. Painting entitled Odalisca signed G . Aureli (this the painting I unfortunately bought) is a COPY of Fatima by Jules Joseph Lefebvre (1836-1911). See attachment 1. Link: https://arthive.com/it/artists/3360~Jules_Joseph_Lefebvre/works/551292~Fatima_1883 20.01.2019. Lot number 23502477. Rosa. Painting entitled Figura della Classicità signed G.Aureli is a COPY of Cleopatra by J. W. Waterhouse (1849-1917). See attachment 2. Link: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cleopatra_-_John_William_Waterhouse.jpg 13.02.2019. Lot number 24341055. Ditta Caiazzo. Painting entitled Figura Neoclassica signed G. Aureli is a COPY of Sappho by Alexandre Isailoff (1869-?). See attachment 3. Link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alexandre_Isailoff_-_Sappho.jpg 12.01.2020. Lot number 33346639. Rosa. Painting entitled Ritratto di Donna signed G. Aureli is a COPY of Dejando el Harèm by Vicente Palmaroli y Gonzales (1834-1896). See attachment 4. Link: https://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_370212/Vicente-Palmaroli-Y-Gonzalez/Leaving-The-Harem We can exclude any fantastical notions that Giuseppe Aureli copied famous paintings and signed them as his own work. He was a successful artist in his own right. I refer you to an exhaustive and illustrated list of 184 original works by Aureli: http://www.artnet.com/artists/giuseppe-aureli/ None of the above Catawiki listings used the words “copy” or “after”, none of them mentioned the works’ original artist and all of them bear the words “Signed G. Aureli”. The descriptions neglect to say that the signatures are false. I repeat that the above examples are the results of research into works claiming to have been painted by only one artist. If in just one morning’s study I have found 4 clear examples of blatant fraud, I hate to think of how many others remain undetected. Probably dozens and dozens. My suspicion is that the Catawiki sellers, both Ditta Caiazzo and Rosa (perhaps in collusion?) have a ‘stable’ of artists who produce copies for sale on internet bearing false signatures which the unwary or gullible buyer will bid for. In the past I was myself amongst those incautious buyers. I am annoyed with myself, but also angry with Catawiki for allowing these situations to continue. Two “Pro, Top” sellers are obviously favoured clients at Catawiki: money-makers extraordinaire! But the Catawiki promise, “Experts you can count on” and Catawiki’s claim of “commitment to trust and safety” are apparently nothing but empty slogans. Such disregard of buyers’ interests, whether by negligence or design, infuriates me. I am considering taking further action regarding Ditta Caiazzo, Rosa and Catawiki, but await your exhaustive reply before making my decision. I wish to be informed of the action you take. Regards, Stephen Barley Rome.