Roman Academy takes Orest Kiprensky's portrait of his father for a Rubens

When Orest Kiprensky presented a portrait of his father to the Roman Academy of Painting, the president declared, on behalf of the Academy, that the Russian artist was attempting to pass off as his own work a painting from the brush of Rubens. Certain academicians expressed their conviction that the portrait had been painted by Van Dyck or Albertini. Together with the exposure came a warning to the foreigner never again to attempt to deceive the venerable academicians in so brazen a manner. Kiprensky had to write to Russia, to an artist acquaintance who had seen the work on his father's portrait begin, so that the latter might obtain from the Russian Academy confirmation of the canvas's authorship