More details are emerging about what is thought to be Germany’s biggest postwar art forgery scandal. The affair casts an unflattering light on a leading German art historian who authenticated a fake artwork supposedly painted by German surrealist Max Ernst. The piece was sold for $7 million to Daniel Filipacchi, a top New York art collector.

After he arrived for questioning at the State Office of Criminal Investigation (LKA) in Berlin, Werner Spies started off by telling investigators that he was the world’s only expert on the works of the artist Max Ernst. Spies, an eminent German art historian, said that he first met the great surrealist in 1966, and he remains in close contact with Ernst’s widow, the 100-year-old artist Dorothea Tanning. He was then questioned for a total of six hours.

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