Or then, again, as a 60 Minutes episode in 1982 argued, this picture that Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC bought at great expense in 1960 could be, appropriately enough, a 1920s forgery. (It does look rather like a Norman Rockwell magazine cover, although Rockwell would have changed the color schemes of the dresses to make the old lady's hands stand out better against the background. )
De La Tour had been virtually forgotten until the 20th Century, so, like Vermeer, he would be a logical target for forgers since the provenance of even the most authentic De La Tour would be less certain than, say, a Leonardo, since Leonardo has been hugely famous ever since the later 1400s.
Then again, as the Met has strenuously argued, it might be authentic.
In any case, it's a fun painting.
