Abstract
This work presents the results of the forensic examination of three questioned artworks attributed to the carioca painter Ivan Serpa. The investigated paintings were seized in a police operation carried out by agents of the Civil Police of the state of Rio de Janeiro. The forensic investigation was carried out at the Carlos Éboli Institute of Criminalistics of the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro (ICCE/PC-RJ). Three methods were used for the forensic examination of the paintings: merceological evaluation, graphotechnical study and physicochemical analysis. The results of the questioned paintings were compared with authentic artworks from Ivan Serpa. The results of the three examinations showed large discrepancies between the questioned and authentic paintings, indicating that they are counterfeit artifacts. The study was carried out through a partnership between ICCE/PCRJ and the Federal Institute of Rio de Janeiro (IFRJ). The IFRJ has experience in the investigation of historical-cultural heritage artifacts by physicochemical analysis, so this work, in addition to allowing the solution of a judicial case, made it possible to implement in ICCE/PCRJ a methodology for forensic investigation of artworks.