Sometimes an art forgery is so sophisticated, it fools even the experts. For example, in 2011, Sotheby’s brokered a deal for a darkly coloured gentleman’s portrait said to be by 17th century painter Frans Hals the Elder. The buyer paid roughly AU$15 million (US$10.9 million). In 2016, amid a string of similar scandals, this work was discovered to be made partially of synthetic paint, making its supposed provenance impossible.