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The Terrus museum in Elne, which sits near the border with Spain and is dedicated to the painter, announced that the works originally attributed to Etienne Terrus had been created by someone else, local media has reported. A panel of experts was then called upon to judge whether over half the collection was the work of the Elne-born artist—they confirmed Forcada's suspicions that Terrus was not the creator. Art historian Eric Forcada, who oversaw the Terrus collection during the renovation, first alerted museum officials to the possible forgeries, reported France 24. The museum assembled a committee of experts from the cultural world, who inspected the works and concluded that 82 of them had not been painted by the Elne-born artist. The Mayor of Elne, Yves Barniol, called the situation "a catastrophe" on Friday as it was announced when the museum opened following a renovation. Read more fakes news:

In interviews on Friday, the mayor of the Pyrenees town, Yves Barniol, said the situation was "a disaster" and apologised to those who had visited the museum in good faith. An art gallery dedicated to the work of Catalan artist Etienne Terrus - a close friend of Henri Matisse - has discovered more than half of its paintings are fake. Image copyright Musée Terrus Image caption The authentic Vue Cathédrale remains on display

Some of the paintings show buildings that were built after Terrus' death, France 3 said. Police in France have now launched an investigation into allegations of fraud and forgery and have warned other regional artists and museums may have fallen victim to counterfeiting too.
82 paintings at a museum dedicated to Étienne Terrus in Elne, France, are revealed as forgeries.