A painting sold by Knoedler as a Mark Rothko that turned out to be fake.

Plaintiffs Domenico and Eleanore De Sole in the Knoedler gallery art forgery case were heard on Wednesday. The Manhattan federal-court trial is expected to last four weeks.

Taking the stand, ex-Gucci CEO Domenico de Sole, now the chair of Tom Ford International and Sotheby’s, said, “I got a fake painting for $8.3 million and they don’t want to give it back to me.”

The de Soles are seeking $25 million in damages from now-defunct Knoedler and its former president, Ann Freedman.

Collector Domenico de Sole, who is now chairman of Sotheby's board, is suing over a Mark Rothko painting that turned out to be fake. Photo: Courtesy of Sothebys.com

“She was very, very vocal and very aggressive about it,” De Sole said of Freedman in her sale of the Rothko.

At his request, Freedman provided written provenance for the work which included a private collector who lived in Switzerland and Mexico, and bought the work directly from the artist's studio through known art advisor, the late David Herbert. The heir of the collector was supposedly the seller, and wanted to remain anonymous.

A courtroom sketch of Domenico De Sole on the witness stand with the fake Rothko painting he bought from Knoedler gallery. Photo: Elizabeth Williams, courtesy ILLUSTRATED COURTROOM.

In fact, the De Sole's Rothko was among over $60 million in forged art recently made by a now-vanished Chinese immigrant in Queens and brought to Knoedler by dealer Glafira Rosales, who awaits sentencing after pleading guilty in the case.

De Sole maintained that he "deserved a lot of damages, " adding that the sales of fraudulent artworks by Knoedler and Freedman were "a conspiracy."

Freedman has claimed innocence ever since the scandal blew up in 2011, noting that she purchased some of the Rosales-sourced works for her own collection.

A courtroom sketch of defense lawyer Charles Schmermer at the Knoedler gallery trial. Photo: Elizabeth Williams, courtesy ILLUSTRATED COURTROOM.