The Forger's Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century (P.S.) Paperback – June 16, 2009

I love stories like this: once-well known news events, made obscure by the passing of decades, but brought back to life by a talented researcher and writer. This is one of the most fascinating stories I have ever read, with lessons for all – but particularly for people claiming to be art experts.In 1938, a mildly popular Dutch artist named Han van Meegeren, frustrated by the lack of acclaim that his own art should have generated, decided to show that he was the equivalent of the great Dutch masters of the past. After long research and testing of paints, styles, and aging techniques he produced a painting that appeared to be a previously unseen work of one of the very greatest painters: Johannes Vermeer, who lived more than 200 years earlier. Vermeer’s most famous painting to most of us today is *The Girl with the Pearl Earring.* Van Meegeren’s forgery was entitled *Christ at Emmaus.* Even though today we might say the picture looks nothing like a real Vermeer, many art experts of the time fell all over themselves praising it. The painting sold for the equivalent of several million dollars in today’s money. Van Meegeren painted and sold several more fakes and made millions more.He might have gotten away with it and we might still have these lower-quality paintings hanging in major museums today, labeled as the works of a master, if he hadn’t run into some misfortune. He sold one of the fakes to Adolph Hitler and one to Hitler’s second-in-command, Hermann Goering. It wasn’t the Nazis who got him in trouble. No, Hitler and Goering were happily taken in by the forgeries. But when the war ended and American, English, and French art experts began going through all of thousands of pieces of museum art bought or stolen by the Nazis, they found these supposedly priceless “Vermeers.” And the one in Goering’s collection listed Han van Meegeren as the seller.Van Meegeren was facing charges of treason and possible execution for collaboration with the Nazis. His only way out was to confess to the forgeries. But now no one would believe him. Even after Van Meegeren showed all of his techniques to the police and art investigators looking into the case, the art critics and the people who had come to love the forgeries would not believe they were anything but real. Van Meegeren was forced to paint another fake in front of witnesses in order to save his life. This is really several books in one. It includes discussion of the real Vermeer and why he is so popular today and a biography of the forger van Meegeren. But it also includes a history of the Nazis’ looting of Europe and a brief biography of Goering. It is also a history of art forgery and a discussion of the inventive techniques used by van Meegeren, including using Bakelite (the world’s first synthetic plastic) to artificially age the paintings. Finally it is a study of how easy it is to fool all of us and why it is often easier to fool “experts” than people with little knowledge of the subject.

Enjoyable and Interesting book that sometimes reads like a textbook but an intriguing true historical event. I really loved it. I give it 4 stars only because it did drag a bit but I pushed on because if it's educational value. The author refers to the standards beauty during the 1930's which I later observed in an old Joan Crawford movie.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, well written to give you the background story and bring you along a journey of one of the greatest forgers in history. How experts were taken in and raised forgeries to the height of perfection that were seen as long lost artistic works of a master.

This enjoyable, discursive, informative book is a great read. Author Edward Dolnick is a journalist and like all good journalists he has a wide range of interests and is a quick study. The book's topic is nominally Han van Meegeren, a Dutch painter who worked from just after the First World War until just after the Second World War. Although he was competent and made a decent living from his work, the art critics of the day panned his work for being simpering and shallow. So, to make a long story short, he took to forgery, with his main focus being the 17th Century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. This was a bold choice, because only around three dozen Vermeers are known, and were known in the 1930s when van Meegeren started his forgeries. The book discusses van Meegeren's techniques and choices, but also discusses the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany and especially Hermann Goering, the Reichsmarschall, second in command to Hitler. In fact, both collected immense amounts of art and sometimes Hitler took what Goering had wanted. It turns out that Goering ended up with one of van Meegeren's "Vermeers," which leads the story into many interesting twists and turns. There are many other sidelights, including the Getty Museum's purchase of a famous, extremely expensive, and fake kouros, a supposedly a Greek statue, as well as stories about other fakes, forgeries, and copies. It is a terrific book and I recommend it highly.

Interesting topic, but the book itself lacked organization, jumping from one topic to another without thematic continuity or in chronological order. Some analogies also seemed out of place (why the random mention of an ancient Chinese philosopher?)

Still reading but book was in good shape and delivered timely

This true story encompasses history, art history, and European culture. It reads like a well-written novel, but is entirely authentic. A wonderful revelation of the workings of the art world in the first half of the 20th century, as well as how paintings are authenticated. Spans 400 years seamlessly, with historic figures, and unknown ones. For those interested in history, individuals who make it, and a good yarn.

Livro muito detalhado e completo sobre um dos maiores falsificadores de arte no século vinte, incluindo a venda de um um falso Vermeer para Hermann Wilhelm Göring, o General aviador nazista, o nº 2 na escala de poder do Terceiro Reich. Excelente.

A book I was very interested in. If you love art,theExcellent read.

The most fantastic book on the subject of art forgeries starting way back in history to the present date. You'll never look at art again in the same way.

Fascinating insight into the forger's craft using the life of one of the greatest forgers of the twentieth century to explain the how to as well as the why of this strange profession. It is intimately mixed in with the greatest crimes of the second world war. A good read.