The Forger's Spell: a true story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the greatest art hoax of the twentieth century by Edward Dolnick

As the jacket notes say, this truly intriguing book I picked up and finished in no time at all is, "as riveting as a World War II thriller." Find this book in our catalog

"... The Forger's Spell is the true story of Johannes Vermeer and the small-time Dutch painter, Han van Meegeren, who dared to impersonate Vermeer centuries later. The con man's mark was Hermann Goering, one of the most reviled leaders of Nazi Germany and a fanatic collector of art."

Regarded as a mediocre painter in his own right, van Meegeren managed to pull the wool over the eyes of the art establishment and pass off several paintings of his own as those of famous Dutch masters, including Vermeer. At his trial there were eleven paintings in evidence, all of which had received international acclaim and each of which he had sold for what would today be millions of dollars.

The book will appeal first of all to lovers of true crime and to fans of stories of lost art treasures and of World War II. Edward Dolnick goes into great detail describing the process by which van Meegeren first of all created his forgeries, researching processes to make his paintings appear old. He also delves into the psychology of the forger, and even interviews other successful forgers. Then he describes the conspiracies van Meegeren fabricated to snare his wealthy marks, including Goering and Hitler. Van Meegeren succeeded in his deceptions not by producing outstanding works of art. His true genius, as the book notes say, "lay in psychological manipulation."

Part of van Meegeren's success was due to the climate of the times. Nazi occupiers all over Europe were pillaging both public and private art collections. The author devotes three parts of his book to the situation in occupied Netherlands, including the persecution and pillaging of Jews, to the over-the-top acquisitiveness of Goering and Hitler, and to the search for lost art treasures after the war.

Van Meegeren was very successful in manipulating the rivalry between Hitler and Goering. He was equally successful in manipulating the establishment of the art world, museum curators and art critics. He said at his trial for fraud that he, "wanted to strike at the art world for always belittling me." He had wanted to expose the experts for being as fake as the fake paintings they bought, and so at his trial he did not seem sorry to be caught. The author argues that anyone would have been taken in given the times and the way van Meegeren perpetuated his fraud. He does not seem to blame the experts, but I am not at all sure I agree. Perhaps van Meegeren had a point?