The Man Who Made Vermeers: Unvarnishing the Legend of Master Forger Han van Meegeren

About this book

Its a story that made Dutch painter Han van Meegeren famous worldwide when it broke at the end of World War II: A lifetime of disappointment drove him to forge Vermeers one of which he sold to Hermann Goering making a mockery of the Nazis. And its a story thats been believed ever since. Too bad it isnt true. Jonathan Lopez has drawn on never-before-seen documents from dozens of archives to write a revelatory new biography of the worlds most famous forger. Neither unappreciated artist nor antifascist hero Van Meegeren emerges as an ingenious dyed-in-the-wool crook who plied the forgers trade far longer than he ever admitteda talented Mr. Ripley armed with a paintbrush. Lopez also explores a network of illicit commerce that operated across Europe: Not only was Van Meegeren a key player in that high-stakes game in the 1920s and 30s landing fakes with powerful dealers and famous collectors such as Andrew Mellon but he and his associates later offered a case study in wartime opportunism as they cashed in on the Nazi occupation. The Man Who Made Vermeers is a long-overdue unvarnishing of Van Meegerens legend and a deliciously detailed story of deceit in the art world.