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This title in other editionseBook editionsThe Man Who Made Vermeers: Unvarnishing the Legend of Master Forger Han Van Meegerenby Jonathan Lopez
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:It's 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 it's a story that's been believed ever since. Too bad it isn't 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 forger's trade far longer than he ever admitted—a 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. Review:"In this engaging study, art historian Lopez examines — as did Edward Dolnick's Forger's Spell, published in June — the fascinating case of Han van Meegeren, a notorious Dutch art forger. Van Meegeren, who sold Hermann Goering a fake Vermeer, was convicted of collaboration; he became a folk hero for duping the Nazi leader. But according to Lopez, van Meegeren was a successful forger long before WWII, and contrary to van Meegeren's claim that he was avenging himself on the art critics who had scorned his own work, Lopez says he was motivated by financial gain and Nazi sympathies: 'What is a forger if not a closeted bermensch, an artist who secretly takes history itself for his canvas?' Lopez asks provocatively. The author gives a vivid portrait of the 1920s Hague, a stylish place of 'mischief and artifice' where van Meegeren learned his trade, and brilliantly examines the influence of Nazi Volksgeist imagery on van Meegeren's The Supper at Emmaus, part of his forged biblical Vermeer series. Lopez's writing is witty, crisp and vigorous, his research scrupulous and his pacing dynamic. 88 b&w photos. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) About the AuthorJONATHAN LOPEZ's writings on art and history appear frequently in Apollo: The International Magazine of Art and Antiques, published in London. The Man Who Made Vermeers grew out of an article that originally appeared in Dutch in De Groene Amsterdammer. Lopez lives with his wife, an art historian and critic, in Manhattan Table of ContentsContents Introduction • A Liars Biography • 1 Chapter One • The Collaborator • 11 Chapter Two • Beautiful Nonsense • 21 Chapter Three • The Sphinx of Delft • 52 Chapter Four • Smoke and Mirrors • 72 Chapter Five • A Happy Hunting Ground • 100 Chapter Six • The Master Forger and the Fascist Dream • 124 Chapter Seven • Sieg Heil! • 143 Chapter Eight • Goering Gets a Vermeer • 166 Chapter Nine • The Endgame • 186 Chapter Ten • Swept Under the Rug • 221 Epilogue • Framing the Fake • 243 Acknowledgments • 249 Endnotes • 257 Select Bibliography • 295 Picture Credits • 317 Index • 323 What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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