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

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 just isn't true.

Jonathan Lopez has done what no other writer could--tracking down primary sources in four countries and five languages to tell for the first time the real story of the world's most famous forger. Neither unappreciated artist nor antifascist hero, Van Meegeren emerges in The Man Who Made Vermeers as an ingenious, dyed-in-the-wool crook--a talented Mr. Ripley armed with a paintbrush, who worked virtually his entire adult life making and selling fake Old Masters. Drawing upon extensive interviews with descendents of Van Meegeren's partners in crime, Lopez also explores the networks of illicit commerce that operated across Europe between the wars. Not only was Van Meegeren a key player in that high-stakes game during the 1920s, landing fakes with powerful dealers and famous collectors such as Andrew Mellon (including two pseudo-Vermeers that Mellon donated to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.), but the forger 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 Meegeren's legend and a deliciously detailed story of deceit in the art world. more

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Recent Reviews

4/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Jan-28-2009; Review of Book; A good book. The illustrations are excellent and help to made the story clear. The book is a little long and complex. I supect the story could have been told in a book half the size of this one.; read full review | report as inappropriate

5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Jan-25-2009; A stunning account; As an author of an Art History monograph, I approached this book with skepticism. I am delighted with it! I found it a stunning array of criteria and research. Especially, I appreciated the economics and political climate that Lopez...; read full review | report as inappropriate

5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Jan-25-2009; An Edgar contender; This fast-paced account of art world fraud and Nazi collaboration in WWII Holland is one of five nominees for the 2009 Edgar Award in the "Fact Crime" category. The Edgars (as in Edgar Allen Poe) are awarded each year by the Mystery...; read full review | report as inappropriate

4/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Jan-19-2009; The most scholarly and well-researched one out there; In the last year I've read the Dolnick and Wynne books, and just now finished Lopez's. Mr. Lopez clearly has done a staggering amount of research and includes a lot more info about Van Meegeren's life, artistic oeuvre, and various...; read full review | report as inappropriate

Selected Reviews

4/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Jan-28-2009; Review of Book; A good book. The illustrations are excellent and help to made the story clear. The book is a little long and complex. I supect the story could have been told in a book half the size of this one.; read full review | report as inappropriate

3/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Sep-01-2008; An Art Crook; A thorough history of the notable and extended art forgery career of Han van Meegeren. While it seems the basic facts surrounding Mr. Van Meegeren's blatant and many frauds are now known, I did not find the prose style of Jonathan Lopez...; read full review | report as inappropriate