The Forger's Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Forger's Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century

3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 · rating details · 1,162 ratings · 240 reviews

As riveting as a World War II thriller, The Forger's Spell is the true story of Johannes Vermeer and the small-time Dutch painter who dared to impersonate him 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.

It was an almost perfect crime. For seven years a no-account painter named Han v...more

Hardcover, 349 pages

Published June 24th 2008 by Harper

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Art Crime

8th out of 37 books — 13 voters

Art Fraud And Theft

8th out of 87 books — 22 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 2,889)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Oct 13, 2008 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of art, Vermeer

Shelves: non-fiction

My review is going to be choppy, like this book. Yes, at times it was a fascinating read, but I think the author tried to cram too much information into one book. It was extensively researched and annotated, but jumped from subject to subject without much continuity.

It was part technical manual (forgery 101), biography, art history, art hoaxes, and WWII history (in particular the Nazi looting of Europe’s works of art). One good thing about this book was that it made me want to read several othe...more

8 likes · like · see review

Jun 24, 2008 Ruth marked it as to-read

Famous art, a wily forger, nasty Nazis. What more could you want? LA Time gave this a very good review.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/...

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 27, 2008 J. rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: ... copy-cats ....

Shelves: history, arts, europe, non-fiction, con-games

Art theft and Art forgery go hand in glove, and both have always been of interest to me for some reason. Maybe it's the inherent sleight-of-hand in all the arts -- can you really paint a woman's face without daVinci coming to mind, can you really write a tragic play without thinking of the greeks ? For the moderns, this legerdemain was taken in stride, exalted even, by the time of say, Duchamp & Pablo P. But there was theft for art's sake and theft for theft's sake, and therein lies the tale...more Art theft and Art forgery go hand in glove, and both have always been of interest to me for some reason. Maybe it's the inherent sleight-of-hand in all the arts -- can you really paint a woman's face without daVinci coming to mind, can you really write a tragic play without thinking of the greeks ? For the moderns, this legerdemain was taken in stride, exalted even, by the time of say, Duchamp & Pablo P. But there was theft for art's sake and theft for theft's sake, and therein lies the tale.

Dolnick's basic plot lines--- the Real Events ---- are magic; he does a fair amount with what he's got, but it would take a ridiculously bad writer to foul up this particular story.

There's a well-characterized forger, one who stands in the classic position of having his serious work shunned by the 'serious' art-world. He's the right man (a prosperous commercial artist) in the right place (Holland of the Dutch Masters), with the right science and skills (adequate painter and highly imaginative psychological warrior) and he just happens to be in the right Time, as well......

Without giving away the two or three oddities in this otherwise-conventional Forgery-Theft-&-Apprehension-By-The-Law, it's worth noting that conditions in continental Europe just before the War were astoundingly ripe for some artistic fudging of the artistic facts, and our protagonist van Meegeren played it beautifully.

So beautifully, in fact, that come his trial --and I don't want to give away why---- his entire defense was consumed by proving that he was guilty of the forgery in question, beyond any shadow of a doubt.

An art forger tale with a twist. Couple of nice chapters on the radical ingeniousness of not copying the Master too comprehensively.... kind of a be-careful-for-the-scrutiny-you-wish-for scenario .... Only the Master would take certain detours, a forger would only copy what was already done.....

Oh, and here's a brief side-anecdote, one that speaks to the integrity aspects of the artworld denizens. Here's a collector / curator named Hannema.....

He roamed Europe in search of bargains, poking into tiny galleries and wooing prospective donors. Hannema's taste was eclectic--tribal artifacts from New Guinea, old masters, Japandese swords. He pursued art wherever the trail led. In Paris one day, where he had been invited to look at a Georges de La Tour, he found a family in mourning. Perhaps it would be better to come back tomorrow ? No, monsieur, please. Today would be best; the funeral will be tomorrow.
"I did not feel good about it," Hannema recalled, "but La Tour was just beginning to draw attention, and maybe I could pick it up for a reasonable price." The black-clad family pushed Hannema into a candle-lit room. The painting hung on the wall above an old, emaciated woman, lying dead in her bed. "Please, monsieur. Just look."
Hannema took off his shoes, borrowed a flashlight, and climbed onto the bed. The old woman's body shifted a bit as Hannema studied the painting from different angles. It was a pleasant picture, he announced when he turned off the flashlight, but unfortunately, a fake.

Well told, and moves along. Recommended.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Aug 28, 2008 Anne rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Forger's Spell is the true story of Han van Meegeren, a not-so-great painter living in Holland during the Nazi occupation. What van Meegeren lacked in artistic talent, he more than made up for in his skills of psychology deception. When his own paintings couldn't sell, he turned to forging those of Johannes Vermeer (the Dutch painter of Girl with the Pearl Earring fame). He swindled over $30 million dollars from investors, much of it from German war criminals. Dolnick's book is a perfect mix...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 15, 2009 Tony rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: art

Dolnick, Edward. THE FORGER’S SPELL. (2008). ****. This is the fascinating story of one of the greatest art forgers of the 20th Century, Han van Meegeren. He was a passable artist in his own right, but was pretty much ignored by the rest of the art community. According to him, he began to paint fakes to get back at the snobby critics and collectors, and, as a secondary benefit, to make some money. He settled on two famous painters from the 17th Century to work on: Vermeer and De Hooch. His first...more Dolnick, Edward. THE FORGER’S SPELL. (2008). ****. This is the fascinating story of one of the greatest art forgers of the 20th Century, Han van Meegeren. He was a passable artist in his own right, but was pretty much ignored by the rest of the art community. According to him, he began to paint fakes to get back at the snobby critics and collectors, and, as a secondary benefit, to make some money. He settled on two famous painters from the 17th Century to work on: Vermeer and De Hooch. His first forgery was titled Christ at Emmaus, and was painted in the style of Vermeer. Through the use of several middlemen, van Meegeren was able to sell this painting for a fantastic amount of money. With this money, he adopted a lifestyle that was lavish – to say the least – in an era where the Dutch were under attack by the Nazis and there was no money to be had. Several famous art critics adopted this painting as their crusade objective and touted it to the rest of the world. It became more famous than any of the other Vermeer paintings that were known at the time. (It turns out that there are only 35 or 36 Vermeers known and catalogued.) Since he got away with the first one, van Meegeren continued in his career of forgery with several other paintings as if by Vermeer. He was extremely clever in his use of basic materials, and even discovered ways of producing the hardness and cracking of the oils as if they were indeed three-hundred years old. The story is a true tale of detection. What makes the story additionally interesting is the information the author provides on the Nazi art collectors, especially Hitler and Mermann Goering. Nazi leadership took every advantage of subdued countries to siphon off priceless works of art to their own private galleries. It turns out that one of van Meegeren’s painting, Christ With the Woman Taken in Adultery, supposedly as by Vermeer, was part of Goering’s collection, and one of his proudest possessions. Goering bragged that he had this Vermeer and showed it to all of his guests. He even bragged about how much money he had paid for it – although none of the money was his. In all, this is a fascinating story about fakery in the world of art, and the psychology of artists and critics. Recommended.(less)

like · see review

Mar 02, 2009 Judy rated it 3 of 5 stars

I probably would have never read this book, but it was highly recommended to me by Samatha. Right you were, Sam. This book was fascinating. It's a nonfiction volume that answers the question, How can a painting that is worth millions of dollars one day, be practically worthless the next? The answer, of course, is if the painting is revealed to be a forgery. Yet, the painting looks identical during its much praised and its much damned days. This book is the true story of Han van Meegeren, a minor...more

like · see review

Dec 13, 2008 Howard Olsen rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the amazing story of Han Van Meegeren, the small time Dutch painter who managed to convince dealers, scholars, buyers, museums, and the public that he had found several "lost" masterpieces by Vermeer. The truth was that VM actually painted them, and then grew wealthy selling them as authentic Vermeers to an increasingly enraptured public. VM was not just running a con, where he duped credulous buyers and then skipped town with their cash. The Dutch art establishment declared one of VM's...more This is the amazing story of Han Van Meegeren, the small time Dutch painter who managed to convince dealers, scholars, buyers, museums, and the public that he had found several "lost" masterpieces by Vermeer. The truth was that VM actually painted them, and then grew wealthy selling them as authentic Vermeers to an increasingly enraptured public. VM was not just running a con, where he duped credulous buyers and then skipped town with their cash. The Dutch art establishment declared one of VM's paintings to be THE masterpiece of Vermeer's career, and organized exhibitions around it. The other paintings were held to be the missing links (shades of Piltdown Man!) between Vermeer's early allegorical works and his later domestic scenes. Essentially, VM created a new genre of "Vermeers" for scholars to exult over. But, it all came crashing down after VM pulled off his greatest coup - selling a fake Vermeer to Hermann Goering. Suspected of collaboration after the war, VM eagerly admitted to the forgeries to escape the death penalty for treason.

The obvious question, and the theme of this book, is "How did he do it?" Dolnick's answers are threefold. First, Vermeer, like Shakespeare, is a forger's paradise. His biography is sketchy enough that a forger can fill it with "new" works. VM was also working at a time when vermeer had been "rediscovered" and old Vermeers could still be found hanging in old manor houses. Second, VM lived in chaotic times. When VM sold his first vermeer in 1937, the Nazis had already begun distorting the European art market through plunder and acquisitions. After WW2 began, and Germany conquered Holland, VM's Vermeers were hidden away with all of Holland's other treasures, which had the additional benefit of keeping them away from more skeptical viewers.

Third, VM was exceptionally good at all aspects of the forger's trade. VM was a portrait painter of some renown. Like anyone with artistic training, he was quite capable of imitating the style of the Old Masters. There are certain technical tricks forgers have developed to fool the tests of scholars use to determine whether a painting is truly a centuries-old work. Dolnick details these well, and there is no doubt that VM employed them. VM's great innovation was his paint. He developed a Bakelite based oil paint that, when baked at certain temperature, mimicked the hardness of 300 year-old oils.

The technical is but one aspect of the forger's art. The forger must also provide a plausible explanation for where the painting came from. Some forgers have gone as far as to develop fake provenances. VM did not have to go so far. He used a series of middlemen, always with a tale of a desperate fictional family that needed to flee German Nazis or Italian Fascists, and would trade their "vermeer" for freedom. Did I mention that VM was despicable?

The way VM fooled scholars is even more clever, and a good object lesson that the weighty claims of the intellectual elite are often built on sand. VM's vermeers were carefully arranged to pass intellectual muster. They always borrowed elements (hands, arms, little objects) from other vermeers. They always used vermeerian lighting and color schemes. For his most well regarded forgery, which depicted Christ at Emmaus, VM chose as his model a Caravaggio on the same theme, which further enhanced its credibility since vermeer scholars theorized that Caravaggio had profoundly influenced vermeer. When the painting appeared, it "confirmed" their theory and added to their enthusiastic response! Most important, and counter-intuitively, they incorporated stylistic elements that appealed to contemporary tastes, thus creating a sense that these vermeers were "speaking" to the modern world, thus underscoring their ostensible timelessness. These passages of the book are the most fascinating in their depiction of art scholarship, and just plain art appreciation, is as much psychological as it is scientific.

This is a well written book. Dolnick juggles a lot of themes - VM's career and trial, the forger's art, the scholar's art, vermeer's career, Holland in WW2, the Nazis - very well. My only complaint is that there is a little too much about the Nazis, especially Goering, and not enough about VM. That's a minor complaint, though. The subject is astounding. The cast of characters-with its seedy forgers, windy scholars, nagging wives, and stray nazis - is straight out of the Maltese Falcon. The writing is very easy on the brain. This is definitely worthy of your time. (less)

like · see review

Sep 26, 2012 Regina Lindsey rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is not a book for the masses, but if you like World War II history and/or art this is a fun read!

In their off time Hitler and his second in comman Hermann Goering actively scoured Europe for masterpieces "to purchase" and bring back to Germany. Dolnick notes, "The Nazis were criminals who went out of their way to profess respect for the law; rather than steal outright, they often preferred to make coerced purchases. Goering's outlays, needless to say, did not come from his own pocket." (pg...more This is not a book for the masses, but if you like World War II history and/or art this is a fun read!

In their off time Hitler and his second in comman Hermann Goering actively scoured Europe for masterpieces "to purchase" and bring back to Germany. Dolnick notes, "The Nazis were criminals who went out of their way to profess respect for the law; rather than steal outright, they often preferred to make coerced purchases. Goering's outlays, needless to say, did not come from his own pocket." (pg 13). Goering admited that he had paid $13M (in today's dollar) for 600 paintings. Holland was particularly vulnerable to this spree. The country tried to remain neutral but in the end lost 73% of its Jewish population. Further, Dutch masters like Vermeer and Rembrandt were of particular interest to Hitler and Goering. Art dealers raced to Holland hoping to take advantage of the spending spree of the Nazis. Historian Hector Felician notes, "by the liberation in 1944 one third of all the art in private hands had been pillaged by the Nazis" (Pg 51)

Goering, reminiscent of Nero, made the ideal target. He was over the top in decadence and allowed his preference to the aesthetics to interfere with even military strategy. "Goering was reluctant to outfit Germany's long-range bombers with naviational instruments, for instance, althougth the military advantages of such equipment were not in dispute. The problem was aesthetic. To him, pilots were gladiators, not technicians." (pg 53) Another example: "Under a soaring dome, the library boasted a 26-foot long mahogany desk with inlaid swastikas and a table with legs carved in the shape of penises, each one nestled between a pair of carved breasts." (pg 54) When Rommel came to plead his case for reinforcements, Goering only wanted to discuss art.

Hitler, as many people know, was an aspiring artist but lacked talent. His motive in this exercise was to establish a museum that was home to the greatest works. Hitler brought in Hans Posse to locate work and bring them to Germany. His first assignment was to fill the "Vermeer gap"

Dolnick provides great insight into the world of forgery and the lengths that must be taken to fool not only the "trained eye" but scientific tests that work can undergo. From the panels used, to the chemical make up of the paint, to wormholes the reader gets a glimpse into a world that is not often discussed.

Van Meegeren was an artist living in Holland at the time of the invasion. While much of the elected officials sought him out for commissions, the established art critics gave harsh verdicts to his talent and work. Van Meegeren devised a scheme to produce Vermeer forgeries that would rock the art critics and scam the Nazis to the tune of a fortune. Vermeer was a prime subject to forge because there is little verifiable facts about his life and there are relatively few (35) paintings known. This makes for a gap for a con man to fill in. Rather than recreate known works, Once Abraham Bredius, an art critic desparate to find a big Vermeer, fell for the Van Meegeren fakes, Van Meegeren created a whole new line of religious work Vermeer supposedly painted. For seven years the fake "Christ at Emmaus" was the most popular Vermeer. This allowed him to dump fake Vermeers into Nazi hands.

At the end of the war the Dutch cracked down on Nazi sympathizers and Monument Men went about the task of trying to reclaim confiscated art. Van Meegeren's name appeared in connection with the sale of art to Goering and the police came knocking. It was only after his name became attached to Hitler and the threat of a treason charge loomed that Van Meegeren admited his true crime. At first, one believed him. Eventually forensic evidence proved him right. Rather than viewing him as a criminal, the Dutch populace embraced him as a hero for having duped the Nazis so well. Complete with applause in the courtroom, Van Meegeren was sentenced to two years in prison but died of a heart attack before serving a day.
(less)

like · see review

Jul 29, 2012 Holly rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a fascinating story, both because of the events and because of the treatment.

Each of the many chapters could be read on its own, because each gives one aspect of the subject in depth while also reflecting the subject as a whole. The first impression might be that the author repeats himself a lot; but it is probably better to see this as a fractile approach, exploring each facet in relation to the others.

I was especially struck by the author's contention that contemporary forgeries tend t...more

like · see review

Apr 26, 2012 Renee rated it 5 of 5 stars

Reads like a well crafted mystery, but its all true! As WWII history devotee, a Vermeer fan, and an enthusiast of the history of the lowlands from 1500 to date--I really enjoyed this book. Mr. Dolnick's narrative is absorbing, this was a very hard book for me to put down. It was given to me by a friend (he had just finished it) during a sitting for my portrait--as he painted we talked of many things including WWII and the Dutch Masters. He passed along this most excellent book. Thanks! Like fict...more

like · see review

Jan 03, 2012 Richard rated it 3 of 5 stars

Rating: 3* of five

Here we have a non-fictional account of the 20th century's most astoundingly, resoundingly, and undeservedly successful art forgery scam.

In very, very brief, it's the story of a Dutch forger who cons Goering out of *boatloads* of cash for fake Vermeers. The book presents us with the fakes in a photo section. I simply cannot believe that anyone not completely blind and thus viewing these horribly hideous daubs in Braille could be taken in by them.

There are quite a few characters...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 25, 2011 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

A wonderful blend of art, science/technology and World War II history of both the oppressed and the oppressors this was an enjoyable novelesque work of non-fiction. I found the flip-flopping format to be moderately distracting which I also believe contributed to the repetitive nature of the author's prose. However, with redeemingly short chapters and a satisfactory amount of illustrations (although it would have been nice to have had a photo of every painting discussed in a numbered index), thes...more

like · see review

Apr 12, 2011 Lucy rated it 3 of 5 stars

I took a lot of art history classes in college so I'm going to be pretty much interested in any book about art or artists. I have seen artists sit in front of famous works in museums and attempt to copy them. I was always under the impression that any copy done in this manner had to be a different size from the original. Supposedly, this would prevent fakes from being created. Obviously, not so. The subject of this book didn't copy masterpieces, he created entirely new ones, which I would think...more

like · see review

Aug 30, 2010 Bvg rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book combines art, WWII and criminal history. For the most part, the author provides a variety of information in a thoroughly
entertaining way. In other words, the book has relatively (if any at all) dry (i.e. boring) spots. Some people might not appreciate the way he bounces from topic to topic but I believe that is what makes this book exciting. You can hardly wait to see what little nugget of info/trivia he will link into the overall topic of the Vermeer hoax.
My inexperienced eye could...more

like · see review

Aug 06, 2008 Bob rated it 5 of 5 stars

"So primed are we to see what we want to see (and to reject what runs counter to our hopes and expectations) that psychologists and economists have coined an entire vocabulary to describe the ways we mislead ourselves. 'Conformation bias' is the broad heading. The idea is that we tell ourselves we are making decisions based on the evidence, though in fact we skew the results by grabbing up welcome news without a second glance while subjecting unpleasant facts to endless testing."

1 like · like · see review

Aug 30, 2010 Rachel Metz rated it 3 of 5 stars

My book group read this one and was evenly divided between the do like/don't like. I found it quite interesting.

1 like · like · see review

Apr 21, 2009 Jesse rated it 4 of 5 stars

"The Forger's Spell" by Edward Dolnick is a well told story about one of the most infamous art forgery cases of the 20th century. Han van Meegeren spent the duration of WW2 painting Vermeers; and what makes this case so fascinating - besides the big name artist he picked - was the way the critics fell head over heels for these forgeries, calling them Vermeer's best work. And if that wasn't enough, the story is made more intriguing by the fact that Hermann Goering, the head of the Luftwaffe and...more "The Forger's Spell" by Edward Dolnick is a well told story about one of the most infamous art forgery cases of the 20th century. Han van Meegeren spent the duration of WW2 painting Vermeers; and what makes this case so fascinating - besides the big name artist he picked - was the way the critics fell head over heels for these forgeries, calling them Vermeer's best work. And if that wasn't enough, the story is made more intriguing by the fact that Hermann Goering, the head of the Luftwaffe and one of the most charismatic and sociopathic of all the Nazis was also fooled, trading 137 genuine paintings for one of van Meegeren's Vermeers. Being such an compelling story, it has had other treatments in book form, and while I haven't read any of these previous books, I can say that this one does a splendid job of getting into the motivations and machinations of a forgery of this magnitude.
Han van Meegeren was a small-time Dutch artist who had been rejected by the art community. His paintings were deemed "sentimental and shallow", however he did have some monetary success painting portraits for rich clients, and also found success through some of his pencil drawings. Yet van Meegeren felt slighted by the art community and believed himself to be much more talented than the critics allowed. Thus he formulated a plan to fool the art world by painting forgeries of Vermeers and De Hoochs. And what van Meegeren lacked in artistic capability he more than made up for in his abilities as a master forger. He found ingenious ways to fool the experts: using plastic in his paints to harden them faster, using India ink to act as an ersatz grime to fill the craquelure, tearing the finished canvass and sloppily repairing it. Even his stylistic choices were inspired. After trying - and failing - to pass off a Vermeer based on an original painting, he decided to base his next painting on a Caravaggio, who was thought to be an influence on Vermeer. This was the painting that fooled the art world. "Christ at Emmaus" was said to be Vermeer's very best work, one of his most important paintings, as it bridged the thematic gap between his early and later career. Van Meegeren had struck gold. Because so little was known about Vermeer's life and because so few genuine Vermeers were known to exist, van Meegeren was able to spin a vague story about a family in dire financial straits, who wanted to remain anonymous, but who possesed some Dutch masterpieces they would like to sell. A few experts did indeed claim "Christ at Emmaus" to be a fake, however Holland was so desperate to keep Dutch masterpieces within their mesuems that a museum director quickly raised the money to purchase the painting - without testing its authenticity - before any deep-pocketed Americans took it off the market. It was here that van Meegeren really found his biggest gift in WW2. Because the Nazis were systematically looting Europe of her artistic treasures, it was much easier for van Meegeren to pass off his subsequent "Vermeers". The critics found these new forgeries to be similar in style to "Christ at Emmaus" and thus above reproach. And Goering, in the midst of all his looting (which the Nazis went through great pains to give it the appearance of purchasing) found out about a new Vermeer which was one of van Meegeren's fakes. If Goering never would have bought this forgery, van Meegeren might have not been found out in his lifetime; however, it was his connection with a Nazi that started the Dutch authorities to investigate van Meegeren's dealings during WW2. The investigation and trial were very unique in that after WW2 there wasn't a traditional Dutch police force to investigate these matters. For awhile van Meegeren was LIVING with the investigator. I won't say what happened at the trial, but I will say that "Christ at Emmaus" is still in Holland and the museum director very much bemoans the fact that it is one of their most popular paintings, despite their best efforts to make it otherwise.
"The Forger's Spell" is a quick read and tells an almost unbelievable story; it also allows you to meditate on the nature of art and forgery and what made all those critics believe that a second rate forgery was Vermeer's best work. The book reproduces many of the paintings it mentions and Vermeer's genuine paintings are VISIBLY better than van Meegeren's forgeries. Yet many of the critics were blinded by the name Vermeer, desperate to make a once-in-a-lifetime discovery and desperate to keep Vermeers in the country. And a small, dapper artist was desperate for revenge, desperate for approval, and in the end both critics and artist got what they wanted: at least for a moment.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Mar 07, 2009 Sheri rated it 4 of 5 stars

Non Fiction

Apparently this was a timely book for me. I really enjoyed this book. This is about a man who forged Vermeer's artwork and sold it to people like Goering and Hitler during the war. I don't know why I enjoyed this book so much. It basically talks about the art of forging and selling the 'idea' more than the actual work itself. It referred to many of the great art forgeries of the century but mostly focused on this one individual. I guess I enjoyed it so much because it was interactive...more

like · see review

Jan 22, 2010 Emily rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010

A choppy account of how Han van Meegeren duped art experts and Hermann Goering with his terrible Vermeer forgeries, this book would probably be more enjoyable for someone who doesn't know much about the Old Masters. The author approaches the topic in the form of article-like sections about occupied Holland, painting techniques used by forgers, the psychology of duping people into accepting forgeries, the biographies of the key figures, etc. The chronology becomes quite muddled and I also got the...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 14, 2008 Douglas rated it 2 of 5 stars

what could have been a fascinating story, somewhat ruined by lengthy digressions. that the author includes a survey of 20th Century art forgery is no shocker. that he cites to stories out of Gladwell's 'Blink' and other psychological studies is somewhat less pleasing.

I would say that the proportion of story that relates to the title and the various ratholes needed to be reversed.

1 like · like · see review

Nov 29, 2008 Geoff rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Geoff by: Mary

If you are interested in art, WWII history and the Dutch Masters with an emphasis on Vermeer along with art forgery in general, this is a great book. It gets clunky in some places and there are times that the author's patience with some issues tried mine. His use of analogies to explain some rather simple concepts can at times complicate an otherwise helpful narrative, but all in all a book worth a few afternoons of your time. It focuses on one infamous forger who fooled art experts and Nazi col...more

like · see review

May 19, 2010 Mason rated it 3 of 5 stars

This should have been a slam-dunk. An art forger who fooled the European cultural establishment and sold fake Vermeers to Hermann Goering? But Dolnick lacks a slam-dunk protagonist, which he had in his earlier look at the art world's seamy underbelly, The Rescue Artist. This time around, all the principals are dead and, hence, unavailable for interviews. So Dolnick packs in as much padding as possible, typically broad statements and mixed metaphors explaining things you already knew. "Every forg...more

like · see review

Nov 04, 2011 Kay rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: world_war_ii, credulity, art_architecture, nonfiction

The "True Story of a Colossal Hoax"

Edward Dolnick prefaces The Forger's Spell with an intriguing quote by Anatole France: "It is in the ability to deceive oneself that the greatest talent is shown." Ostensibly a tale of art forgery, Dolnick's book is most fascinating when examining what makes us believe something, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that what we believe is not true.

Why did so many experts assert that the forged paintings of Han van Meegeren were the genuine article? The...more The "True Story of a Colossal Hoax"

Edward Dolnick prefaces The Forger's Spell with an intriguing quote by Anatole France: "It is in the ability to deceive oneself that the greatest talent is shown." Ostensibly a tale of art forgery, Dolnick's book is most fascinating when examining what makes us believe something, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that what we believe is not true.

Why did so many experts assert that the forged paintings of Han van Meegeren were the genuine article? The author offers another interesting quote by magician Teller to provide some insight into how this occured: "When you're certain you cannot be fooled, you become easy to fool." Dolnick's analysis of how van Meegeren deftly exploited the vanities, petty jealousies, self-interests, and hubris of a handful of experts, dealers, and wealthy patrons is fascinating stuff. This is, ultimately, a tail of human frailties. We want to believe something and are, therefore, disposed to believe it, especially when in the process we can burnish our own egos.

Van Meegeren, a second-rate artist, was a first-rate con artist who knew, above all, how to select a mark. Once taken in, Dolnick notes, "The experts have to believe because, if they dared admit the possibility of fraud, the consequences would be too grim to contemplate." Ultimately, several of van Meegeren's fake Vermeers were snatched up by that acquisitive but not very discerning Nazi, Hermann Goering, and it was this fact, perhaps, that not only spared van Meegeren the death penalty but also made him something of a folk hero in post WWII Holland: he thoroughly duped the Nazis.

Part WWII saga, part psychological profile of a forger and his victims, and part examination of the world of art experts and restorers, The Forger's Spell casts a fairly ambitious net. If at times the book sounds the same themes a bit more than might be necessary, it still makes insightful points about human credulity.

This is the third book by Edward Dolnick that I've read. I enjoyed this tale more than I did another book by Dolnick on a famous art theft (The Rescue Artist), but not quite as much as I did his account of John Wesley Powell's exploration of the Colorado River, Down the Great Unknown. It strikes me that Dolnick, who has recently written a book on Isaac Newton and the Royal Society, has a broad-ranging curiosity that bears interesting fruit in his books. (less)

like · see review

Feb 05, 2009 Bookmarks Magazine added it

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 16, 2011 Nicole Fletcher rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Art lovers

Shelves: non-fiction-art

This book was fantastic. The story of van Meegeren and the art market during the fascist rule in Europe is so intriguing. And the way that Dolnick writes makes the book seem more like a novel than non-fiction.

Adolph Hitler was a huge fan of art, but only a certain style of art. He was extremely conservative in his tastes but liked "Germanic" painters which somehow included Classic artists as well... Anyway, Hitler and Goering were in competition during WWII to amass the biggest and most prestig...more

like · see review

Jul 24, 2012 Bryn rated it 3 of 5 stars

For a truly exciting and out of the box kind of World War II story, I didn't think Dolnick presented it quite as well as he could have. The story jumps between ending and beginning and goes off on a lot of tangents that, while very interesting, mostly reminded me that I wasn't getting the story I wanted. For all the focus on Goering on the book jacket, the story doesn't spend all that time on him and Van Meegeren's interactions. The author spent a ton more time on connoisseurs and how Van Meeger...more

like · see review

Apr 30, 2012 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

There is as much on art looting during WWII, forgery, con men, the art world and the psychology of art experts and collectors as there is on the forgeries of Van Meergeren. The story of the forger would make for a much shorter book - unless it were a biography of the man - but this is about how the forgeries were made and accepted by the art world. To do that the forgeries are put into historical context along with some very brief side trips into art history. Some of what is in the book is not n...more

like · see review

Oct 26, 2011 Sharon rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a book club selection, otherwise I don't think I would have read it. It's non-fiction about a failed artist named Han Van Meegeren who becomes a famous forger for being able to create "undiscovered" Veermers that most of the art community believed to be authentic. He spent a large amount of time just figuring out how to get the feels and textures right (you wonder if he had invested this same amount of energy is painting he might have been more successful as a real artist)plus he had to...more

like · see review

Mar 28, 2011 Katie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: art, crime, history, human-behavior, war

If books were rated solely on subject matter, this one would undoubtedly merit 5 stars: 17th century Dutch masters + WWII + art crime + psychology = oh yes please.

Devastatingly (and no, that's not hyperbole at all given my level of excitement prior to reading), the execution wasn't quite what I had hoped for, bringing it down to 3 stars (if you were to judge based on execution alone). Net net, I settled on four stars: I'm a sucker for a good story.

Dolnick, in somewhat choppy chapters, recounts t...more

like · see review

Nov 06, 2010 iubookgirl rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

The Forger's Spell falls somewhere between the last two books I reviewed, Provenance and Stealing the Mystic Lamb. While not a completely straightforward recounting of a crime and its unraveling like Provenance, it is a more engaging study of art crime than Stealing the Mystic Lamb. It tells the story of the forgery of a series of Vermeer paintings by Han Van Meegeren in the Holland of the 1930s and 40s. There is a thread of Van Meegeren throughout the book, but it is not until Parts 4 and 5 tha...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 96 97 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Art Crime: The Forger's Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century	2	3	Apr 01, 2012 11:03am

combine
Other Editions (6)

More editions...

Genres

Non Fiction

98 users

Art

60 users

History

48 users

Crime > True Crime

12 users

Art > Art History

10 users

Mystery > Crime

9 users

History > World War II

7 users

Book Club

5 users

War

3 users

Biography

3 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Edward Dolnick

Edward Dolnick is an American writer, formerly a science writer at the Boston Globe. He has been published in the Atlantic Monthly, the New York Times Magazine, and the Washington Post, among other publications. His books include Madness on the Couch : Blaming the Victim in the Heyday of Psychoanalysis (1998) and Down the Great Unknown : John Wesley Powell's 1869 Journey of Discovery and Tragedy T...more

More about Edward Dolnick...

Books by Edward Dolnick

The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, the Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World

The Rescue Artist: A True Story of Art, Thieves, and the Hunt for a Missing Masterpiece

Down the Great Unknown: John Wesley Powell's 1869 Journey of Discovery and Tragedy Through the Grand Canyon

Madness on the Couch: Blaming the Victim in the Heyday of Psychoanalysis

De Vervalser - het waargebeurde verhaal van Han van Meegeren, de grootste kunstvervalser van de twintigste eeuw

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Forger's Spel...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: The Forger's Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century
avg rating	preview: The Forger's Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Centu Goodreads rating: 3.79 (1162 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2917848-the-forger-s-spell?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1342587051l/2917848.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2917848-the-forger-s-spell?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Forger's Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century by Edward Dolnick[/url]

The Forger's Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website