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

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

by Jonathan Lopez (Goodreads Author)

3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 · rating details · 1,012 ratings · 73 reviews

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--tra...more

Hardcover, 352 pages

Published September 8th 2008 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (first published July 28th 2008)

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Nov 11, 2011 Richard rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: art, history, by-gr-friends, reviewed, readagainable, 2011

This book is not one I might normally have read, had it not been brought to my attention by a series of strange coincidences that would make even Lemony Snicket's jaw drop. But this is a happy story, not a tragic one, so please bear with me.

I came across the names of Joop Piller and Han van Meegeren quite by chance, and later realized there was a book which discussed their case. It looked interesting enough, but as I have so many unread books on my shelves, I thought I'd never read it.

I joined...more This book is not one I might normally have read, had it not been brought to my attention by a series of strange coincidences that would make even Lemony Snicket's jaw drop. But this is a happy story, not a tragic one, so please bear with me.

I came across the names of Joop Piller and Han van Meegeren quite by chance, and later realized there was a book which discussed their case. It looked interesting enough, but as I have so many unread books on my shelves, I thought I'd never read it.

I joined GoodReads on a whim, and by chance saw a review of one of my favourite novels, Madame Bovary. I know something about this book, having studied it in excruciating detail. So I commented on the review, and generated a flattering flurry of positive responses. But fate had yet another surprise in store: the next day, I was quite astounded to find that I had attracted the notice of none other than Jonathan Lopez, esteemed art historian and author of the award-winning story of The Man Who Made Vermeers. A friendship was soon forged between us, which made me think ever more seriously of reading his book. And the rest is history. Art history, to be exact.

And now, for the review. (You were starting to wonder if I would ever get to it, weren't you? Come on now, be honest!)

There are a few things that I would have liked to have different in this volume. I would have loved some colour plates, as I do enjoy paintings of the Dutch Golden Age; moreover, it would have been interesting to see the difference in colour between a Vermeer original and a forgery. That being said, there is a veritable plethora of illustrations in black and white. Many of these are reproductions of old photos, the quality of which is not greatly affected by the lack of colour.

I would also have liked to see the mechanics of documentation handled slightly differently. I was not aware until I was quite deep into the body of the text that there were a large number of endnotes providing many technical details as to the sources of information. I wondered why there were no superscript numbers (or even asterisks) in the text to alert the astute reader to the existence of said endnotes. However, although one must hunt a bit to find it, the documentation provided is voluminous and painstakingly thorough. The research undertaken during the preparation of this book must have been phenomenal--and in fact, aside from the evidence of the endnotes themselves, Lopez gives us tantalizing glimpses of this in his acknowledgments.

There is much to praise in this book. First of all, it tells a very complex story with multiple tangled threads. Van Meegeren, the man at the crux of it all, was the ultimate con-artist, who, even when he got caught, was able to cover up much of what he'd done, and manipulate even his captor into protecting him. For many he was a famous, likeable and even heroic cad, because he'd managed to hoodwink the great Goering himself into buying one of his spurious Vermeers. But despite his great charisma, Van Meegeren kept a lot of his true feelings to himself. Lopez does an admirable job of tracing how the master forger embarked on his career, how he operated, who he duped, how he covered his tracks, how ideological, political, and even religious feelings influenced his forgeries, and what his genuine motivations were.

The book contains many technical details about art and the art world that, in other hands, could have made for a deadly dull experience. The reader learns about canvases, age-crackle, pigments, chemicals, Bakelite, various testing techniques, authentication certificates and more. So--not being a professional artist or art critic myself--why did I not drop the book in disgust and look for a fantasy novel instead?

Well, Lopez has a way of demonstrating his mastery of the subject without clubbing the reader over the head with it. His style is elegant and polished, his story-telling is superb, his sense of humour flashes out often, and his psychological and historical insights are profound. (less)

15 likes · like · see review

Aug 25, 2008 Michelle Nevius rated it 5 of 5 stars

A very enjoyable read, and informative about Europe prior to and during WWII (in addition to of course being a comprehensive look at this notorious forger).

3 likes · like · see review

Aug 24, 2008 david-baptiste rated it 4 of 5 stars

this is the best book on the subject i've read so far--and there are many out ii have yet to get to--having read only six or seven of them--

Lopez provides a study not only of van meegeren's vermeers and other fakes, but also the painter's own works, as well as an indepth look at the high class journal of the arts ven Megeeren did in late 20's--which includes his first forays into "fascist art critique" of a comcealed kind--and barely concealed plagiarisms from Hitler's views on modern art from M...more

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Aug 19, 2008 Mary marked it as to-read

"A deliciously detailed story of deceit in the art world," brings us the story of a WWII era forger of Vermeers who was made a Dutch folk hero for hoodwinking Goering into buying one of his forgeries. However, this book reveals the truth of van Meegeren's true political colors.

Yes, we have an ARC at NP.

Reading it now:
Barb

3 likes · like · see review

Jul 28, 2012 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone

This is the second book that I have read in the past couple of months about the Dutch forger Han van Meegeren. The first (“I Was Vermeer: The Rise and Fall of the Twentieth Century’s Greatest Forger”) was a very sympathetic portrait of the man who made (in today’s dollars) millions creating fake works of art. While his own above-board career as a portrait painter and artist stalled.

This book is a much more critical look at the man and his life, but goes into far less detail about how he (suppos...more This is the second book that I have read in the past couple of months about the Dutch forger Han van Meegeren. The first (“I Was Vermeer: The Rise and Fall of the Twentieth Century’s Greatest Forger”) was a very sympathetic portrait of the man who made (in today’s dollars) millions creating fake works of art. While his own above-board career as a portrait painter and artist stalled.

This book is a much more critical look at the man and his life, but goes into far less detail about how he (supposedly) discovered and applied the technology that allowed him to pass the basic fake-screening tests of his day. Since this book casts a colder eye at the stories and actions of van Meegeren we may also need to question the veracity of his own statements about how he developed the paints and aging process that he used in his fakes.

Within its pages, Mr. Lopez looks not only at the making of the fakes, but also at the way in which the man made himself appealing to whatever group was currently in power. Whether it was using mimicry (as was accepted) as an art student to win a prize, or to paint in a manner that the wealthy and powerful admired (and flattered them in the portraits he created), or to incorporate visual elements that “borrowed” from the occupation government and the Nazi regime during WWII he gives us examples and first-hand accounts. Like a book of literary criticism, this book delves into the technical aspects of his art in all its forms. The quality of the fakes is examined (it is in both books, but more so here): but Mr. Lopez does not limit himself to the sloppy brushwork and incorrect pigments of the later paintings. He looks at the compositions of the paintings and how they relate back to true paintings by the artists that he copied. If you are more of an art lover and historian, this book will satisfy your critical faculties better.

The last 70+ pages of the book (before the index) is composed of an Author’s Note, endnotes, bibliography, and picture references. In both tone and composition it is a more scholarly work. The author himself is an artist and although that may not give him any special insight into to how to construct a critical book, I think he’s done a pretty good job of it. Of course it helps that he writes articles for periodicals (some of which were incorporated into this book).

If you only wanted to read one book about Han van Meegreren, then this is probably the one. It covers his life in all phases (however briefly at points), his art, his fakes, and how he was perceived by the world of art lovers and by the Dutch (before and after his arrest). If you want a deeper look at his early life and his painting methods, then I recommend also reading “I Was Vermeer”. It is a much more romantic look at the man and while it may be based on not-always-reliable facts, it has color reproductions of the paintings both real and faked. Together they offer a pretty complete look at the man.

But as for this book, it is well-written, very measured in how much space is devoted to the various aspects of van Megeren’s life, and gives more insight into how art experts operated and how specific individuals were regarded as they authenticated (or not) newly-found paintings. Ii think it is well worth reading and I am scoring it a full “4”.

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Feb 26, 2012 Anastasia Hobbet rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography

A lively, in-depth revelation of the real truth about that Dutch rascal of a genius, Han van Meegeren, who made a fortune before the Second World War forging 'lost' Vermeers. A highly talented artist in his own right, he went wrong early in his career when he discovered an even higher talent for mimicry and a love of the wayward good life of drugs and money. His keenest talents, though, were for reading the zeitgeist and putting on the charm. He was so good at the latter that despite colluding w...more

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Aug 13, 2011 Ed Smiley rated it 4 of 5 stars

It appears that Han van Meergeren was in a sense his own greatest forgery.

In this work, the author deconstructs the legend, and reveals a character on the borderline of sociopathy, albeit socially charming, but far more of a collaborator, Nazi sympathizer and hardened crook than the art world Robin Hood legend represents.

Rather than a loss, this results in a story I found far more fascinating, and far more coherent. What is somewhat puzzling to the contemporary reader is the mystery of how the...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jul 28, 2011 Mark B. added it

I'll admit that I'm a sucker for books about art world characters. This time, the protagonist is an art forger and the story is utterly enthralling. I love being projected back to a world where the most sought after thing in the world of old master painting validation was the certificate of an "expert." When these experts were duped, the intrigue becomes even more interesting indeed! A documentary on the same subject is due out later this year. Looking forward to that as well.

1 like · like · see review

Feb 22, 2012 Allan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A brief, concise history of the Dutch forger Han van Meegeren who made a fortune in the 20 years leading up to the Second World War by painting and selling bogus works attributed to Vermeer and Franz Hals to galleries and museums throughout Europe and America.[return][return]In hindsight it is reasonable to declare that the paintings are not in the same league as genuine Vermeers. In fact they are often not even good paintings. Awkward compositions, imperfect modeling, it seems hard to imagine a...more

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Aug 17, 2012 Teri Zipf rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was listening to an interview with Marshall McLuhan's son, and he said that his father, when reading nonfiction, only read every other page, because nonfiction writers are so redundant (not to mention, generally boring) that it's all that's necessary. I smacked myself on the head because if I had heard that before I started this book, I may have finished it. As it was, I gave it a lot longer trial than it deserved, about 75% of the book.

You'd think that someone who has the elements of great ar...more

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Nov 30, 2009 Manussawee rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to Manussawee by: Constant Reader

Shelves: quit, constant-reader

I made it to about page 148 before calling it quit.

The book is a story of a man named Han van Meegeren who made his living forging art works of dead masters, including Vermeers and Hals. The opportunities for fake arts arose as a side effect of the World War I. As homes were raided and destroyed, art works were also confiscated and sold. So more arts from great artists were "discovered" during 1920s and 1930s where it was easy to paint something similar to what the great artists would have paint...more

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Aug 26, 2008 James Nevius rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: history, art history, World War II

I liked just about everything about this book, but what struck me most was Lopez's compelling comparison between Van Meegeren's forgeries and the popular Nazi propaganda art being painted at the same time. Blows Van Meeregen's legend out of the water. Well worth a read.

1 like · like · see review

Mar 15, 2009 CD rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: art, crime, art-painting, art-history

Another book that I read and had put away in the 'wrong place' (partially due to a minor flooding problem) and wanted to get shelved before I added my all too brief comments.

Further tales of small parts of history that generally the public misses, yet are relevant and intrinsic to wide ranges of topics. From the debased behavior of the art underworld to some famous(and infamous) individuals, there's a new 'truth' here about the devious and deceptive practices surrounding the work of the little k...more

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Nov 26, 2008 Benjamin rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was a pretty interesting read. I would have given this four stars except that it definitely got slow at points, and often seemed to repeat itself... it probably could have been a little shorter without sacrificing anything.

One of the strengths of this book is that it actually went into quite a bit of detail on exactly how a painting can be forged. It was fabulously interesting. Also offers a lot of information about the economic state of the Netherlands during the occupation.

I normally...more

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Feb 02, 2010 Sherri rated it 4 of 5 stars

First: A bit of back story. I have a friend who, every time I go to visit, hands me a book out of his collection. I read it and return it the next time I am around. These books tends to be varied and make for a pretty random assortment. So imagine my confusion when I returned a book on anthropology (a subject I love) and picked up a book on art(I can't even draw a straight line and I hate most art).
As usual however, I should have had more faith. This book is not so much about art, but about his...more

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May 11, 2010 Dvora rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: art, biography-history

This was an excellent book, well written, intriguing, and interesting in a lot of different ways and not just because of the forgery business. Lopez also covers war time collaboration, why forgeries work (when you look at the forged Vermeers now, it seems impossible that anyone could have taken them for genuine paintings by Vermeer, and yet at the time, the greatest experts were fooled) that has to do with people looking at art to some degree through the filter of their own times, and also the a...more

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Apr 29, 2013 Eddy Allen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arts-and-historical

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Jun 18, 2012 Alexander Polsky rated it 3 of 5 stars

Well researched, a terrific story and an almost terrific book. Daniel Lopez does a great job in uncovering the slippery art forger, van Meegeren, and although he gives us a bit of an outline of his life as a forgery that mirrors his work, he's much better on the art historical than van Meegeren's weirdly slimy chameleon/Zelig act. Lopez gives us great detail about the ways in which compromised "experts" and kitchen chemistry produced forgeries hanging on museum walls.

What he can't quite do is to...more

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Nov 18, 2009 Molly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Molly by: The Author - Jonathan Lopez

Shelves: non-fiction

OK. So - I knew nothing about Vermeer's art going into this. Other than I had heard of his painting - The Girl With The Pearl Earring. And I only knew about that because of the movie I had caught in passing on TV one day. And even then, I didn't remember that Vermeer was the one to paint it until I began reading this book. Why then would I read this book?

No - not for a homework assignment or a sudden budding interest in art history research. I read it because the author is a member of a Book Gro...more OK. So - I knew nothing about Vermeer's art going into this. Other than I had heard of his painting - The Girl With The Pearl Earring. And I only knew about that because of the movie I had caught in passing on TV one day. And even then, I didn't remember that Vermeer was the one to paint it until I began reading this book. Why then would I read this book?

No - not for a homework assignment or a sudden budding interest in art history research. I read it because the author is a member of a Book Group here on GR that I belong to and his book was one of many selected to be read during the year. Thought I'd give it a go. It sounded intriguing after all - not a biography about a master Dutch painter, but the re-telling of the legend of a master Forger of the master painter, who collaborated with Nazis and lived (for a while) to tell about it.

I liked the writing, and the photos of all the paintings. I liked the beginning and the end - when the forger is captured and exposed. I liked the history lesson of WW2's impact on the art world - some of which I was actually familiar with. And I was left curious to seek out more information about the art world in general.

I didn't like the middle - where the forger came into his own leading up to the war. It seemed dry in sections and much needed to be assumed or supposed due to lack of complete evidence. However, a lessor writer would have used that as an excuse to get fictional with a factual book - so I do appreciate that restraint. I presume most of why the middle didn't hold my interest as well was that I was unfamiliar with all of the players involved - and there were many - and I had no list to refer to with their names as they kept popping up throughout. So I kept missing the irony about their involvement, or the wicked connections brewing.

If you are a fan of Vermeer, or the art world, or would like some insight into the seedy underbelly of Nazi collaborators you will probably enjoy this read very much. It isn't too long and flows well. I wish that there had been some more personalization of the facts - a parallel with the individual responsible for arresting, and then befriending, the forger for example. It would have held my empty art brain's interest longer.

The author did well to educate me on this bit of history that got twisted and embellished over the years, much like the forger's work itself. And to accomplish that is deserving of a round of applause.(less)

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Nov 08, 2009 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars

I liked really liked this book. He was well informed on his subject matter. It was presented in an easy to read style, which did not bog down for me.
I was amazed how easy venerated art critics were fooled by this man. I have a book of Vemeer paintings. The ones he was passing as originals were not up to standard. The artist was wise in saying these were painted in the period of twelve years that Vemeer did not paint. Nor did Vemeer paint anything like the subjects in the fake paintings. I don't...more

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Apr 22, 2013 Ashley Rangel rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: true-stories-and-historical-fiction, european-lit

Not as exciting as I had hoped but still informative and some interesting points. Skipped some pages.

Loving this excerpt:

Men who could have stepped right out of a Jeeves-and-Wooster story strutted about town with monocles cocked under their eyebrows, spats strapped to their shoes, and walking sticks firmly in hand. Indeed, more sober-minded Dutchmen often rolled their eyes at the seemingly endless capacity of Hagenaars to posture and pose - a set of behaviors nearly summarized by the term "Haag...more

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Jan 11, 2009 Bibliophile rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009, art-and-architecture, ww2, biography, nonfiction

Fascinating account of a Dutch forger of Vermeers who became a folk hero for selling a false Vermeer to Hermann Goering - unfortunately, his collaboration with the Nazis and his long career as a forger were overlooked in favor of turning him into a symbol of Dutch feistiness and resistance after the war.

I didn't give this five stars because there are some careless factual errors in the general historical writing (as opposed to the art history).

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May 17, 2010 Aaron rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history, non-fiction, wwii, art

An adventure-story mystery, a work of history, and an exploration of moral issues, this book does a good job of demonstrating that the forger Van Megeren was talented and charming but at the same time a menacing sociopath. The discussion of his flirtation with the Nazis and Nazi art is both fascinating and deeply troubling. And some of the technical information — the use of Bakelite in the forgeries, etc. — is engrossing and presented in a way that makes complex issues very clear. It’s interesti...more

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Jan 30, 2009 Evanston Public Library added it

The Man Who Made Vermeers is a fascinating, witty story of an unappreciated Dutch artist who turned his talents to forgery. Selling his fake Vermeers to ranking Nazis (Goebbels) during World War II had him labeled as a collaborator. This reads like fiction, and is an education in the world of art forgery. (Tess A. Reader’s Services)

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Jun 09, 2009 Greg rated it 3 of 5 stars

Decently written book about another fascinating forger/confidence artist (as much artist as confidence, in this instance), this one so skeevy that he actually outskeeves some Nazis in the story. Impressive. But then the skeevity of the world of art collection is difficult to overestimate.

Con Man Books, why do I love you so?

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Dec 20, 2008 Chari rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read this book right after I read The Forger's Spell by Dolnick. This book was harder to read but more insightful. The Man Who Made Vermeers was the "real" story as opposed to the more embellished fairy tale by Dolnik that has been handed down over the years. While the first book was more entertaining and read very easily, the Lopez book really dug down and uncovered the truths about Van Meegeren, the forger and his Nazi ties. Very interesting and I am glad that I read both of them and in the...more

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Mar 22, 2012 Lora rated it 2 of 5 stars

Eh. I expected to enjoy this but didn't so much. It felt like I was reading a looooong term paper. To get through it I had to start skimming. Things picked up somewhat in the final chapters, but the forger was not exactly a sympathetic character.

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Jan 20, 2012 Lewis Codington rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have never been one who loves art, but this is such a fascinating and well written story of intrigue and deception, that it keeps you interested and gives you a fair education of a section of art in a very pleasing manner at the same time.

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Jun 14, 2010 Harvest rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: art, history, holland

A fun, quick read about a really bad guy who made really bad paintings and yet managed to get people to like both him and them. Toss in Vermeer, a lot of criminals, and whole lot of Nazis, and it adds up to a pretty amazing story. The book also contains many great historical photos--too bad these are only in B&W, but they probably only had B&W photography at the time.

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Nov 06, 2008 Jennie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

Criminal intrigue, high art, and WWII history. What more could you ask for?

Lopez's crazily extensive research and documentation, aided by the 1979 publication by Marijke van den Brandhof, clearly reverses van Meegeren's immediate post-war almost-hero status. The fun of the book, though, comes from his colloquial analysis and judgment of the individuals' personalities. Though the psychology he imposes on them is of course quite speculative, it's well based on each person's actions, interviews wit...more

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About Jonathan Lopez

Jonathan Lopez is editor-at-large of Art and Antiques, writes on art, culture, and books for The Wall Street Journal, and is a contributor at the entertainment desk of the Associated Press. His book, The Man Who Made Vermeers (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008), is a biography of the Dutch art forger Han van Meegeren, based on 3 years of archival research and interviews conducted in 5 nations. It wa...more

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