A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century
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Published Jul 2008
368 pages
Genre: True Crime
Publication Information
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 van Meegeren managed to pass off his paintings as those of one of the most beloved and admired artists who ever lived. But, as Edward Dolnick reveals, the reason for the forger's success was not his artistic skill. Van Meegeren was a mediocre artist. His true genius lay in psychological manipulation, and he came within inches of fooling both the Nazis and the world. Instead, he landed in an Amsterdam court on trial for his life.
"Starred Review. Dolnick's compelling look at how a forger worked his magic leads to one sad conclusion: there will always be eager victims waiting to be duped."- Publishers Weekly.
'Starred Review. Energetic and authoritative." - Kirkus Reviews.
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Photo credit: Jerry Bauer
Edward Dolnick is author of Down the Great Unknown, Madness on the Couch, The Rescue Artist, The Forger's Spell, The Clockwork Universe and his latest work America's Fevered Quest for Fortune, 1848-1853. A former chief science writer at the Boston Globe, he has written for the Atlantic Monthly, the New York Times Magazine, and many other publications. He has two grown sons and lives with his wife near Washington, D.C.
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