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The Forger's Spell: A True Story Of Vermeer, Nazis, And The Greatest Art Hoax Of The Twentieth Century (2008)

by Edward Dolnick(Favorite Author)

3.82 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0060825413 (ISBN13: 9780060825416)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Harper

review 1: This is one of the most fascinating books I read this year. Dolnick takes the reader through a thrilling and thought-provoking trek into the world of art forgery. He brings up questions about the nature of art. What is good art anyway? One of the fascinating aspects was how one fellow fooled the highest level of art experts with what looks like incredibly bad art. Recommended especially to art lovers.
review 2: Art forgery fascinates me because it brings up such an interesting tension between the value of authenticity and the pleasure of the actual thing. The Forger's Spell tells the story of how Hans Van Meergen, a competent but uninspired Dutch painter, fooled much of the art world with 8 fake Vermeers, selling them to major museums and art collectors, notabl... morey Hermann Goering, for a vast fortune. What makes this story particularly fascinating is the fact that Van Meergen's paintings were awful - crude, ugly, and for the most part sloppily rendered - and yet, the art community embraced the works, not just with enthusiasm, but with rapture. Dolnick attempts to understand the forces that led to such a large-scale duping. It's a fun read. less

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