Our discussion of "The Forger's Spell..."

On a cold Wednesday evening, we discussed high art and forgery, with some human frailties thrown in for good measure. The book was packed full of history, how-to techniques for forgers, but it was also a lesson in huge egos and the problems they cause. It was hard for us to believe that these men, educated and respected in the art world of Europe in the 1920's and 1930's could really have been fooled by a middling painter who was trying to salve a bruised ego. We all agreed it probably couldn't have happened in 2015...surely someone would have recognized the discrepancies in style and ability. A quote from the book:  "When nearly all the critics ignored Lady and Gentleman at the Harpsichord, he abandoned the close copy strategy. Instead, he decided to create a painting unlike any known Vermeer." Van Meegeren then went on to create a most hailed "Vermeer" ever foisted upon the art world, Christ at Emmaus. How did he go from painting portraits of minor celebrities and important people to creating the most hailed Vermeer ever? A perfect storm of luck, lack of vision and old fashioned con.

But what was equally fascinating was the reason Van Meegeren put all that effort into that one painting. Once a promising art student, the forger was unable to climb into the rarified air of master painter, and languished in the lower tiers of "good enough". When Christ at Emmaus debuted at the Museum Boymans-van Bueningen in Rotterdam in 1938 Van Meegeren was almost giddy. The praise heaped upon the painting was praise for him, not Vermeer. He finally got back at all the critics who had written him off in the past.

His ego did prove to be a saving grace for Van Meegeren at the end of his career. To save himself from being charged with treason (for dealing with the Nazis and selling them his art) he faced death. Surprising everyone, he admitted that he had painted all those newly-discovered Vermeers, much to the disbelief of anyone who listened. He proved himself by painting a "Vermeer" while being held before his trial, and ended up a folk hero for fleecing the Nazis, who paid him handsomely for his work. He died before beginning his prison sentence, a broken but somewhat vindicated man.

We all liked the book for different reasons: the history, the technical information about how a forger might do his work, and the insight into the human ego, and what it can drive one to do. All in all, a good read.