The art forger who tricked the Nazis - Noah Charney
-
0:07 - 0:11It was one of the strangest trials
in Dutch history. -
0:11 - 0:15The defendant in this 1947 case
was an art forger -
0:15 - 0:19who had counterfeited millions of dollars
worth of paintings. -
0:19 - 0:22But he wasn’t arguing his innocence—
-
0:22 - 0:28in fact, his life depended on proving
that he had committed the fraud. -
0:28 - 0:31Like many art forgers,
Han van Meegeren was an artist -
0:31 - 0:35whose original works had failed
to bring him renown. -
0:35 - 0:37Embittered towards the art world,
-
0:37 - 0:41van Meegeren set out to make fools
of his detractors. -
0:41 - 0:44He learned all he could
about the Old Masters— -
0:44 - 0:48their biographies, their techniques,
and their materials. -
0:48 - 0:53The artist he chose for his deception
was 17th century Baroque painter -
0:53 - 0:55Johannes Vermeer—
-
0:55 - 0:59an ambitious decision given Vermeer
was famed for his carefully executed -
0:59 - 1:03and technically brilliant domestic scenes.
-
1:03 - 1:08Working in secret for six years,
the forger perfected his art, -
1:08 - 1:11copying numerous works as practice.
-
1:11 - 1:15He mixed his own paints
after researching the raw materials -
1:15 - 1:17and pigments available in Vermeer’s time.
-
1:17 - 1:22He bought 17th century canvases,
created his own brushes, -
1:22 - 1:26and aged the works
by applying synthetic resin -
1:26 - 1:29and baking them to dry
and crack the paint. -
1:29 - 1:33A forensic test could have detected
the synthetic resin. -
1:33 - 1:38But at the time, such tests
were neither advanced nor widespread, -
1:38 - 1:42and even today verification
of a painting’s authenticity -
1:42 - 1:46relies on the assessment
of art specialists. -
1:46 - 1:51So it’s a matter of their subjective
judgment— as well as their reputation. -
1:51 - 1:55And this is where van Meegeren
truly outwitted the art world. -
1:55 - 2:00From his research, he knew historians
believed Vermeer had an early period -
2:00 - 2:05of religious painting influenced
by the Italian painter Caravaggio. -
2:05 - 2:08The leading authority on Vermeer,
Abraham Bredius, -
2:08 - 2:13was a huge proponent of this theory,
though none of these works had surfaced. -
2:13 - 2:16So van Meegeren decided to make one.
-
2:16 - 2:20He called it "The Supper at Emmaus."
-
2:20 - 2:25Bredius declared van Meegeren’s fake
the masterpiece of Vermeer’s oeuvre. -
2:25 - 2:30Van Meegeren’s forgery was not totally
up to Vermeer’s technical standards, -
2:30 - 2:35but these inconsistencies
could be made to fit the narrative: -
2:35 - 2:41this was an early work, produced before
the artist had come into his own. -
2:41 - 2:43With the stamp of approval
from the art world, -
2:43 - 2:47the fake was sold in 1937
for the equivalent -
2:47 - 2:51of over $4 million in today’s money.
-
2:51 - 2:54The success prompted van Meegeren
to forge and sell more works -
2:54 - 2:57through various art dealers.
-
2:57 - 2:59As unbelievable as it may sound,
-
2:59 - 3:03the art world continued to believe
in their authenticity. -
3:03 - 3:07When the Nazis occupied Holland
during the Second World War, -
3:07 - 3:10Hermann Göring,
one of Hitler’s top generals, -
3:10 - 3:14sought to add a Vermeer
to his collection of artwork -
3:14 - 3:16looted from all over Europe.
-
3:16 - 3:21Van Meegeren obliged, selling him
an alleged early Vermeer painting -
3:21 - 3:24titled "Christ with the Adulteress."
-
3:24 - 3:27As the tide of the war turned,
so did van Meegeren’s luck. -
3:27 - 3:32Following the Allied victory, he was
arrested for delivering a priceless piece -
3:32 - 3:37of Dutch heritage to the Nazis—
an act of treasonous collaboration -
3:37 - 3:39punishable by death.
-
3:39 - 3:42To prove the painting
wasn’t a national treasure, -
3:42 - 3:47he explained step-by-step
how he had forged it. -
3:47 - 3:53But he faced an unexpected obstacle—
the very expert who had enabled his scam. -
3:53 - 3:59Moved to protect his reputation, Bredius
defended the painting’s authenticity. -
3:59 - 4:03With few options left, van Meegeren
set to work on a "new" Vermeer. -
4:03 - 4:08When he presented the fake to the court,
they finally believed him. -
4:08 - 4:11He was acquitted for collaborating
with the Nazis— -
4:11 - 4:14and sentenced to a year imprisonment
for fraud. -
4:14 - 4:19Though there’s evidence that van Meegeren
did, in fact, collaborate with the Nazis, -
4:19 - 4:23he managed to convince the public
that he had tricked Göring on purpose, -
4:23 - 4:29transforming his image into that
of a folk hero who had swindled the Nazis. -
4:29 - 4:32Thanks to this newfound notoriety,
-
4:32 - 4:35his works became valuable
in their own right— -
4:35 - 4:40so much so that they were later forged
in turn by his own son. -
4:40 - 4:45The same canvases went from
revered classics to despised forgeries -
4:45 - 4:50to works of art respected for the skill
and notoriety of the forger.
- Title:
- The art forger who tricked the Nazis - Noah Charney
- Speaker:
- Noah Charney
- Description:
-
View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-art-forger-who-tricked-the-nazis-noah-charney
It was one of the strangest trials in Dutch history. The defendant in a 1947 case was an art forger who had counterfeited millions of dollars worth of paintings. But he wasn’t arguing his innocence— in fact, his life depended on proving that he had committed fraud. Who was this artist, and why was he on trial for his life? Noah Charney investigates the notorious Han van Meegeren.
Lesson by Noah Charney, directed by Hype CG.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 04:52
Elise Haadsma approved English subtitles for The art forger who tricked the Nazis | ||
Elise Haadsma accepted English subtitles for The art forger who tricked the Nazis | ||
lauren mcalpine edited English subtitles for The art forger who tricked the Nazis |