Han van Meegeren (1889 -1947) a Dutch painter, portraitist and restorer was one of the most successful art forgers in history; it is estimated that he duped buyers out of the equivalent of fifty million dollars in today's money. He was not successful as a painter, his work outside of the main currents of the time (impressionism, cubism); critics qualified his work as "derivative" and worse, although he had commercial success painting portraits of wealthy socialites.
Stung by lack of recognition and fascinated by the Dutch old masters, Van Meegeren decided to prove his talents by forging the work of some of history's foremost artists like Frans Hals and Johannes Vermeer (he was reputed to have produced more Vermeers than Vermeer himself). His methods were sophisticated enough to fool the foremost art critics and specialists of his time, although his forgeries yielded to more recent techniques involving radioactive isotopes and gas chromatography.
Van Meegeren's career had a spectacular ending in a trial after WWII where he had the choice of being executed as a collaborator and traitor during the Nazi occupation or owning up to his forgeries. Unexpectedly, at the end of the trial he became a hero to the Dutch.
This movie has been filmed in the somewhat breathless-over-the-top style of an American TV movie, and takes some liberties with the facts. It is, however, very entertaining and will teach you something worth learning, the life of a man that was tops in his profession, however questionable that profession might have been. Production values, cinematography and direction are excellent; acting could be a little more restrained here and there but is good too. Worth watching.
Stung by lack of recognition and fascinated by the Dutch old masters, Van Meegeren decided to prove his talents by forging the work of some of history's foremost artists like Frans Hals and Johannes Vermeer (he was reputed to have produced more Vermeers than Vermeer himself). His methods were sophisticated enough to fool the foremost art critics and specialists of his time, although his forgeries yielded to more recent techniques involving radioactive isotopes and gas chromatography.
Van Meegeren's career had a spectacular ending in a trial after WWII where he had the choice of being executed as a collaborator and traitor during the Nazi occupation or owning up to his forgeries. Unexpectedly, at the end of the trial he became a hero to the Dutch.
This movie has been filmed in the somewhat breathless-over-the-top style of an American TV movie, and takes some liberties with the facts. It is, however, very entertaining and will teach you something worth learning, the life of a man that was tops in his profession, however questionable that profession might have been. Production values, cinematography and direction are excellent; acting could be a little more restrained here and there but is good too. Worth watching.
