Frank Wynne (1) (1962–)

Great book - usually I don't go for non-fiction in specialized subject matter, but this was a great read. Wynne has really done his research, and he includes many factoids on forgery along with the major narrative of Van Meergeren's life. His writing is fast-paced but never sacrifices detail. It's interesting to consider how subjective art really is, and how hypocritical the art world can be - I went to the Natl Gallery to look at the 5 Vermeers displayed there, and I couldn't stop thinking show more about how any number of paintings in the Gallery could be forgeries - it's all the hands of the art critic and the buyer. show less

Intriguing biography of Han Van Meegeren, a forger who was responsible for quite a few fake Vermeers in the 1940-s. In fact, one of them was purchased by Nazi marshall Hermann Göring. Witness accounts state that when before the Nuremberg Trials he found out that his beloved Vermeer was a modern fake he "looked as if for the first time he had discovered there was evil in the world."

The book is very easy to read, despite the huge number of facts packed into the story. However, it is very show more detailed, so I wouldn't recommend it for anyone looking for a quick read or only moderately interested in Vermeer or the history of art forgeries. show less

I never thought I would come to learn that artistic forgery can involve respect towards the original artist. The title of the book is a mere gimmick -- the core of the book is concerned with the art and beauty that engulfed forger Han Van Meegeren's life as an admirer of Vermeer. Anyone can paint a painting, but the real challenge rests in completely imitating the style of another artist, and Van Meegeren was most certainly a man capable of doing so. Pushing aside the ethics of forgery, this show more book invites the reader to open their eyes to the amount of talent that is required in producing masterpieces, forgery or not. While I found numerous occasions of editorial oversight, I still devoured this book. It does not demand great knowledge of Western art history (Google is your friend!), and presents the most dazzling biography I've encountered in a while, delicately tracing the life of whom I daringly see as a true artist. show less

Having already read Edward Dolnick's account of the Dutch WWII Vermeer forger Han van Meegeren called The Forger's Spell, I was pleasantly surprised to note that the two books complement each other well. Wynne's book is filled with famous one-liners such as "Of the 2,500 authentic works painted by Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, 7,800 are in American collections alone". Museums and art collections have every interest not to reveal that their precious items are not originals. Thus, the longer show more the pedigree of a forgery the higher the chance it is accepted into the canon. The recent documentary about the authenticity of the newly discovered Leonardo da Vinci La Bella Principessa pointedly shows how much of such a decision rests in convincing a small number of insiders, turning a 22,000 USD painting by a German 19th century artist into a 100,000,000 USD masterwork (or not).

One important finding is that the forgery has to match current taste. Thus, today, van Meegeren's works look hopelessly old-fashioned and completely unlike those of Vermeer. In his time, however, they were what the buyers expected and craved for (at least until van Meegeren got lazy). A quick fun read. show less