The Forger's Spell: A True Story Of Vermeer, Nazis, And The Greatest Art Hoax Of The Twentieth Century (2008) - Plot & Excerpts
I picked up this book as forgers fascinate me and this book is about one of the greatest forgers. Its a quick read that dashes through the decades mixing in art history, World War II history as well as an understanding of art criticism. The story is complicated and difficult to read at points as an important element is how badly the Dutch suffered while under Nazi occupation. These painful sections are balanced out by detailed discussions of art forgery, Vermeer and why some artists are more popular at certain times than others.I would recommend this book to anyone who's curious about art, how we as people fall for con artists and the reverberations of World War II on the European art world. Its well written with fairly short chapters that cover a lot of ground. The main warning is that it goes into some depth about the starvation and other horrors suffered by the Dutch. Excellently researched, reads like a novel, quite compelling. Good insight into the workings of a successful forger! How he got away with it for such a long time is really fascinating reading. The enormity of the removal project during the war of the art is just shocking, and how it was stolen by Hitler and Goering, and further attempted to "justify" what they were doing, really an amazing story.
What do You think about The Forger's Spell: A True Story Of Vermeer, Nazis, And The Greatest Art Hoax Of The Twentieth Century (2008)?
I have to agree with Michelle. It was a choppy and variably interesting read.
—books
Great Book; now want to visit museums and see Vermeer's work.
—keyla
Gave up at the halfway point. Just wasn't interested enough.
—Xslayer
Loved this book! Great read for any Art or History Lover.
—bookkitty
