TRAITOR TO HERO: The Vermeer faker who cheated the Dutch and the Nazis.

The incredible story of Han van Meegeren, the Dutch painter who produced faked Vermeers, fooled his Dutch fellowmen, sold one to Herman Goering, and finally had to confess his forgeries to save himself from the death penalty, accused for high treason. After the trial he became a national hero for cheating the Nazis.

Han van Meegeren, was a Dutch painter who during World War II painted Vermeers considered as better than the originals, cheated the entire artistic community and even Herman Goering, and finally had to confess his fakes to save himself from the high treason charges for dealing with the enemy.

This dramatic fiction is based on the impressive story of Han van Meegeren in the 1930s and during the Second World War, who managed to forge and sell 6 Vermeers and two Franz Hals for an updated amount of 100 million dollars. One of the Vermeers was purchased by Herman Goering, second in the hierarchy of the Third Reich. At the end of World War II van Meegeren had to face the accusation of being a traitor to the country and had to confess his forgery to save his life.

These confessions were an earthquake in the pictorial community of Holland and the whole world, since their falsifications had been accepted unanimously, and one of them, the “Christ in Emmaus” was considered the best Vermeer of them all.

This fiction, based on real events, leads us to reflect on the concept of authenticity in art and the validity of traditional concepts of truth and beauty: A painting is no longer beautiful when it is discovered as forgery? Why people lose interest in a work of arte if it is not authentic? Why the human nature won´t allow us to enjoy the aesthetics of a fake Vermeer we did enjoy before finding out? Is the art business a hoax?

Purchase this audio book to find out how a Dutch fooled the Nazis and became a national hero!

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Release date

Audiobook: 5 May 2024