Travis Simpkins: Han van Meegeren

Thursday, April 9, 2015

"Forged: Why Fakes are the Great Art of Our Time" by Jonathon Keats

Forged: Why Fakes are the Great Art of Our Time

by Jonathon Keats

Oxford University Press, 2013

Review by Travis Simpkins

Advancements in scientific analysis and methods of fraud detection have served to cleanse the art market of a large number of fakes, but have not dissuaded forgers from counterbalancing the scales with shrewd new tricks of their own. In his 2013 book, Forged: Why Fakes are the Great Art of Our Age, Jonathon Keats not only presents an overview of modern art forgery, but offers a bold new viewpoint… highlighting the innovation and artistry that forgers have employed in their craft, and tying it in with image appropriation in the world of Contemporary Art. At just 175 pages, the book provides a concise and well documented argument with abundant footnotes. Six 20th Century forgers are profiled: Lothar Malskat, who forged the "restoration" of medieval wall paintings in the 1930's. Alceo Dossena, whose precise craftsmanship in producing Renaissance-style forged sculpture still baffles experts. Han van Meegeren, the infamous forger who duped Nazi commander Hermann Goering into buying one of his fake Vermeers. Eric Hebborn, an expert draftsman, who specialized in forging master drawings. Elmyr de Hory, who was featured in Orson Welles' "F for Fake" documentary along with his faux biographer, Clifford Irving. And the ever-likeable Tom Keating, the burly Brit whose powerful personality equaled his dexterity with brush and paint. Perhaps, most intriguing, is the final chapter in which Keats lets loose and directs his attention at the blurred lines of image appropriation in contemporary art, including Andy Warhol's "Mona Lisa" and borrowed images by the elusive Banksy, who has notably referenced Vermeer in his graffiti work. All in all, Forged is a well-written, fascinating and quick read. It offers an intriguing historical overview, while allowing room for constructive thought.

Jonathon Keats

forgery by Lothar Malskat: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Lothar Malskat: Forged. Jonathon Keats

forgery by Lothar Malskat: Forged. Jonathon Keats

forgery by Alceo Dossena: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Alceo Dossena: Forged. Jonathon Keats

forgery by Alceo Dossena: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Han van Meegeren, Art Forger: Forged. Jonathon Keats

The Lacemaker. Fake Vermeer by Han van Meegeren: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Han van Meegeren: Forged. Jonathon Keats

The Supper at Emmaus by Han van Meegeren. Fake Vermeer: Forged. Jonathon Keats

the 1947 trial of Han van Meegeren: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Forged Frans Hals by Han van Meegeren: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Fake Vermeer by Han van Meegeren: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Eric Hebborn: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Drawing Forgery by Eric Hebborn: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Eric Hebborn: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Elmyr de Hory: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Elmyr de Hory: Artist and Faker: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Forged Matisse by Elmyr de Hory: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Clifford Irving by Elmyr de Hory: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Orson Welles and Elmyr de Hory: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Fake Modigliani by Elmyr de Hory: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Tom Keating: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Fake Cezanne by Tom Keating: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Tom Keating: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Forgery by Tom Keating: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Mona Lisa, 1963. by Andy Warhol: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Girl with a Pierced Eardrum, by Banksy. Fake Vermeer: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Jonathon Keats: Forged. Jonathon Keats

Jonathon Keats

Thursday, February 12, 2015

"The Man Who Made Vermeers" by Jonathan Lopez

"The Man Who Made Vermeers: Unvarnishing the Legend

of Master Forger Han van Meegeren"

by Jonathan Lopez

Harcourt, 2008

Review by Travis Simpkins

It makes for a great story: Han van Meegeren, a talented artist that feels shunned and disheartened by hoity-toity critics, fools the art world into accepting his newly-forged paintings as authentic 17th Century Vermeer masterpieces… conning everyone, including the Nazis, who pay exorbitant prices for his worthless fakes. Put on trial for selling Dutch national treasures, the artist reveals that the paintings in question are fake and that he painted the phony masterworks himself. The idea of a master forger getting the better of those who are inclined to disenfranchise others in undeniably appealing. However, according to author Jonathan Lopez, the myth is just that: pure legend and mostly untrue. In his 2008 book, The Man Who Made Vermeers: Unvarnishing the Legend of Master Forger Han van Meegeren, Lopez makes a pointed effort to render the truth bare in regards to what many consider the biggest art fraud of the 20th Century. In reality, there was no noble mission behind van Meegeren's Vermeer forgeries, it was all about money… and lots of it. Ever the opportunist, he was caught while catering to the occupying Nazi regime, a despicable element of which he was entirely complicit and sympathetic. Most prior attention had been directed at his late-life World War II era Vermeers, but as Lopez points out, van Meegeren had been in the business of making phony masterworks almost from the beginning of his artistic career. Despite having a lucrative set-up as a Dutch society portrait painter, van Meegeren soon discovered through a network of crooks, that there was a great deal of cash to be had in forging masterpieces. Forged works in the style of Frans Hals and lesser known masters fell under the radar at the time and are still popping up on occasion today. Han van Meegeren's stroke of genius when it came to his fake Vermeers was that he gave the art world exactly what it wanted. He exploited an artist that had recently returned to vogue, and of which little was known… and he created a whole series of religious paintings to coincide with a fictitious period in Vermeer's career. With a few shrewd and suspicious exceptions, like Joseph Duveen for example, the critics and dealers bought the whole phony deal. Overcoming the scientific hurdles of chemical testing proved only mildly problematic for van Meegeren. Unlike old hardened paint, new oil paint dissolves in alcohol. A gelatin-glue medium was concocted. It was impervious to alcohol, but grew spongy when water was applied. So, van Meegeren utilized a fairly-new material called Bakelite (created from carbolic acid and liquid formaldehyde) that passed every test. One fake Vermeer after another was authenticated and sold. Some, like The Supper at Emmaus and The Lacemaker, have now become iconic. The newly-available supply of Vermeers whet the ravenous collector's appetite of Hermann Goering, who purchased a van Meegeren forgery… and signaled the faker's rapid demise. Well-written and carefully documented, Jonathan Lopez's book is admirable in it's mission to set the record straight, accomplishing it's goal with informative style.