• The Forger’s Spell

  • A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century
  • By: Edward Dolnick
  • Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
  • Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (12 ratings)

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The Forger’s Spell  By  cover art

The Forger’s Spell

By: Edward Dolnick
Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
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Publisher's summary

As riveting as a World War II thriller, The Forger's Spell is the true story of Johannes Vermeer and the small-time Dutch painter who dared to impersonate him centuries later. For seven years a no-account painter named Han van Meegeren managed to pass off his paintings as those of one of the most beloved and admired artists who ever lived. As Edward Dolnick reveals, his true genius lay in psychological manipulation, and he came within inches of fooling the world. Instead, he landed in an Amsterdam court on trial for his life. The Forger's Spell is the gripping true tale of this almost perfect crime.

©2008 Edward Dolnick (P)2023 Tantor

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting story!

Having experienced the spell that genuine Vermeer paintings cast over all the viewers at the National Gallery of Art’s special exhibition during my visit in December 1995, I would be most interested in knowing what experts and people in general saw in the forgeries to bring out what sound like similar reactions to those paintings that we who saw the real works of Vermeer experienced.

I enjoyed the audiobook, although I would have liked to know more about the specifics of the sale to Goering. It had sounded as though it was going to be the main episode of the story, but when we finally got to it, the coverage was rather sketchy at best.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating read

Interesting story. Told and narrated well. Inspired me to look for other art fraud and heist books.

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