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Liked It “This is not a book for the masses, but if you like World War II history and/or art this is a fun read! |
Didn’t Like It “In the beginning it was a facinating read, I couldn't put it down. There were so many "Did you know" facts and details. Then towards the middle, Dolnick seems to get winded and branches off. There is no tab in Shelfari to add "Couldn't Finish" I abandoned the book so my review isn't the most...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“This is not a book for the masses, but if you like World War II history and/or art this is a fun read!
Regina L wrote this review Friday, November 13 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
In their off time Hitler and his second in comman Hermann Goering actively scoured Europe for masterpieces "to purchase" and bring back to Germany. Dolnick notes, "The Nazis were criminals who went out of their way to profess respect for the law; rather than steal outright, they often preferred to make coerced purchases. Goering's outlays, needless to say, did not come from his own pocket." (pg 13). Goering admited that he had paid $13M (in today's dollar) for 600 paintings. Holland was particularly vulnerable to this spree. The country tried to remain neutral but in the end lost 73% of its Jewish population. Further, Dutch masters like Vermeer and Rembrandt were of particular interest to Hitler and Goering. Art dealers raced to Holland hoping to take advantage of the spending spree of the Nazis. Historian Hector Felician notes, "by the liberation in 1944 one third of all the art in private hands had been pillaged by the Nazis" (Pg 51)
Goering, reminiscent of Nero, made the ideal target. He was over the top in decadence and allowed his preference to the aesthetics to interfere with even military strategy. "Goering was reluctant to outfit Germany's long-range bombers with naviational instruments, for instance, althougth the military advantages of such equipment were not in dispute. The problem was aesthetic. To him, pilots were gladiators, not technicians." (pg 53) Another example: "Under a soaring dome, the library boasted a 26-foot long mahogany desk with inlaid swastikas and a table with legs carved in the shape of penises, each one nestled between a pair of carved breasts." (pg 54) When Rommel came to plead his case for reinforcements, Goering only wanted to discuss art.
Hitler, as many people know, was an aspiring artist but lacked talent. His motive in this exercise was to establish a museum that was home to the greatest works. Hitler brought in Hans Posse to locate work and bring them to Germany. His first assignment was to fill the "Vermeer gap"
Dolnick provides great insight into the world of forgery and the lengths that must be taken to fool not only the "trained eye" but scientific tests that work can undergo. From the panels used, to the chemical make up of the paint, to wormholes the reader gets a glimpse into a world that is not often discussed.
Van Meegeren was an artist living in Holland at the time of the invasion. While much of the elected officials sought him out for commissions, the established art critics gave harsh verdicts to his talent and work. Van Meegeren devised a scheme to produce Vermeer forgeries that would rock the art critics and scam the Nazis to the tune of a fortune. Vermeer was a prime subject to forge because there is little verifiable facts about his life and there are relatively few (35) paintings known. This makes for a gap for a con man to fill in. Rather than recreate known works, Once Abraham Bredius, an art critic desparate to find a big Vermeer, fell for the Van Meegeren fakes, Van Meegeren created a whole new line of religious work Vermeer supposedly painted. For seven years the fake "Christ at Emmaus" was the most popular Vermeer. This allowed him to dump fake Vermeers into Nazi hands.
At the end of the war the Dutch cracked down on Nazi sympathizers and Monument Men went about the task of trying to reclaim confiscated art. Van Meegeren's name appeared in connection with the sale of art to Goering and the police came knocking. It was only after his name became attached to Hitler and the threat of a treason charge loomed that Van Meegeren admited his true crime. At first, one believed him. Eventually forensic evidence proved him right. Rather than viewing him as a criminal, the Dutch populace embraced him as a hero for having duped the Nazis so well. Complete with applause in the courtroom, Van Meegeren was sentenced to two years in prison but died of a heart attack before serving a day.
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“Interesting, but not compelling or riveting. While the author does his research, and then some, the flow of the book is awkward. However, I really loved all the details about both the process of creating actual forgery and specifically Van Meegran's processes and innovations in forgery, as well the info about the psychology of the forgery.”
Too Busy Reading to Write wrote this review Sunday, July 26 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Great book. Wonderful insights about art forgers, and history too.”
jtravlos wrote this review Tuesday, July 21 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Of the books I read on vacation this was easily the most enjoyable, though it suffers from a few complaints. It is an extremely quick read, with James Patterson style-short chapters - never is a chapter more than 6 pages or so, and most are 3-4 pages. This lets you breeze through the story quickly. And it is an amazing story, as Van Meegeren - an artist of minor repute among critics, managed to forge amazingly popular paintings that would be attributed to the great Johannes Vermeer. How he was able to do this (his paintings clearly aren't that good and not much like Vermeers yet still made him close to 30 million dollars during the Great Depression & WWII) and then never got caught until by happenstance (it wasn't the forger's fault - at least not totally - that the Nazis liked his work too!) is very interesting.
James W wrote this review Sunday, July 19 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
But Dolnick seems to have gone about the book a bit haphazardly. He details in the first section a great deal of information about Hermann Goering and other Nazi art collectors, but there's no good reason to. The Nazis don't figure into this story until nearly the end. In fact, Dolnick really gives you too much information too quickly - read the first several chapters and you don't have to read the rest of the book. The shortened chapters hurt here as well - why not combine a few instead of breaking up the story? One of the main questions the book asks is how did obviously inferior paintings get swooned over as unknown Vermeers? Dolnick gives a lot of reasons why, but it never comes off as totally coherent. I don't disagree with anything he's saying, but I believe it could have been organized more accurately. And finally, the end of the book isn't much of a payoff. We basically knew everything that was going to happen, and we learn little. In fact, once Dolnick covers the situation surrounding the first major forgery he almost seems to lose interest. Van Meegeren made FIVE other Vermeer forgeries - each worse than the last! How did those get accepted? And where exactly do the Nazi's fit in? Dolnick briefly mentions that a massive art book by Van Meegeren was found in one of Hitler's libraries inscribed by the author to the Nazi overlord! How did that happen? How much of a collaborator was this Dutchman forger? Dolnick doesn't really say.
Is this a pretty good read? Yes, particularly the first 2/3s. However, it does seem to lose it's way. You'll finish because you want to know how this is truly going to end, however this is a straight paperback purchase only.”“Fascinating tale of intrigue and the art world.”
Ubah P wrote this review Thursday, June 18 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“This was a great book. It proves that all it takes is the right time and the right place. ”
Tatianna H wrote this review Thursday, February 5 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“ In the beginning it was a facinating read, I couldn't put it down. There were so many "Did you know" facts and details. Then towards the middle, Dolnick seems to get winded and branches off. There is no tab in Shelfari to add "Couldn't Finish" I abandoned the book so my review isn't the most complete of reviews.
Jessica wrote this review Monday, January 26 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The facts about Vermeer, forgeries, Hermann Goering and Van Meergan were interesting. I appreciated learning about the amount of time, ways, and examples of art forgeries. Well researched. ”
“One of those books that you keep putting down so you can tell your significant other, "Did you know . . .?" And then you grab it up again because the author is so lively and interesting. This book touches on art and history and personalities and the fascinating details of forgery, without lingering too long or in too much detail on any one aspect.”
Roberta J wrote this review Monday, September 15 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Fascinating book !! I enjoyed every chapter.
Gloria Stokol wrote this review Thursday, July 31 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I have always liked Vermeer and have been lucky enough to see some of his originals.
That is one of the reasons why I found amazing the fact that Van Meegeren managed to carry his hoax and convince the art experts that his forgeries were real. In fact, he expressed his contempt for these connoisseurs by saying:
"The world was full of people who thought of themselves as art lovers but were in fact merely snobs ."
I could safely recommend this book to anybody who loves art, history and thruth.
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