I Was Vermeer

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A01=Frank Wynne
art history
Author_Frank Wynne
bbc radio 4
Category=ABK
Category=DNBH
Category=DNXC
Category=NHWR7
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deceive nazis
dutch master
ego narcissism
eq_art-fashion-photography
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
fascinating
forge
forgery
historical
hitler germany
mystery crime
non fiction
painter
painting
second world war two 2 ii
true story

Product details

  • ISBN 9781408895856
  • Weight: 480g
  • Dimensions: 152 x 228mm
  • Publication Date: 21 Sep 2017
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
  • Publication City/Country: GB
  • Product Form: Paperback
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The extraordinary story of Han van Meegeren, a second-rate painter who became the world's greatest art forger

‘Van Meegeren's story is fascinating and deserves to remain in the public consciousness' Guardian
‘Wynne retells the story with brio, producing the genuine article: a page-turning read' Sunday Times

In 1945, a small-time Dutch art dealer was arrested for selling a forgery of a priceless national treasure - a painting by Vermeer - to Hitler's right-hand man.

The charge was treason, the only possible sentence death. And yet Han van Meegeren languished in his dank prison cell, incapable of uttering the words that would set him free: ‘I am a forger.'

This riveting account of greed, hubris, excess, treason and fine art is the story of a failed artist and the greatest forger of all time, who executed a swindle which earned him the equivalent of fifty million dollars and the acclaim of the very critics who had mocked him.

Frank Wynne is a journalist and translator and has written for, amongst other publications, the Irish Times, Melody Maker, Time Out and Attitude. Frank was born in Sligo and is now based in London.

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