The Mind Creative March 2014
He is another example of a hugely talented
painter turning to forgery driven by the scorn
of critics. He was arrested by the Dutch
government during WWII on the charges of
collaborating with the Nazis (charged with
having sold a Vermeer to Hermann Göring).
It was then that he confessed to forgery since
this was a much lesser charge than treason.
In fact, his forgeries were so perfect that he
had to paint a Vermeer before experts to
prove his talent and thus his innocence.
Strangely enough, after his death in 1947, a
poll conducted in Sweden found him to be the
second most popular figure in the country (for
having fooled art experts and the Nazis!).His
paintings fetched such high prices ]\