When one Hans van Meegeren, a little-known Dutch Nazi painter, owned to forging seven recently "discovered" Vermeers (TIME, July 30), art experts laughed him off as a nut. They had reason to: the masterpieces had been painstakingly authenticated by them, by chemical, X-ray and infra-red tests.
Last week, while awaiting trial in an Amsterdam jail (for collaboration with the Nazis), van Meegeren was under close watch by the art experts themselves, whose own prestige was involved. To their amusement, then to their stupefaction, he was painting another "Vermeer."
The Netherlands Government's official information service described the scene: "He called for brushes, paints and...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
