The Man Who Fooled Göring
The Man Who Fooled Göring
1937–1947Amsterdam, NetherlandsArt, music & film
Facing death for selling a national treasure to the Nazis, a Dutch painter saved himself by proving the Vermeer was his own fake.
Reading level
The same true story, told at three lengths. Pick one to read, close your eyes, and tell it back in your own words.
220 words · about 1 min to read · retell it in about 2 minutes
A Dutch painter, Han van Meegeren, painted portraits and scenes. The critics said he could only copy old masters. One said he had every virtue except originality.
Some say revenge, others money. Either way, he began to make fakes. He studied how painters made paint three hundred years ago, and baked his paintings to look old. Then he painted a picture and said it was a lost work by the great Johannes Vermeer. A famous old expert believed it. A society bought it for a fortune and gave it to a museum. Crowds came to see it.
Then came the war. A Nazi leader, Hermann Göring, traded a hundred and thirty-seven paintings for a fake Vermeer. After the war, investigators found it and arrested van Meegeren. Selling Dutch treasure to the enemy could mean death.
So he told the truth. He said it was his own fake. His story took months to verify. To prove it, he painted another Vermeer-style picture while officials watched.
Then experts found modern chemicals in his paint. The collaboration charge was dropped. He was convicted of forgery instead, and the crowds called him a hero, the man who tricked Göring.
He died weeks later, before his jail term. He left a strange question: the painting had not changed, so why was it worth nothing now?
373 words · about 2 min to read · retell it in about 3 minutes
Han van Meegeren wanted to be taken seriously as a painter, but the critics dismissed him. One wrote that he had every virtue except originality. Some say revenge, others money; either way, he began to make fakes. He would not copy the old masters; he would invent a Vermeer so convincing that experts would bow to it.
He spent years in the south of France learning his craft. He bought seventeenth-century canvases, mixed his paints from raw materials, and found a trick: a modern resin that hardened the paint and made it look three hundred years old. He baked the canvases and washed ink into the cracks to fake the dust of ages. His studio smelled of lilac oil, so he kept fresh lilacs in a vase.
His fake Vermeer The Supper at Emmaus went to Abraham Bredius, the great expert, then in his eighties and nearly blind. Bredius declared it a masterpiece of Vermeer of Delft. A society paid 520,000 guilders, and crowds filed through the Rotterdam museum to see it.
Then came the war. Van Meegeren let another fake Vermeer reach Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, who traded well over a hundred paintings for it. When Allied troops found it in an Austrian salt mine in 1945, the trail led to van Meegeren’s door. He was arrested as a collaborator who had sold a national treasure to the Nazis. The penalty could be death.
Now comes the twist. Van Meegeren confessed that the painting was his own forgery. His story took months to verify. He offered proof: he would paint another Vermeer before witnesses. Between July and December 1945, he did.
Experts found modern resins that did not exist in Vermeer’s century. The collaboration charge collapsed. Van Meegeren was convicted of forgery, sentenced to one year, and died after two heart attacks weeks later, before the sentence began.
According to one account, Göring, waiting at Nuremberg, learned he had been fooled. One witness said he looked as if for the first time he had discovered there was evil in the world.
Van Meegeren left the courtroom a strange kind of hero. He had one question left: yesterday the picture was worth millions, today nothing, yet the picture has not changed. What has?
587 words · about 3 min to read · retell it in about 5 minutes
He wanted to be a great painter, and the critics told him he was merely a copyist; one wrote that he was a gifted technician who had every virtue except originality. Some say he wanted revenge; others say money. Either way, he began to make fakes, and he chose Johannes Vermeer, the most coveted name in Dutch painting.
From a rented mansion in the south of France, he ran a six-year apprenticeship in deceit. He bought authentic seventeenth-century canvases and ground his own paints from raw materials, the way the old masters had. The key discovery was chemical: a phenol formaldehyde resin, Bakelite, that hardened the paint so completely the canvas seemed to have dried three centuries earlier. He baked his pictures, rolled a cylinder over them to encourage cracking, then washed India ink into the cracks to imitate the dust of ages. The studio reeked of lilac oil, so he kept a vase of fresh lilacs standing by, in case visitors wondered.
His first masterpiece, The Supper at Emmaus, went not to a gallery but to a man: Abraham Bredius, the great Vermeer expert, then in his eighties and nearly blind. Bredius published his verdict: we have the masterpiece of Johannes Vermeer of Delft. The Rembrandt Society paid 520,000 guilders, a fortune, and the painting was hung in Rotterdam’s Boijmans Museum, where visitors stood before it as if in a chapel.
Then the war gave van Meegeren his richest customer. His fake Christ with the Adulteress reached Hermann Göring, who traded well over a hundred paintings for it and valued it above all his other art treasures. When the Reich fell, Allied forces found the picture in an Austrian salt mine; questioning the dealer Alois Miedl led to van Meegeren, arrested on 29 May 1945 as a collaborator who had sold a Dutch national treasure to the Nazis. The charge carried the death penalty.
Here the story turns on one desperate sentence. Facing death, van Meegeren confessed to the one crime that could save him from the other. The painting in Göring’s hands, he told his interrogators, is not a Vermeer of Delft, but a Van Meegeren. I painted the picture.
His story took months to verify. So he painted his way out. Between July and December 1945, under the eyes of reporters and court-appointed witnesses, he produced one last Vermeer-style canvas, Jesus among the Doctors. An international commission led by the Belgian expert Paul Coremans found Bakelite resins in the paint, materials not invented until the twentieth century. By the time his trial opened, the collaboration charge had been dropped; on 12 November 1947 the court found him guilty of forgery and fraud and sentenced him to one year in prison. The public made him a folk hero, the forger who fooled Göring. All told, his forgeries had earned him between five and a half and seven and a half million guilders. Göring, awaiting trial at Nuremberg, took the news like a physical blow; one eyewitness said he looked as if for the first time he had discovered there was evil in the world.
Van Meegeren never served a day. Weeks after the verdict, in December 1947, he died of heart attacks at fifty-eight. He left the courtroom one last question, and it may be the best question in art: yesterday this painting was worth millions of guilders, and people crossed the world to see it; today it is worth nothing, and nobody would cross the street. The picture has not changed. What has?
Read it once, close the page, and tell it back. The coach listens for pace, fillers and the facts.
Key facts and sources
Han van Meegeren was a Dutch painter considered one of the most ingenious art forgers of the 20th century.
“was a Dutch painter and portraitist, considered one of the most ingenious art forgers of the 20th century” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
Critics dismissed his own work, saying he was a gifted technician with every virtue except originality.
“One critic wrote that he was “a gifted technician who has made a sort of composite facsimile of the Renaissance school, he has every virtue except originality”” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
He decided to prove his talent by forging Dutch Golden Age paintings.
“He decided to prove his talent by forging paintings from the Dutch Golden Age.” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
He bought authentic 17th-century canvases and mixed his own paints from raw materials.
“He bought authentic 17th-century canvases and mixed his own paints from raw materials (such as lapis lazuli, white lead, indigo, and cinnabar) using old formulas to ensure that they could pass as authentic.” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
He used phenol formaldehyde, or Bakelite, to harden the paint so the works seemed 300 years old.
“He came up with a way to use phenol formaldehyde (Bakelite) to make paints harden after application, making paintings appear 300 years old” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
His studio smelled so strongly of lilac oil that he kept a vase of fresh lilacs nearby so visitors would not be suspicious.
“This caused his studio to smell so strongly of lilacs that he kept a vase of fresh lilacs nearby so that visitors would not be suspicious.” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
The expert Abraham Bredius hailed Supper at Emmaus: ‘We have the masterpiece of Johannes Vermeer of Delft.’
““We have,” he concluded, “the masterpiece of Johannes Vermeer of Delft.”” — Forger to the Reich, The Guardian
It was displayed in Rotterdam’s Boijmans Museum, seen by huge crowds.
“It was swiftly purchased for 520,000 florins - the equivalent of $5m in today’s prices - and put on display in Rotterdam’s Boijmans Museum, where it was seen by huge crowds.” — Forger to the Reich, The Guardian
The Rembrandt Society bought the painting for 520,000 guilders and donated it to the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.
“The painting was purchased by The Rembrandt Society for fl.520,000 (€235,000 or about €4,640,000 today), with the aid of wealthy shipowner Willem van der Vorm, and donated to the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam.” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring traded 137 looted paintings for the forgery Christ with the Adulteress.
“Nazi Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring traded 137 looted paintings for Christ with the Adulteress.” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
In 1943 Göring hid the painting in an Austrian salt mine; Allied forces found it in May 1945.
“On 25 August 1943, Göring hid his collection of looted artwork, including Christ with the Adulteress, in an Austrian salt mine, along with 6,750 other pieces of artwork looted by the Nazis. On 17 May 1945, Allied forces entered the salt mine and Captain Harry Anderson discovered the painting.” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
Van Meegeren was arrested on 29 May 1945, charged with fraud and aiding and abetting the enemy.
“On 29 May 1945, he was arrested and charged with fraud and aiding and abetting the enemy” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
He was threatened with the death penalty.
“threatened by the authorities with the death penalty” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
He confessed: ‘The painting in Göring’s hands is not, as you assume, a Vermeer of Delft, but a Van Meegeren! I painted the picture!’
““The painting in Göring’s hands is not, as you assume, a Vermeer of Delft, but a Van Meegeren! I painted the picture!”” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
It took time to verify, and he was detained for months; he was not believed at first.
“It took some time to verify this, and Van Meegeren was detained for several months” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
Between July and December 1945 he painted Jesus among the Doctors, watched by reporters and court-appointed witnesses.
“Van Meegeren painted his last forgery between July and December 1945 watched by reporters and court-appointed witnesses: Jesus among the Doctors, also called Young Christ in the Temple, not a copy but in the style of Vermeer.” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
The paint contained 20th-century Bakelite resins, proving the works could not be genuine.
“He found that the paint contained the phenolformaldehyde resins Bakelite and Albertol, not invented until the 20th century, as paint hardeners” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
On 12 November 1947 he was found guilty of forgery and fraud and sentenced to one year in prison.
“On 12 November 1947, the Fourth Chamber of the Amsterdam Regional Court found Han van Meegeren guilty of forgery and fraud, and sentenced him to one year in prison.” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
The trial was widely covered and van Meegeren became a folk hero.
“The trial was widely covered in the media, and Van Meegeren became a folk hero.” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
Göring learned he had been tricked while at Nuremberg awaiting trial as a war criminal.
“Goering learned he had been tricked while at Nuremberg awaiting trial as a war criminal.” — Forger to the Reich, The Guardian
An eyewitness said Göring looked as if for the first time he had discovered there was evil in the world.
““He looked,” said one eye-witness, “as if for the first time he had discovered there was evil in the world.”” — Forger to the Reich, The Guardian
After heart attacks he died on 30 December 1947, aged 58, before serving the sentence.
“he suffered a second heart attack on 29 December, and was pronounced dead on 30 December 1947, at the age of 58.” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
At trial he maintained he was not motivated by money: ‘I did it only from a desire to paint.’
““I did it only from a desire to paint.”” — Forger to the Reich, The Guardian
He posed the question: ‘Yesterday, this painting was worth millions of guilders... Today, it is worth nothing... But the picture has not changed. What has?’
““Yesterday, this painting was worth millions of guilders and experts and art lovers would come from all over the world and pay money to see it. Today, it is worth nothing and nobody would cross the street to see it for free. But the picture has not changed. What has?”” — Forger to the Reich, The Guardian
His forgeries had earned him between 5.5 and 7.5 million guilders.
“His forgeries had earned him between 5.5 and 7.5 million guilders (or about US$25–30 million today).” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
Bredius was in his eighties and nearly blind when he hailed Supper at Emmaus.
“van Meegeren directed his first “Vermeer”, Supper at Emmaus, at Bredius, who was now in his eighties and nearly blind.” — Forger to the Reich, The Guardian
In 1932 Van Meegeren moved to the southern French village of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, where he rented a furnished mansion called Primavera.
“In 1932, Van Meegeren moved to the southern French village of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin with his wife. There he rented a furnished mansion called “Primavera”” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
It took him six years to work out his forging techniques.
“It took Van Meegeren six years to work out his techniques” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
He baked his paintings to harden the paint, rolled a cylinder over them to increase cracking, and washed them with India ink to imitate dust.
“Then, after completing a painting, he would bake it at 100 °C (212 °F) to 120 °C (248 °F) to harden the paint - by effectively polymerizing (curing) the bakelite in the mixture, and then roll a cylinder over it to increase cracking. Later, he would wash the painting in India ink” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
Visitors stood before the painting in Rotterdam as if in a chapel.
“In the rather isolated area in which the Vermeer picture hung, it was as quiet as in a chapel.” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
Göring valued the fake above all the other art treasures he had acquired.
“Goering had valued it above all the other art treasures he had acquired, legally or illegally.” — Forger to the Reich, The Guardian
The court commissioned an international group of experts led by Paul B. Coremans to examine the paintings.
“The court commissioned an international group of experts to address the authenticity of Van Meegeren’s paintings. The commission included curators, professors, and doctors from the Netherlands, Belgium, and England, and was led by the director of the chemical laboratory at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Paul B. Coremans.” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
Van Meegeren never served a day of his jail term.
“In the event, van Meegeren never served a day of his jail term.” — Forger to the Reich, The Guardian
The collaboration charges were dropped after the expert panel found the Vermeer sold to Göring was a forgery.
“The collaboration charges had been dropped, since the expert panel had found that the supposed Vermeer sold to Hermann Göring had been a forgery and was, therefore, not the cultural property of the Netherlands.” — Han van Meegeren, Wikipedia
Sources consulted for this story: Han van Meegeren (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-10-25); Forger to the Reich (The Guardian, accessed 2026-10-25). Every story is checked against its sources before it is published — how we verify stories.
Why this story is worth telling
His fake Vermeers fooled the experts and Göring, and confessing to forgery saved his life.
