History’s Greatest Art Forger | Han van Meegeren (1889-1947)

Consider Supporting HoH: In 1946, the second world war had just ended, a Dutch artist and art collector stood trial in Amsterdam. His charge? Collaboration, for selling cherished cultural heritage to the Nazis. He earned millions. His sales came to light after a Vermeer painting was found in Hermann Görings art collection, which was traced back to him, Han van Meegeren. He was facing years in prison and even the death penalty. The trial took an unexpected turn when it became evident he hadn’t sold a real Vermeer to the Nazis, but an extremely detailed forgery. The court was sceptical at first but it soon became clear he hadn’t just swindled Göring, but the entire art world, for decades. My Twitter: Watch my documentary series: End of Empire - Downfall of the Qing Dynasty playlist: Hitler’s Spies playlist: The content of this video covers events, people or concepts via a lecture-style presentation that is educational and historical in nature. Every video is original content by House of History. The events relating to conflict in this video are portrayed in their historical context without either value judgment or an ideological message attached to it. There is no intent to shock, upset or disgust. The goal of my channel is to make interesting lecture-style videos, no more, no less. Thank you for taking the time to check out House of History, I hope you will find the films informative, interesting and enjoyable! If you have any feedback, questions or criticism feel free to leave a comment. Your opinion truly aids me in improving the content of the channel! If you have a question, feel free to leave a comment and I will either write a reply, answer your question in a Q&A video, or make an entire video about it! Time Codes: 0:52 Early Life and Career 2:18 Forgeries and Techniques 4:17 Magnum Opus 5:32 Swindling Göring 7:43 Trial Sources: Photos, paintings and imagery: Public Domain, Wikicommons #HouseofHistory #History #WW2