The art forger who tricked the Nazis - Noah Charney

Discover how the notorious art forger Han van Meegeren tricked the world- and the Nazis- with his counterfeit Vermeer paintings.
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It was one of the strangest trials in Dutch history. The defendant in a 1947 case was an art forger who had counterfeited millions of dollars worth of paintings. But he wasn’t arguing his innocence- in fact, his life depended on proving that he had committed fraud. Who was this artist, and why was he on trial for his life? Noah Charney investigates the notorious Han van Meegeren.
Lesson by Noah Charney, directed by Hype CG.
Animator's website: www.luisacopetti.com/
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View full lesson: ed.ted.com/lessons/the-art-fo...
Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Mark Morris, Catherine Sverko, Misaki Sato, Tan YH, Ph.D., Rodrigo Carballo, SookKwan Loong, Bev Millar, Merit Gamertsfelder, Lex Azevedo, Noa Shore, Taylor Hunter, Kyle Nguyen, MJ Tan Mingjie, Cristóbal Moenne, Goh Xiang Ting Diana, Kevin Wong, Dawn Jordan, Yanira Santamaria, Prasanth Mathialagan, Savannah Scheelings, Susan Herder, Samuel Doerle, David Rosario, Dominik Kugelmann, Siamak H, Tracey Tobkin, Dwight Tevuk, Anthony Kudolo, Mrinalini , Yanuar Ashari, Ivan Todorović, Alex Schenkman, Brittiny Elman, Ryohky Araya, Paul Coupe, David Douglass, Ricardo Paredes, Bill Feaver, Eduardo Briceño, Arturo De Leon, Christophe Dessalles, Janie Jackson, Dr Luca Carpinelli, Heather Slater, Yuh Saito, Quentin Le Menez, Mattia Veltri, Fabian Amels, Sandra Tersluisen and PnDAA.

[@mk_rexx]

Him: The paintings are fake, I faked them. People: No way the paintings are fake! You're faking it!

[@Acroflame]

Well the thing is he might just be saying that because it would save his life

[@l.pietrobon3925]

- You're in love with her! - Yes... - Admit it!

[@arianagandhi7634]

@@l.pietrobon3925 I knew it!

[@user-ei2nh7tj3f]

He's right he faked it

[@saretgnasoh7351]

lol

[@racoonlittle1679]

When your forgery is so good your forgery gets forged.

[@fredrikaslund498]

nice joke

[@kirby7186]

*s t o n k s*

[@suryokai313]

B Y Y O U R O W N S O N

[@anwitadasgupta913]

Damn 😂😂😂

[@neveniusvondubowatz7705]

So... the battle at Valley Forge is a forgery? ;)

[@Dylan-xl9gp]

Let’s pay respect to the fact that this man forged painting because he was salty that his own couldn’t make it.

[@julianpieper7125]

Dylan he could have also become a fascist leader so we got lucky this time

[@Dylan-xl9gp]

F

[@jm7215]

F

[@bananaforscale1283]

Um. No? That's the reason why people do frauds.

[@swarnavasengupta69]

F

[@jyotsnas606]

So he basically made another painting to prove his case in court? WOW.

[@hieutruong7456]

Jyotsna S absolute madlad

[@brentbottoms2876]

save his life*

[@chaostrocio1156]

Brutal

[@raf015_2]

He's not the only one that did it. Margaret Keane had to paint in front of the court to prove that she was the real artist and not her husband.

[@mehmoodbutt8786]

@@raf015_2 seriously? He husband took the credit? Sad for her!

[@Coral88899]

This needs to be made into a movie, its so god damn interesting.

[@juanmanuelpenaloza9264]

The notoriety is on Wolf of Wall Street levels

[@elenichamou1791]

watch white collar!

[@terrorfire8505]

Ikr

[@kuronosan]

How to Steal a Million will suffice.

[@theusorelha]

@@juanmanuelpenaloza9264 yeah, its like a mix between Wolf of Wall Street and Catch Me If You Can

[@warrenkeystone5195]

The Nazis after buying the paintings: *We've been tricked, we've been backstabbed, and we've quite possibly been, bamboozled*

[@brendanpramsey]

" They played us like a darn fiddle"

[@HeisenMannj]

Bamboozled LoL 😂

[@lordofthechinesebiscuit8436]

I see the people at TED-Ed are cultured.

[@arceusarcer1513]

@@lordofthechinesebiscuit8436 yes they very much are nowadays...

[@operandwriter]

We've been smeckledorfed!

[@ctleans6326]

"I forged priceless paintings." "You're a bad person." "They were bought by Nazis." "You're a good person."

[@shreeyamittal1771]

Underrated🤣

[@anoutdatedmeme6358]

everyone hates Nazis lol

[@JastwatchingYT]

@@anoutdatedmeme6358 and vice versa

[@raspberrycrowns9494]

@@anoutdatedmeme6358 good.

[@theaslam9758]

*when you copy the smartest kid in class on a test, and get higher marks than him*

[@imperialeagle564]

Lol

[@chanbricks4461]

I've had that happen to me. My friend didn't do his homework, so he copy pasted mine and handed it in. He got more marks for the same thing than I did, even though he was three months late

[@hi.241]

Same so my best friend copied my homework and I got a 70 while she got a 75-

[@danyalshamsi1161]

Lol, someone copied off me in a test, but ended up getting higher score than me. Why? Because I wrote my roll no. incorrectly in one of the papers. :P

[@dudsduds7605]

Then you became the representative for quiz bee

[@thatgrrrrrl]

But did noone wonder how he was suddenly popping up with all these old paintings that noone ever saw before??

[@axelpatrickb.pingol3228]

If they are the lost art pieces of great masters, who can wonder otherwise?

[@jabir5768]

he went trough art dealers they said, so no one knew it was all from him I guess ?

[@tonyantonissen4538]

we are talking about the 1940's here.

[@omri9325]

Social media didn't exist back then. You couldn't tell if an art piece is from a secret private collection.

[@anandasanyal9514]

He actually came up with a story that, he found those paintings in an old castle. The particular painting he sold to Goering, he made a story that one lady sold that to him. A very interesting life.

[@CDio-vr3bx]

“Dad look at my art.” “Son that’s my art why’d you forge it” “I learned from the best” Tears rolling down “You sure did my son”

[@shubhroy7960]

Underrated comment

[@s29nv1sr1]

You have to admit forgers (forgery artists - I don’t know the correct word) deserve some kind of recognition. It takes a lot of skill to be able to copy something so well that it’s hard to tell the original from the duplicate. Not to mention that forgers often copy things with drastically different styles, with just the same amount of quality between the two. Forgery is an art all on it’s own.

[@axelpatrickb.pingol3228]

Not really. Unless it was done with no criminal intent, it is a felony designed to deceive anyone (no matter if they deserve it or not)...

[@s29nv1sr1]

Ohlourdes Padua True, but I’m not saying people SHOULD forge things. However, you have to admit it is admirable how much skill it takes to forge something almost perfectly. It takes loads of talent.

[@axelpatrickb.pingol3228]

@@s29nv1sr1 Still not a reason to admire them. For as long as the intent is deception, it is a crime nobody should emulate...

[@DrPumpkinz]

@@axelpatrickb.pingol3228 The skill is admirable. Not the goal.

[@hkr667]

@@axelpatrickb.pingol3228 Unfortunately crime is often romanticized. Until they become victim of a fraud, then suddenly they are criminals that should be hanged.

[@ligoboijk345]

His forgery was so good even after confessing people didn’t believe it.true mad lad

[@elainegoates9792]

then he said "I fooled the natzis" and his works were forged

[@maximhollandnederlandthene7640]

The compositions weren't so good. Unbelievable people believed they were originals.

[@warrenkeystone5195]

Van Meegeren after none of his original paintings were a success: *I'm gonna do what's called a pro-gamer move*

[@anuradha-wm7le]

Y this comment hav so many likes no comments

[@maximhollandnederlandthene7640]

His drawings of deers are sold a lot. They have made lots of copy prints of it in the Netherlands. He's only one of many artists who doesn't get rich by making his art. But he was very talented !

[@deftash4964]

His son forging his art is not really forgery, it's passing down the craft.

[@ValGOPLock]

Unfortunately

[@ddr1406]

100th like🇩🇪

[@CubyChrisAnimations]

If you're lying about the creator to gain a profit, it's a scam. Son or not.

[@mewmew8932]

@@CubyChrisAnimations no balls

[@TheHiroClaw123]

Vermeer's paintings: doesn't exist Meegeren: I'm about to start this man's whole career

[@cornerseeker9167]

Identify theft is not a joke, Han! Millions of family suffer every year

[@cristobalvalero6345]

Corner Seeker slow clap

[@abdimojo8794]

I understood that reference 🛡 🇺🇸

[@giornogiovanna2008]

What is this a crossover episode !?

[@ricardobautista-garcia8492]

reference?

[@SaturdayParker]

@@abdimojo8794 I understood THAT reference e

[@jenw980]

ngl the lengths he went to and the effort he put in is pretty damn impressive

[@johnjohn-6256]

Forgery, in its own right, is art. Today, that would be labeled as institutional critique since it tackles the art world’s obsession on the old masters’ works.

[@cv4809]

I guess if I copy Einstein work I can also be recognized as a genius, creativity and originality are overrated anyways

[@salenebrom6476]

JOHN VISAYA 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@ardensetiawan353]

@@cv4809 If you direct copied his works, nobody would care because that's the very concept of printing press, but if you copy his works and add something of your own, then you might indeed be a genius or at least a smart person. Actually that's what researchers do every day.

[@carstarsarstenstesenn]

Forgery is not an art. Recreating art is an art.

[@chanbricks4461]

@@cv4809 Being able to further research on an idea proposed by someone else is still work. I mean, Edison merely made the light bulb suitable for mass production, but we treat him like the creator of it

[@stormchazer3068]

It seems like TedEd really got interested in the Netherlands.

[@Disneyfilmily]

I love it! I am from the Netherlands and Van Meegeren is not well known here!

[@annamaura89]

Just wish they would consult at least one dutch person for these videos to work on their pronunciation, its not that hard

[@hkr667]

@@annamaura89 It is hard. It's not only knowing how to pronounce it, but unless you have learned to make certain sounds during childhood, it is physically impossible to replicate them.

[@nocturnalanimals5884]

annamaura89 it’s actually hard my parents lived in the netherlands for almost 30 years and they still don’t know it that well i was born there so i’m fluent

[@Disneyfilmily]

@@annamaura89 especially our 'G' sound is impossible, so names like Van Gogh and Van Meegeren are bound to sound weird when pronounced by a non-native speaker

[@jakamaulana9790]

According to him _" The fake is of far greater value. In attempts to be real, it's more real than the real thing."_ -Kaiki Deishu

[@x--qz1fd]

Shiro emiya -

[@AStrategyGameDev]

Probably the most impactful quote to come from that series :P

[@x--qz1fd]

Monogatari fans

[@thekingofcool2105]

Hollywood should make a film out of this story

[@paris2993]

the king of cool ....i think it's best if the Netherlands make it, in Dutch Lingua.

[@PatrickStarForPresident]

Yeah,uit would be a great movie, but we but know that Hollywood wont make it, so we have to wait that the independient directors do that

[@mellory2337]

There is already a Dutch movie about him called 'Een echte Vermeer'( A real Vermeer).

[@PatrickStarForPresident]

@@mellory2337 is an indie movie?

[@danielschein6845]

I love the way rhey explained away the forger's mistakes by claiming they were the master's early work - before he got good. When people really want to get conned they'll find a way.

[@nhy123123]

The fact that he forged Vermeer was also highly poetic in a way, both artists were not well-recognised for their art during their lifetime, so it might be a fated coincidence (or perhaps, intentional) that van Meegeren forged his artwork.

[@lushbIood]

His "lack of talent" in his peer's eyes was actually the fuel that unlocked his real talent in his eye for detail and dealing the art.

[@shoaibmms]

Am i the only one who thinks Mr. Bean did the best art forging in his movie ? 😂

[@thesabre8458]

YES

[@endoetz]

but he used poster..

[@dametrosd6593]

Yesh on the Bean movie the art gallery 😂😂

[@CatMaster90001]

"It's a poster. =w= " "... It's a WHAT?!"

[@CharmEng89]

gosh that movie was so stressful for me to watch as a kid... 😂

[@johancakep]

Abraham bredius: "I'm gonna help this man whole career" **after Vanmeegeren get caught** Abraham bredius : "I'm gonna ruin this man whole career."

[@uuhbsj297]

Am I the only admiring that the guy literally worked meticulously hard for 6 long years till he perfected his fake paintings?! That's perseverance and dedication for your job (for others' jobs😶) right there!!!

[@divyadurairaj1162]

me too wonderful right

[@vilelilman4252]

Art ironically becomes the most valuable when the artist is dead. Typical artist: That’s not fair! Van Meegeren: Well alright. DEAD IT IS THEN.

[@Chirp-chirp]

hahahahaah

[@aadivrath2407]

Really reminds me of Hardy Rodenstock (Meinhard Görke). He fooled the entire Wine world, by faking MILLIONS in supposingly antique wines, only for them to be cheap. Absolute MadLad, that one.

[@TheHiroClaw123]

Meegeren having to prove he's a master forger to live was an absolute win situation

[@inte4691]

1:51 oh no what did he do to the book

[@ilickcatnip]

Wonderful animations TedED! And when I say wonderful, they really create wonders! Lots of love and respect from India.🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳

[@justyouraveragegamer8733]

Nazis after finding out they were tricked: *this is a certified bruh moment*

[@maahirrahi3416]

TED ed has taught me more about history than ap word history

[@axelpatrickb.pingol3228]

Unless you AP History is for a degree in History in college...

[@blackmage1276]

@@axelpatrickb.pingol3228 what?

[@axelpatrickb.pingol3228]

@@blackmage1276 These sorts of things are too niche for general history class. Nobody cares about some petty art forger when the average student has to cram in 5,000 years worth of world (Western) history in a few semesters. Same thing with mine, we generally don't care about the history of anything behind the Urals because we are already overwhelmed learning about the history of Asia which is lengthy all by itself...

[@blackmage1276]

@@axelpatrickb.pingol3228 I'm pretty sure the history on everything is super long

[@axelpatrickb.pingol3228]

@@blackmage1276 And I am telling you nobody is interested in all that...

[@scaredyghosts]

The greatest compliment a person could ever receive is when you forged a masterpiece-others find it hard to believe.

[@phoebeahn8941]

Honestly, forgery is like the best crime. You get all the money, none of the blood, and it takes actual artistic skill

[@darkcursing6777]

Is funny how through his perfected forgerring technique that he himself might able to create an art of equal unique as other famous painting. Through his study and practice, he unbeknownst to him have learned how to create a painting as unique as other. Perhaps if he create same painting but a very different theme, he could become famous by it as Altered View Painting.

[@SnoopyDoofie]

Art expert: "It's authentic!" Reality: It's a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy...

[@diekje8728]

When Göring was trialed, he was unmoved by everything the judges held against him. Until they told him his Vermeer was in fact a fake, it would be the only time Göring would show any emotion

[@SuicideBunny6]

Luckily he only started making forgeries when his own works didn't take off. Some Austrian painter at the time even started a war for it ...

[@the_otter5936]

LMAOOO

[@txtp]

Georgian, actually...

[@MohammadAshraf-mu5xl]

nobody: tedEd: wanna know how the nazis were tricked?

[@MohammadAshraf-mu5xl]

thanks ted ed never got a like from you ever......am a fan

[@dashcrowngd8954]

yes

[@subbaiahkasi6310]

Heck yeah, I do!

[@maximhollandnederlandthene7640]

Because they were greedy bastards 😂

[@phoebefernando4091]

this has got to be one of the most hilariously interesting stories i’ve ever encountered

[@maryambagha597]

Still amazed by the animation and information shown in these incredible videos!

[@deepamalu3170]

The music here is just underrated as meegeren

[@connoreadie14]

the animation in this video is so good

[@phiutubeful]

Art forgery: well... that’s not a good thing... Scammed the nazis: welp, that’s okay

[@crzy4u386]

TED keeps delivering with these animated stories. They’re so amazing!!

[@rubyj3287]

The art style is just amazing!!!! The rough textures sort of feel like colored pencils and it gives the video a really nice feel.

[@TheHiroClaw123]

"later forged in turn by his own son" the son: the turn tables, father

[@alisondixon110]

Does anyone know what the background music is? It’s so nice

[@BA-bt5pj]

I wanna know too🥺

[@zur1cord]

Off-topic, but i just wanna say the music score starting from 4:19 to the end was really good. Especially the part at 4:40. You don't notice it but the music in ted-ed videos really does add another layer to it.

[@guifdcanalli]

This dude tricked the nazis and his work was so good that he did need to prove his paintings were fake LoL this is a high level scammer, i love it

[@westwizard6992]

This guy had a main question on my LSAT test this year, needless to say I got it horribly wrong

[@elPichirri]

Before bootleg cd’s and dvd’s were sold there was this guy

[@nexo7181]

It's nice to watch TedEd videos while on quarantine... Knowledge is power

[@themossy007]

What a fantastic story, thank you TED-Ed.

[@jerrylim6722]

**forges a painting** herman goring: I'LL HAVE YOUR WHOLE STOCK **allies win** I'm gonna do what's called a pro gammer move... **change team**

[@jerrylim6722]

@Abigail Fegan I heard that he was so proud of his achievements that he had people surprize him with the map of his territories permanently engraved onto his back... did not go as he planned.

[@Nimish204]

Just like Italy

[@techiesithastobetechies.8531]

That was an amazing story!

[@bvillafuerte765]

Good video as always, it's impressive that two people passing and failing respectively in the art academy caused them to become powerful people.

[@tomasavendano635]

Bredius: So, how did you find this stunning work of art? Meegeren: Around.

[@ajamesarellano]

“The BEST place for money laundering is through art exhibits.” Be a troll or get trolled. hahaha 😂😜🤣

[@diekje8728]

He even studied the signature of Vermeer over and over so he could perfectly sign his fake painting It truly is an amazing story

[@chaitanyaprabhu1906]

The background music in the last minute was lit💜

[@ashefshahrior5437]

This deserves a live movie!

[@lovely.avocados.818]

They teach me more than my school do💀

[@bswathe]

Kya be yar kaise comment dalta

[@abhirammanthena7333]

@Ali Hadi Babar Hindi I guess

[@amaraa7750]

What is the background music?

[@ihatetoselecthename]

somebody help.. coz i wana know too

[@viratdeshwal4136]

Yeah me too!!

[@stephenmessano1847]

What a fascinating tale! Love these TED-EDs.

[@fidly4]

At the task of becoming a great artist, this man is the definition of "Mission Failed Successfully"

[@skystrike41508]

Van Meegeren: I'm going to do what is called a pro gamer move Seriously this guy is the biggest brain boy I have ever seen.

[@richiemukurumbira4458]

And that kids, is what you call a *pro* *gamer* *move*

[@eririe1451]

Ted ed should do video about monet. His painting resonates really deeply within so many people. His painting evokes the same feeling you might get if you watch a really beautiful sunset or a rolling field full of flower bursting in color.

[@scaredyghosts]

The greatest compliment a person could ever receive is when others find it hard you created a masterpiece.

[@Azrielfiend]

me: make a good comment. *Make a good comment.* my brain: _I'm speed._

[@elek8460]

3:05 please no, it’s not Holland it’s the Netherlands. We don’t call the UK England either

[@mehxsquared]

Loving the accuracy in this video, good jobb

[@akshitchoudhary877]

It's really nice to hear these beautiful stories

[@jamesdemella2290]

2:00 no neck?

[@bobbyferg9173]

4:36 I guess that is a mixture of irony and like father like son

[@hieulechi2548]

I love this video so much, thank you a lot Ted Ed

[@mjstory1976]

Awesome and informative video

[@JaguarKnight-hk7gl]

Who else watching this instead of doing their online school assignments?

[@ghostderazgriz]

you caught me.

[@nazbmn242]

Last time i was this early, self promoters Were everywhere. * checks again * oh wait their back

[@lorrenzrenomeron3569]

*they're

[@warrenkeystone5195]

*They're

[@hoimeedey5155]

van Meegeran died in 1947. On the last day of his appeal he suffered a heart attack which caused his death. He never could relish the joy of becoming a 'true artist'. He died forger, respect came after death.

[@winona1643]

It’s a roller coaster from beginning to the end i like it

[@luhreen1361]

Never been THIS early

[@deanodama.5111]

It's the Netherlands. Holland is just a part of it 🙄😂 nevertheless interesting video 🤗

[@maxbrouwer6072]

Abigail Fegan yes people do often say it’s the same. But they are very different. Holland consists of 2 provinces called Zuid-Holland(South - Holland) and Noord - Holland (North - Holland). The Netherlands consists of 12 provinces and 2 of these have Holland in the name. Holland has the most tourists of the Netherlands which is one of the reason why people see Holland and the Netherlands as the same.

[@MissKittieMo]

Okay but who scored this video bc this is, by far, the best song on a video i've heard. That intro, the instruments, the layers, like what?! i need them on more videos

[@morningday2258]

Beautiful story thanks ted for all what you are make for us🌷

[@SkyFantasyWorld]

2 minutes in and were already at 500 views lads

[@Autob0y]

Omg I’m early

[@jannetteberends8730]

“Het hertje” (the deer), an authentic early work of van Meegeren, was very popular in the Netherlands. My aunt had it on the wall in the living room.

[@Pedrosa2541]

What I got from this is that the difference between a successful artist and an unsuccessful one isn't about techniquique creativity or whatever, is just fame.

[@ezucra]

Nazis: so How are we going to arrest him? Russians: I dont know The Roman empire: youve got yourself into some serious stuff mate Paris: yep I agree

[@wolfboi7085]

first

[@dread7252]

The music at the end actually slaps

[@anmolmaniyar6868]

Even art forgery is valuable in its own right. By the way, nicely played!

[@saucyyikers3877]

Imagine being good at painting that you are able to fake amazing pieces of work yet you are unknown by almost everyone.

[@paris2993]

Ted ed , from where u get all these .......simply amazing

[@JA-fu5yw]

I truly enjoy the quotes before each video 💛

[@divyeshraibusgeet54]

I love every narrator of Ted-Ed they are so good.