Its a story that made Dutch painter Han van Meegeren famous worldwide when itbroke at the end of World War II: A lifetime of disappointment drovehim to forge Vermeers, one of which he sold to Hermann Goering inmockery of the Nazis. And its a story thats been believed ever since.Too badit isnt true. Jonathan Lopez has drawn on never-before-seen documents from dozens of archives to write a revelatory new biography of the world's most famous forger. Neither unappreciated artist nor antifascist hero, Van Meegeren emerges as an ingenious, dyed-in-the-wool crooka talented Mr. Ripley armed with a paintbrush. Lopez explores a network of illicit commerce that operated across Europe: Not only was Van Meegeren a key player in that high-stakes game in the 1920s and 30s, landing fakes with famous collectors such as Andrew Mellon, but he and his associates latercashed in on the Nazi occupation.The Man Who Made Vermeersis a long-overdue unvarnishing of Van Meegeren's legend and a deliciously detailed story of deceit in the art world.