The art forger who tricked the Nazis - Noah Charney

翻译人员: Wanting Zhong 校对人员: Jiasi Hao

这是荷兰历史上最离奇的审讯之一。

It was one of the strangest trials in Dutch history.

The defendant in this 1947 case was an art forger

在这宗 1947 年的案件中， 被告是一名艺术伪造者，

who had counterfeited millions of dollars worth of paintings.

他伪造过价值数百万美元的赝品。

But he wasn’t arguing his innocence—

但他在案件中 却没有在为自己的清白辩护——

in fact, his life depended on proving that he had committed the fraud.

事实上，他必须证明自己 犯了伪造罪，才能保住性命。

Like many art forgers, Han van Meegeren was an artist

与其他许多同行一样，

汉 · 范米格伦（Han van Meegeren） 是一位艺术家，

whose original works had failed to bring him renown.

可是他的原创作品 并未能让他名声大振。

Embittered towards the art world,

怀着对艺术界的愤懑不平，

van Meegeren set out to make fools of his detractors.

范米格伦打算给这些 有眼无珠的人点颜色瞧瞧。

He learned all he could about the Old Masters—

他深度剖析那些早期大师们的作品——

their biographies, their techniques, and their materials.

他研习了他们的传记、 技巧和画作材料。

The artist he chose for his deception was 17th century Baroque painter

他的骗局从选择伪造 一位 17 世纪的巴洛克画家开始，

约翰内斯 · 维米尔 （Johannes Vermeer）——

Johannes Vermeer—

an ambitious decision given Vermeer was famed for his carefully executed

这是一个野心勃勃的决定，

因为维米尔以技艺精湛的 室内画像而闻名。

and technically brilliant domestic scenes.

Working in secret for six years, the forger perfected his art,

在秘密工作六年后，这位赝造者 将自己的画作发挥到了极致，

copying numerous works as practice.

作为练习，他还临摹了很多作品。

He mixed his own paints after researching the raw materials

在研究了维米尔时代的 画作原材料和染料之后，

and pigments available in Vermeer’s time.

他用自己的材料混合制成了 维米尔使用的颜料。

He bought 17th century canvases, created his own brushes,

他购买了 17 世纪的画布， 制作了自己的画笔，

and aged the works by applying synthetic resin

添加合成树脂， 并烘烤让颜料干燥开裂，

and baking them to dry and crack the paint.

以制造出年代久远的效果。

A forensic test could have detected the synthetic resin.

鉴定测试本能够检测出合成树脂，

But at the time, such tests were neither advanced nor widespread,

但当时这种测试不够先进和普及，

and even today verification of a painting’s authenticity

甚至时至今日，画作真伪的鉴定

relies on the assessment of art specialists.

也大都依赖艺术专家的评估。

So it’s a matter of their subjective judgment— as well as their reputation.

所以这关乎到专家的 主观判断以及他们的声誉。

And this is where van Meegeren truly outwitted the art world.

这就是范米格伦 真正骗过艺术界的地方。

From his research, he knew historians believed Vermeer had an early period

他通过研究了解到，历史学家相信

维米尔早期创作过宗教画， 并受到意大利画家卡拉瓦乔的影响。

of religious painting influenced by the Italian painter Caravaggio.

The leading authority on Vermeer, Abraham Bredius,

尽管未曾有人发现过这些作品， 研究维米尔的权威人士

was a huge proponent of this theory, though none of these works had surfaced.

亚伯拉罕 · 布雷迪乌斯（Abraham Bredius） 是这个理论的绝对支持者。

So van Meegeren decided to make one.

于是范米格伦 决定自己创作一幅这样的画，

He called it "The Supper at Emmaus."

并将其命名为《埃马斯的晚餐》。

Bredius declared van Meegeren’s fake the masterpiece of Vermeer’s oeuvre.

布雷迪乌斯宣称范米格伦的赝品 是维米尔作品中的珠玉之作。

Van Meegeren’s forgery was not totally up to Vermeer’s technical standards,

范米格伦的赝品技术 没能完全达到维米尔的水准，

but these inconsistencies could be made to fit the narrative:

但这些违和之处 恰好能和维米尔的生平匹配：

这是一件早期作品， 那时的维米尔还没有成名。

this was an early work, produced before the artist had come into his own.

With the stamp of approval from the art world,

由于得到了艺术界的认可，

the fake was sold in 1937 for the equivalent

这件赝品在 1937 年

of over $4 million in today’s money.

以相当于现在 400 万美元的价格卖出。

The success prompted van Meegeren to forge and sell more works

大获成功的范米格伦继续进行伪造，

并通过多个艺术商卖出了更多赝品。

through various art dealers.

As unbelievable as it may sound,

尽管听上去难以置信，

the art world continued to believe in their authenticity.

但艺术界一直都相信 这些艺术品的真实性。

When the Nazis occupied Holland during the Second World War,

当纳粹在二战占领荷兰时，

希特勒的高级将领之一， 赫尔曼 · 戈林（Hermann Göring）

Hermann Göring, one of Hitler’s top generals,

sought to add a Vermeer to his collection of artwork

想在他从欧洲各地搜刮的艺术品中

looted from all over Europe.

加入一幅维米尔的作品。

Van Meegeren obliged, selling him an alleged early Vermeer painting

范米格伦答应了，并卖给他 一幅据称是维米尔早期的画作，

titled "Christ with the Adulteress."

名为《耶稣和淫妇》。

As the tide of the war turned, so did van Meegeren’s luck.

随着战情的扭转， 范米格伦的运气也即将消失。

Following the Allied victory, he was arrested for delivering a priceless piece

在盟军胜利之后，

他因向纳粹交付一幅极其宝贵的 被视为荷兰文化遗产的画作而被捕。

of Dutch heritage to the Nazis— an act of treasonous collaboration

这种通敌叛国的行为

punishable by death.

可判死刑。

To prove the painting wasn’t a national treasure,

为了证明这幅画作不是国宝，

he explained step-by-step how he had forged it.

他一步步地解释了自己 是如何伪造这幅画的。

But he faced an unexpected obstacle— the very expert who had enabled his scam.

但他却遇到了一个意想不到的困难—— 那位使他骗局成功的专家

Moved to protect his reputation, Bredius defended the painting’s authenticity.

布雷迪乌斯，为了捍卫自己名誉， 坚称这幅画是真品。

With few options left, van Meegeren set to work on a "new" Vermeer.

范米格伦几乎别无选择，只能再次 亲手创作一件“新”的维米尔作品。

When he presented the fake to the court, they finally believed him.

当他把赝品呈交给法庭之后， 人们终于相信了他。

He was acquitted for collaborating with the Nazis—

他被免除了与纳粹勾结的叛国罪——

and sentenced to a year imprisonment for fraud.

却因诈骗罪被判处一年有期徒刑。

Though there’s evidence that van Meegeren did, in fact, collaborate with the Nazis,

尽管有证据表明， 范米格伦确实与纳粹勾结，

he managed to convince the public that he had tricked Göring on purpose,

他还是设法让公众相信 他故意欺骗了戈林，

transforming his image into that of a folk hero who had swindled the Nazis.

把自己的形象转变为 一名敲诈了纳粹的民间英雄。

Thanks to this newfound notoriety,

多亏了这次“恶名”的远扬，

his works became valuable in their own right—

他本人的作品成了货真价实的名作——

so much so that they were later forged in turn by his own son.

以至于他的儿子后来 又伪造了他的作品。

The same canvases went from revered classics to despised forgeries

同样的画，从备受推崇的经典 沦落到受人唾弃的赝品，

to works of art respected for the skill and notoriety of the forger.

又因为赝造者的技艺和名声， 成为了备受尊敬的艺术作品。