The art forger who tricked the Nazis - Noah Charney

譯者: Clement Fu 審譯者: SF Huang

It was one of the strangest trials in Dutch history.

荷蘭史上最曲折離奇的審訊之一

The defendant in this 1947 case was an art forger

這宗 1947 年的案件

被告是偽畫大師

who had counterfeited millions of dollars worth of paintings.

偽造了價值數以百萬美元的畫作

But he wasn’t arguing his innocence—

不過，被告沒為自己洗刷清白

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

恰恰相反，他需證明自己犯了詐欺罪

才能免於一死

Like many art forgers, Han van Meegeren was an artist

和其他許多旁門左道的同行一樣

漢·凡·米格倫的 藝術原創沒為他帶來名利

whose original works had failed to bring him renown.

Embittered towards the art world,

對有志難伸的藝術世界心懷怨懟

van Meegeren set out to make fools of his detractors.

他決定要給有眼無珠的人還以顏色

He learned all he could about the Old Masters—

他窮究古典畫家、畫作的種種：

their biographies, their techniques, and their materials.

畫家傳記、畫作的技巧以至用料

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

他選擇用以「欺世盜名」的藝術家為

是 17 世紀巴洛克時期畫家

Johannes Vermeer—

約翰尼斯·維梅爾 ——

an ambitious decision given Vermeer was famed for his carefully executed

這是個野心勃勃的決定

因為維梅爾的畫作以技術精湛、 細緻描繪家庭生活而著稱

and technically brilliant domestic scenes.

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

他暗中修練六年，踏上偽術家之路

copying numerous works as practice.

摹繪了無數作品以磨練畫功

He mixed his own paints after researching the raw materials

他考究維梅爾時期會用的原料和顏料

and pigments available in Vermeer’s time.

調合出自己的塗料

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

同時搜購 17 世紀的畫布、自製筆刷

and aged the works by applying synthetic resin

又塗上合成樹脂烘焙畫作

and baking them to dry and crack the paint.

讓油漆乾燥裂開，偽造歲月的痕跡

A forensic test could have detected the synthetic resin.

在鑑證測試下，合成樹脂會無所遁形

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

但那時候，測試仍未先進或普及

and even today verification of a painting’s authenticity

即使到了今天，驗證畫作的真偽

relies on the assessment of art specialists.

也相當依賴藝術專家的評估

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

取決於專家的主觀評價以及名氣

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

這正是米格倫能智取藝術界的地方

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

他從研究所得，知道歷史學家相信

維梅爾早期有一些宗教畫作

of religious painting influenced by the Italian painter Caravaggio.

是受義大利畫家卡拉瓦喬啟蒙而創作

The leading authority on Vermeer, Abraham Bredius,

亞伯拉罕·布雷迪烏斯

這位堪稱維梅爾權威的專家

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

對此理論一直深信不疑

卻苦無出土畫作可以佐證

So van Meegeren decided to make one.

米格倫於是投其所好，偽造一幅出來

He called it "The Supper at Emmaus."

取同名《以馬忤斯的晚餐》

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

布雷迪烏斯把偽畫奉為

維梅爾畫壇上數一數二的代表作

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

雖然米格倫的偽術還技不如正宗宗師

but these inconsistencies could be made to fit the narrative:

這些拙筆仍可自圓其說：

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

是早期的作品，造就了後來獨樹一格

With the stamp of approval from the art world,

承著藝術界認可的口碑

the fake was sold in 1937 for the equivalent

1937 年，贗品的售價

of over $4 million in today’s money.

相當於今天逾四百萬美元

The success prompted van Meegeren to forge and sell more works

這趟成功促使米格倫偽造更多畫作

through various art dealers.

並透過不同畫商出售

As unbelievable as it may sound,

也許聽起來匪夷所思

the art world continued to believe in their authenticity.

藝術界對這些畫作一直深信不疑

When the Nazis occupied Holland during the Second World War,

二戰期間，納粹德軍佔領了荷蘭

Hermann Göring, one of Hitler’s top generals,

希特勒的其中一名上將赫爾曼·戈林

sought to add a Vermeer to his collection of artwork

希望在全歐洲搜刮的藝術收藏品中

looted from all over Europe.

增添一幅維梅爾名畫

Van Meegeren obliged, selling him an alleged early Vermeer painting

米格倫欣然從命

售出一幅聲稱是維梅爾的早期畫作

titled "Christ with the Adulteress."

《耶穌與通姦的女人》

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

可惜風水輪流轉，得意也不過一時

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

隨著盟軍戰勝，米格倫被指通敵叛國

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

把荷蘭一幅無價瑰寶交給納粹黨

罪行足以處死，因而被捕

punishable by death.

To prove the painting wasn’t a national treasure,

為了證明畫作根本不是國寶

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

他和盤托出偽造畫作的每一步驟

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

未想到生死關頭

那位被他利用 藉以瞞天過海的專家卻成為雙刃劍

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

布雷迪烏斯為保住自己的名聲

力辯畫作是絕無僅有的真品

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

米格倫別無他法

唯有再畫一幅「新」的維梅爾名畫

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

當他呈上偽作，法庭終於採信他了

He was acquitted for collaborating with the Nazis—

串通納粹黨一罪，罪名不成立

and sentenced to a year imprisonment for fraud.

詐欺罪則判監一年

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

雖然有證據指米格倫確實串通納粹黨

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

他說服了大眾，是他擺了戈林一道

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

搖身一變成為騙納粹黨的民間英雄

Thanks to this newfound notoriety,

多虧這份名氣大翻身

his works became valuable in their own right—

他的偽畫成為貨真價實的名作

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

甚至虎父無犬子，後來再被兒子偽造

The same canvases went from revered classics to despised forgeries

同樣的畫，從受人景仰的經典、 到令人嗤之以鼻的贗品

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

再變成讓人嘖嘖稱奇的 偽術大師「忍辱負重」之作