[audiobook] Avenue Q: The Musical: The Complete Book and Lyrics of the Broadway Musical (Applause Books) (Applause Libretto Library) by Jeff Whitty at Arts-Photography

Description

Frank Wynnes remarkable book tells the story of Han van Meegeren; a paranoid; drug-addicted; second-rate painter whose Vermeer forgeries made him a secret superstar of the art world. During van Meegerens heyday as a forger of Vermeers; he earned the equivalent of fifty million dollars; the acclaim of the worlds press; and the satisfaction of swindling Hermann Gouml;ring himself; trading the Nazi commander one of his forgeries in exchange for the return of hundreds of looted Dutch paintings. But he was undone by his very success; thriving so noticeably during World War II that when it ended; he was arrested as a Nazi collaborator. His only defense was to admit that he himself had painted the Old Masters that had passed through his hands-a confession the public refused to believe; until; in a huge media event; the courts staged the public painting of what would be van Meegerens last "Vermeer." I Was Vermeer is a gripping real-life mystery that exposes the life and techniques of the consummate art forger; the fascinating work of the experts who try to track down the fakes; and the collusion and ego in the art establishment that; even today; allow forgery to thrive. Wry; amoral; and plotted like a thriller; it is the first major book in forty years on this astonishing episode in history. Frank Wynne is a writer and award-winning literary translator. Born in Ireland; he has lived and worked in Dublin; Paris; Amsterdam; London; and Buenos Aires; and currently lives in San Joseacute;; Costa Rica. He has translated more than a dozen novels; among them the works of Michel Houellebecq; Freacute;deacute;ric Beigbeder; Pierre Meacute;rot; and Ahmadou Kourouma. A journalist and broadcaster; he has written for the Sunday Times; the Independent; the Irish Times; Melody Maker; and Time Out.