Word: meegeren
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Vermeer is acknowledged as one of the leading artists of the past 500 years. His influence extended to the Impressionists, Marcel Proust - and criminals. Many of his 35 works have been stolen (one, 'The Concert', is still missing), and in the 1930s and '40s a forger named Hans van Meegeren made millions of dollars with at least six high-class fakes before being caught and imprisoned...
...Vermeer might have smiled at Van Meegeren's efforts. Few of his own subjects were original, he was ruthless in his pursuit of objectives, strove for perfection over volume and borrowed ideas liberally. But there any comparison must end. In a Vermeer painting serenity prevails and, as Bailey notes, a viewer is taken into a room and invited to walk around and talk to those present. It is this unique intimacy that ensured Vermeer's reputation over time, and that continues to enthrall...