Fake or Fortune? Catch up, Series 1: 3. Van Meegeren on BBC 1

Fake or Fortune?

Series 1: 3. Van Meegeren

The art world can prove a bear pit, with a myriad of tricksters at work. Experts estimate that anything between 20%-40% of works of art on the market are faked. And they can turn up in the most unexpected places. \n\nHanging in one of the most prestigious and respected art institutes in London is a picture Philip has heard of, which may hold the key to unlocking the story of the most audacious forger of all time. A man who dared to fake the work of Old Masters and made millions from his deception, until he was caught in 1945: Han Van Meegeren. \n\nBut a mystery remains to this day, as Van Meegeren died before a complete record of his fakes was made. How did he pull off faking Old Master paintings, duping important art galleries in to making purchases of works apparently by Vermeer, even foxing Goering in to buying one of his works during the war? \n\nPhilip and Fiona get to work on the London picture which, legend has it, hung in Van Meegeren's studio on the day he was arrested. Was it his last work? And by testing it, can we prove how he out-foxed some of the most eminent minds in the art world?

Source: BBC 1

Most recent episodes of Fake or Fortune?

Fake Or Fortune?

Series 9: Episode 1

Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould head to the beautiful Norfolk countryside on the trail of one of the 20th century’s greatest artists, Henry Moore. They are investigating an i ...

27-03-2025

BBC 1

All episodes

Fake Or Fortune?

Series 12: 4. Corot

Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould investigate a lovely landscape painting, purported to be by one of the forefathers of impressionism and one of the most important artists of the 19t ...

15-01-2025

BBC 1

All episodes

Fake Or Fortune?

Series 12: 3. Music Memorabilia

The team take on an entertaining new challenge when they plunge into the fast-growing market for rock music memorabilia. Can they prove that a curious silver guitar once belonge ...

09-01-2025

BBC 1

All episodes

Fake Or Fortune?

Series 12: 2. Helen Mcnicoll

Could a beautiful painting of women working in a field be a valuable lost work by Helen McNicoll, a celebrated impressionist artist from Canada? The quest to prove it takes the ...

03-01-2025

BBC 1

All episodes

Fake Or Fortune?

Series 12: 1. Mondrian

Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould investigate a charming little white flower picture, purported to be by one of the most important abstract artists of the 20th century, Piet Mondrian ...

02-01-2025

BBC 1

All episodes

Fake Or Fortune?

Series 10: 4. Flemish Old Master

Fiona and Philip visit a church in Port Glasgow to investigate whether a mysterious work depicting Christ after the crucifixion could be a lost masterpiece by one of the great p ...

24-10-2024

BBC 1

All episodes

Fake Or Fortune?

Series 11: 4. Arshile Gorky

Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould investigate a murky canvas that could be by Arshile Gorky, a pioneer of abstract expressionism. Works by this Armenian-American artist fetch million ...

28-08-2024

BBC 1

All episodes

Fake Or Fortune?

Series 11: 3. Cezanne And Pissarro

Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould head to France on the trail of two of the greatest Impressionist and post-Impressionist artists, Camille Pissarro and his friend and protege, Paul C ...

21-08-2024

BBC 1

All episodes

Fake Or Fortune?

Series 11: 2. Joshua Reynolds

Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould head to north London to meet Glyn Hopkin, a car dealer with a soft spot for art. He’s taken a gamble on a painting he hopes is by a towering f ...

26-07-2024

BBC 1

All episodes

Fake Or Fortune?

Series 8: 1. The Lost Gainsborough

The team investigate an 18th-century landscape: could it be a lost work by the great British master of landscape painting, Thomas Gainsborough? \n\nThe painting has been in the ...

24-06-2024

BBC 1

All episodes