In 1945, after the conclusion of the Second World War, a Dutch man was accused of collaborating with the Nazis and plundering the Netherlands of some of its greatest artistic works.

During the trial, he came up with a defense that seemed to everyone to be preposterous, yet it bound up being true.

Learn more about Han Van Murgarin, the painter who duped the Nazis, and everyone else, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. And Henricus Antonius Van Meagarin, casually known as Han, was born in the Netherlands in

1889.

Despite a love of art and a desire to become an artist, he did not grow up in an artistic

household.

His father did everything he could to stop his son's artistic ambitions.

When he went to university he was forced to study a practical subject like architecture, not painting.

While in high school he had a teacher named Bardis Corderling. Quarterling was an amateur

painter and had a deep fascination with the Dutch masters. In addition to being a

devotee of the Dutch masters he also rejected the modern artistic movements at the

time such as Impressionism.

Quirling managed to pass on to a young Han van Mirgarin, his love of the Dutch masters.

In addition to appreciating their style, he also taught him many of the techniques they used, including how they blended paint.

Han eventually began a career as a painter.

He had his first public exhibition in 1917 and began to earn a reputation.

He did drawings that became quite famous in the Netherlands, but eventually focused on portraits.

He developed a clientele from all around Europe of people who wanted portraits painted in the style of Dutch masters.

Many of his other paintings were panned by Dutch art critics.

The primary complaint was that his works were derivative and unoriginal.

Most art critics were taken at that time by new art movements like

surrealism and cubism and didn't look kindly on someone like Van Meagarin

...