Why Do People Believe In Imaginary Returns, Frauds and Fakes?

For those interested in forgeries and art, Errol Morris is writing “Bamboozling Ourselves,” a seven-part installment based on two books, published last year, on the genius art forger Han van Meegeren. He writes:

Why do people believe in imaginary returns, frauds and fakes? Bernard Madoff, A.I.G. , W.M.D.’s … How did this happen? Do we believe things because it is in our self-interest? Or is it because we can be manipulated by others? And, if so, under what circumstances?

To be sure, the Van Meegeren story raises many, many questions. Among them: what makes a work of art great? Is it the signature of (or attribution to) an acknowledged master? Is it just a name? Or is it a name implying a provenance? With a photograph we may be interested in the photographer but also in what the photograph is of. With a painting this is often turned around, we may be interested in what the painting is of, but we are primarily interested in the question: who made it? Who held a brush to canvas and painted it? Whether it is the work of an acclaimed master like Vermeer or a duplicitous forger like Van Meegeren — we want to know more.

Part two, an interview with Edward Dolnick, the author of “The Forger’s Spell,” is also available now.