"Exactly how Van Meegeren became a fraud is an interesting story.."

Han van Meegeren - wikipedia.org
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Han van Meegeren, byname of Henricus Antonius van Meegeren (Deventer, October 10, 1889 - Valeriuskliniek Amsterdam, December 30, 1947), was a Dutch painter and master art forger. Van Meegeren's life was linked to that of the great Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, who died in 1675. Vermeer had not been particularly famous until around the beginning of the 20th century, and only about 40 of his works had survived. At the end of the Second World War, the Allies came upon a salt mine in Austria where the top Nazis had hidden works of art they had plundered from the occupied countries of the Reich. The military brought in art experts to ensure that the treasures were properly handled, identified, and repatriated. Among the treasures were artworks from the collection of Nazi Reichsmarshall Hermann Göring. Göring's collection included a Vermeer that none of the experts were familiar with, and investigation traced it back to a Dutch citizen who was running a nightclub in Amsterdam named Han van Meegeren. The Dutch authorities pegged him as a collaborator when he could not explain the origins of the Vermeer, and arrested him in May 1945. Van Meegeren was potentially in very serious trouble, as he could be charged with treason, which carried the death penalty. After several days of intense interrogation, he told the authorities the truth, which they did not believe at first: He had painted the Vermeer himself. Van Meegeren knew his paintings would be X-rayed to see what was painted on the old canvas underneath, and he told the committee what they would find. They did so, and after only two days on trial, Van Meegeren was found guilty of forgery. He was sentenced to two years in prison. His health was so bad, however, that he went to a clinic instead of prison. He died on 29 December 1947. Although Van Meegeren may have not been much of a role model, he had walked in the steps of the Dutch masters as he had always wanted to do; made a fortune for himself in trying times; made fools of the art establishment that had reviled him, and who nobody else liked; even tricked the Nazis; became an international celebrity and a national hero of sorts; and then made an exit effectively unscathed.