The Last Vermeer

The ending of The Last Vermeer reveals a layered deception rooted in Van Meegeren’s complex character. Throughout the film, it’s shown that Van Meegeren was not just a skilled forger but also a man capable of hiding his true intentions. The key moment comes when a detective hands a book to Joseph that contains Van Meegeren’s artworks, revealing a dedication written to Hitler. This discovery exposes Van Meegeren’s true allegiance: beneath his façade as a talented artist and forger, he was secretly a Nazi supporter, using his skills to flatter and serve the Nazi regime.

In a tense courtroom confrontation, Joseph manipulates the situation by creating a spectacle—throwing acid on a fake Vermeer painting he had been working on, to prove it was a forgery. This dramatic act exposes the plastic resin Van Meegeren used to fake the age of the paintings, ultimately convincing the court of Van Meegeren’s guilt as a forger working for Nazi interests. Van Meegeren’s apparent innocence was a clever cover-up for his true motives, which were intertwined with his complex identity as both a talented artist and a Nazi sympathizer.

Finally, despite having ample evidence to condemn him and a desire to see him sentenced to death, Joseph chooses mercy. He retrieves the book that could have confirmed Van Meegeren’s guilt but instead destroys it, symbolically erasing the evidence of Van Meegeren’s true allegiance. Joseph’s decision underscores the movie’s themes: that Van Meegeren, although a talented artist, was ultimately a flawed and morally ambiguous figure. He lives with a sense of guilt, suffering a heart attack shortly after the trial, and Van Meegeren’s true intentions and character are left ambiguously unresolved—his final act of mercy leaving the audience contemplating whether he was a man of falsehood, or a victim of circumstances who perhaps sought redemption in the end. The film’s ending challenges viewers to question the nature of morality, art, and deception, leaving us with a haunting reflection on the blurred lines between authenticity and forgery.

Last Updated: June 25, 2025 at 09:00