Facing execution for selling a Vermeer to Hermann Goering, Dutch painter Han van Meegeren saved his own life by proving he was one of the most prolific forgers in history.

This episode dissects the anatomy of his deception, the chemistry, the psychology, and the revenge that let him fool elite critics and become an unlikely national hero.

• A belittling childhood and rejection by modern art critics
• Baking Bakelite-laced paint to fake centuries of aging
• Painting Supper at Emmaus to match experts' unproven theories
• Trading a fake to Goering for 137 looted artworks
• Isotope and chemical tests that finally proved the fraud