Hello.
I'd like to begin today with a story about perhaps the most famous art forger in history.
In the 1930s, frustrated Dutch painter Han van Meegeren, or van Meegeren, as we say in English,
set out to embarrass his critics by forging apparently lost Vermeers,
which turned out so convincing the experts declared their masterpieces.
One was even bought by Hermann Goering during World War II.
After the war,
van Meegeren was caught and charged with treason for selling a national treasure to the Nazis,
until he shocked everyone by declaring the work a fake,
something he proved by painting another on the spot.
He was cleared of collaboration and convicted on the lesser charge of fraud.
Pulling off a scheme like that today would be much harder,
thanks to modern authentication techniques, a field my guest knows all about.
Jihan Raga'i is an emeritus professor of chemistry at the American University in Cairo with a passion for science matched by her love of arts and culture.
Early in her career,
she helped analyse the great sphinx of Giza and later became fascinated by the world of art forgery,
leading to her acclaimed book, The Scientist and the Forger.
Jehan's life has not been without its trials, but perhaps unsurprisingly,
as the daughter of renowned feminist activist Doria Shafiq,
she's not one to shy away from a challenge.