The Forgery of Venus

A brilliant but frustrated painter is drawn into an elaborate forgery scheme as he slips into the life of a seventeenth century master in this acclaimed novel.

Chaz Wilmot makes his living cranking out old-master parodies for ads and magazine covers. When he’s offered a job restoring a Venetian palace fresco, he’s skeptical to say the least—the job seems to be more forgery than restoration. But seduced by the challenge, Chaz executes the job brilliantly.

This feat attracts the attention of Werner Krebs, a shady art dealer who becomes Wilmot’s patron. Wilmot is suddenly working with a fervor he hasn’t felt in years, but without warning, he finds himself reliving moments from the past. At first, they are moments from his own childhood. But soon, he believes he can travel back to the 17th century where he embodies the renowned Spanish artist Velazquez.

Unsure if these excursions into history are real, Wilmot slowly enters a secret world of gangsters, greed, and murder. At the center of it all is his mystery patron. But is Werner a criminal mastermind plotting a priceless forgery, or the man who will save Wilmot from obscurity and madness? Miraculously inventive, this book cements Gruber’s reputation as one of the most imaginative and gifted writers of our time.