The Fake Rembrandt is a story about Emma, an experienced art journalist who tracks down a mysterious painter known as The Artisan. In a warehouse studio, she meets someone very different from the artist she imagined. What he shows her challenges her assumptions about talent, education and the value of art.
This complete English lesson plan uses the story to develop students’ reading comprehension, vocabulary, speaking, discussion and writing skills.
The lesson includes the complete short story, introductory questions, reading comprehension activities, essential vocabulary, vocabulary practice, synonyms and antonyms, words and meanings, an art-world language activity, gap-fill and true-or-false exercises, discussion questions, a role play, a class debate and a creative writing activity. Full answer sections are included for the teacher.
1. Look at the title. What do you think a fake Rembrandt might be?
2. Have you ever seen a painting that impressed you? Describe it.
3. Can someone become a great artist without going to art school?
4. What might a person's clothes or accent make you assume about them?
5. What makes a painting valuable: its beauty, its history or the artist's name?
Listen to the Story
Watch the video above and listen as the story is read aloud. Pause after each section to answer the reading comprehension questions or discuss the story with your class.
The Fake Rembrandt
Emma knocked on the door and waited.
Her heart was beating faster than usual. She wondered what exactly she had got herself involved in.
No one knew she was here. Not her editor. Not even her girlfriend.
For eight years, Emma had written about art for The Guardian. She had interviewed famous painters, gallery owners and collectors. She had attended private exhibitions in London, Paris and New York.
But she had never done anything like this.
For three months, she had been trying to find the man known only as The Artisan — the man believed to be behind the fake Rembrandt that had shocked the art world.
Finally, he had agreed to meet her.
The door opened.
A young man stood there.
‘Hi,’ said Emma. ‘I’m here to see The Artisan.’
The young man stared at her. He couldn't have been more than twenty.
‘You on your own?’
His East London accent was strong. He had tattoos on his neck and another small tattoo below one eye. His T-shirt had a picture of a gun on the front.
‘Yes.’
He jerked his head.
‘Come in.’
He closed the door behind her and locked it.
Directly ahead was an old industrial lift, the kind once used in factories and warehouses.
They stepped inside. The young man pulled the metal gate closed and pressed a button.
The lift began to rise with a loud hiss and whirr.
As they reached the third floor, Emma heard music.
Drill rap.
The young man opened the gate.
The room beyond was enormous. Canvases leaned against the walls. Paint covered the floor in a thousand different colours. Tables were crowded with brushes, oils, rags and tubes of paint.
The young man walked over to a phone and turned off the music.
Silence filled the room.
‘Great space,’ Emma said.
‘Yeah. It’s alright.’
Emma looked around.
‘So where is he?’
The young man frowned.
‘Who?’
‘The Artisan.’
‘That’s me.’
Emma stared at him.
‘I’m sorry?’
He lifted his T-shirt. Across his stomach, among dozens of other tattoos, were the words:
THE ARTISAN.
Emma took a step back.
This wasn't what she had expected at all.
She had imagined an older man. Educated. Refined. Someone who had studied at one of the great art schools.
Not this kid.
‘You want a drink?’
‘Yes, please.’
A gin and tonic would have been nice.
The Artisan opened a small fridge, took out two bottles of mineral water and handed one to her.
Emma almost laughed.
For some reason, she had expected beer. Or vodka.
‘So this is where you work?’
‘Yeah. Live here too.’
He pointed towards a mattress in the corner.
Emma looked at the paintings around the room.
‘Where did you train?’
‘Train?’
‘Art school. College.’
He smiled.
‘Didn't.’
‘You didn't go to art school?’
‘Too expensive. Taught myself.’
Emma stared at him.
‘How?’
‘Galleries. Museums. Books. Looking at paintings.’
‘And Rembrandt?’
His expression changed slightly.
‘What about him?’
‘You know his work?’
The Artisan gave her a long look.
‘Yeah. I know Rembrandt.’
‘His use of light is—’
‘Nah.’
Emma stopped.
‘Excuse me?’
‘Everyone goes on about the light. Light and shadow. Everyone knows that.’
Emma raised an eyebrow.
‘So what should they talk about?’
He picked up a paintbrush.
‘The paint.’
‘The paint?’
‘Sometimes he'd put it on thick. Really thick. Then right next to it, hardly anything. Let what's underneath show through.’
Emma said nothing.
The young man turned the brush around in his fingers.
‘And sometimes he didn't paint details at all.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Hair, for example.’
He held out the wooden end of the brush.
‘Sometimes he'd scratch it straight into the wet paint with this.’
Emma looked at the brush.
‘The handle.’
‘Yeah.’
She knew he was right.
‘Impasto,’ she said.
The Artisan looked at her.
‘I know what it's called.’
Emma felt her face become warm.
Of course he did.
He put the brush down.
‘You lot always talk about Rembrandt painting light. That's the easy bit to see. You've got to look at what he did with the paint.’
For the first time since entering the building, Emma forgot about the locked door, the tattoos and the gun on his T-shirt.
She looked at him differently.
This young man knew what he was talking about.
More than that.
He understood it.
The Artisan took a drink of water.
‘You want to see something?’
Emma nodded.
He walked towards the far end of the studio.
A large canvas stood against the wall, covered by a white sheet.
‘Been working on this for a while.’
He took hold of the sheet.
‘I wanted you to see it first.’
He pulled it away.
Emma froze.
She knew the image immediately.
An old man holding a baby.
‘No,’ she whispered.
The Artisan smiled.
‘Simeon in the Temple.’
Emma stepped closer.
Rembrandt's final painting.
It had been found unfinished in his studio after his death.
But this painting wasn't unfinished.
Emma stared at the old man's face. The hands. The folds of cloth. The paint catching the light.
It was extraordinary.
‘You did this?’
‘Yeah.’
‘But Rembrandt never finished it.’
‘I know.’
Emma turned towards him.
The Artisan shrugged.
‘Thought I'd finish it for him.’
For several seconds, Emma couldn't speak.
It was an outrageous thing to say.
Arrogant.
Almost offensive.
And yet she couldn't take her eyes off the painting.
It was magnificent.
‘Why did you bring me here?’ she finally asked.
The young man smiled.
‘You write for The Guardian. People listen to you.’
Emma looked back at the painting.
‘I thought I found you.’
The Artisan laughed.
‘Nah.’
Emma turned.
‘What?’
‘I let you find me.’
He stepped beside her and looked at the painting.
Then he turned to her.
‘I need your help to show this to the world.’
Reading Comprehension Questions
1. What is Emma doing at the beginning?
2. Who knows that Emma is there?
3. Which newspaper does Emma write for?
4. How long has she written about art?
5. Who has she interviewed?
6. How long has she been trying to find The Artisan?
7. What is The Artisan believed to be responsible for?
8. Who opens the door?
9. How old does Emma think he is?
10. What does he ask Emma?
11. How is his accent described?
12. What does his T-shirt show?
13. What does he do after closing the door?
14. How do they reach the third floor?
15. What music does Emma hear?
16. What is the room like?
17. What does the young man do to the music?
18. Who does Emma ask to see?
19. How does the young man identify himself?
20. What sort of person had Emma expected?
21. What drink would Emma have liked?
22. What drink does The Artisan give her?
23. Where does he live?
24. What does he point to in the corner?
25. Why did he not attend art school?
26. How did he teach himself?
27. What familiar subject does The Artisan interrupt Emma about?
28. What does he think people should discuss instead?
29. What contrast in paint thickness does he describe?
30. How does he say Rembrandt sometimes created hair?
31. What technical word does Emma use?
32. Why does Emma feel her face become warm?
33. What does Emma stop worrying about?
34. How does her opinion of The Artisan change?
35. What covers the large canvas?
36. Who does The Artisan want to see the painting first?
37. What does he do with the sheet?
38. What image does Emma recognise?
39. What is the painting called?
40. According to the story, what happened to Rembrandt's final painting?
41. How is The Artisan's version different?
42. What details does Emma study?
43. What does The Artisan say he thought he would do?
44. How does Emma react to his statement and his work?
45. Why has The Artisan brought Emma to the studio?
46. What does Emma believe about finding him?
47. What does The Artisan reveal about their meeting?
48. What help does he ask for?
Essential Vocabulary
| editor | collector | exhibition |
| artisan | fake | accent |
| tattoo | industrial | warehouse |
| hiss | whirr | canvas |
| rag | frown | refined |
| mineral water | mattress | train |
| expression | raise an eyebrow | paintbrush |
| thick | show through | scratch |
| handle | impasto | you lot |
| studio | take hold of | sheet |
| freeze | immediately | unfinished |
| fold | extraordinary | shrug |
| outrageous | arrogant | offensive |
| magnificent | take your eyes off | for a while |
Vocabulary Practice Exercise
Follow the steps below to help you learn and remember new words and phrases more effectively:
1. Write each new word or phrase in your vocabulary notebook.
2. Look up the meaning of each word in your dictionary. Write a clear and simple definition next to the word.
3. Create your own sentence using the word or phrase correctly. Try to make the sentence meaningful and connected to your own life or experiences.
Examples
Refined – showing good manners and an interest in culture.
Example sentence: Emma expected to meet a refined man who had studied at a famous art school.
Arrogant – behaving as if you are better or more important than other people.
Example sentence: His arrogant reply annoyed the other students.
Why do this?
Doing this regularly will help you improve all areas of your English — reading, writing, speaking, and listening. By writing definitions and making your own examples, you are actively using the language, which helps it stick in your memory.
Discussion Questions
1. Why does Emma keep her visit a secret? Was this a sensible decision?
2. How do the locked door and industrial lift affect the atmosphere?
3. What does Emma assume when she sees the young man’s tattoos and T-shirt?
4. Why does she expect an older, educated and refined artist?
5. What does her surprise at the mineral water tell us about her assumptions?
6. Is formal education necessary to develop expertise? Give examples.
7. What is the difference between knowing the name of a technique and understanding it?
8. Why does Emma feel embarrassed when she says “Impasto”?
9. At what point does Emma begin to respect The Artisan?
10. How does the story challenge the idea of what an artist should look or sound like?
11. Is finishing another artist’s unfinished work creative, disrespectful or both?
12. Why can Emma admire the painting while disliking The Artisan’s attitude?
13. Does a beautiful fake have less artistic value than a genuine painting?
14. What is the difference between making a copy and deceiving a buyer?
15. Why does The Artisan need a journalist rather than only a gallery owner?
16. How does the final revelation change your understanding of the meeting?
17. Should Emma help him? What questions should she ask first?
18. What responsibilities does a journalist have when writing about a suspected forgery?
19. How might the public react to The Artisan’s painting?
20. What does the title “The Fake Rembrandt” mean to you after reading the story?
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