Han Van Meegeren - The Forgeries

The Forgeries

In the Netherlands, Han van Meegeren had become a well-known painter. Hertje (1921) and Straatzangers (1928) were particularly popular. His first legitimate copies were painted in 1923 – his Laughing Cavalier and Happy Smoker – both in the style of Frans Hals. By 1928, the similarity of van Meegeren’s paintings to those of the old masters began to draw the reproach of Dutch art critics, who were, at that time, more interested in the Cubist, Surrealist, and other movements. It was said that van Meegeren’s gift was in imitation and that, outside of copying other artists' work, his talent was limited. One critic wrote that he was "A gifted technician who has made a sort of composite facsimile of the Renaissance school, he has every virtue except originality." In response to these comments, van Meegeren published a series of aggressive articles in the monthly magazine De Kemphaan (“The Game Cock”). Between April 1928 and March 1930, and together with journalist Jan Ubink, he raged against the art community, and in the process, lost any sympathy with the critics.

Van Meegeren felt that his genius had been misjudged, and set out to prove to the art critics that he could not only copy the style of the Dutch masters in his paintings, but produce a work of art so magnificent that it would rival the works of master painters. He moved with Jo to the South of France and began preparations for this ultimate forgery, which took him six years, from 1932 to 1937. In a series of early exercises, he forged works by Frans Hals, Pieter de Hooch, Gerard ter Borch, and Johannes Vermeer. Finally he chose to forge a painting by Vermeer as his masterpiece. Vermeer had not been particularly well-known until the beginning of the twentieth century; his works were both scarce — only about 35 had survived — and extremely valuable.

Van Meegeren delved into the biographies of the old masters, studying their lives, occupations, trademark techniques and catalogues. In October 1932, the famous art connoisseur and Rembrandt expert Dr. Abraham Bredius published an article about a recently discovered Vermeer which he described as a painting of a Man and Woman at a Spinet. The painting was later sold to Amsterdam banker Dr. Fritz Mannheimer.