Han Van Meegeren and the Art of Forging

If you google the word ‘forger’, this is what you will find:

Forger: a person who produces fraudulent copies or imitations.

In today’s article we will discuss about a man who took this forgery-business to the next level - Han van Meegeren, probably the most famous art forger of all times!

The art forger gained millions of dollars by forging paintings of famous artists. For that very reason, he faced judicial trials in 1947. But he wasn’t arguing his innocence – in fact, he needed to prove that he had committed the fraud to escape the death penalty!!

Han Van Meegeren

Like most art forgers, Han van Meegeren was originally an artist whose artworks failed to earn recognition. This motivated van Meegeren to harbor hate towards the art world; eventually he started making fools out of art experts by his forged artworks.

He started by researching the world renowned artists of old times. He studied everything – their biographies, their techniques, and their materials. After his studies, van Meegeren chose 17th century artist Johannes Vermeer. It was a good choice indeed, but not the easiest one. Since Vermeer’s work was known for his carefully executed and technically brilliant domestic scenes, replicating his work was anything but easy. Working in secret for six years, van Meegeren perfected his art, copying numerous works as practice. He mixed his own paints after researching the raw materials and pigments that were available in Vermeer’s time. He bought 17th century canvases, created his own brushes. Aging of the paintings was a major problem. He aged the works by applying synthetic resin and baking them to crack the paint. A forensic test could have detected the synthetic resin. But at the time, such tests were neither advanced nor widespread. Even today, for the verification of the painting’s authenticity we rely on the art specialists. So it’s a matter of their subjective judgement and of course, their reputation.

This is where van Meegeren truly managed to outsmart the art world. From his research, he knew historians believed that in the beginning Vermeer painted some religious paintings influenced by the Italian painter Caravaggio. The leading art specialist, who specifically looked after the works of Vermeer, was Abraham Bredius. Bredius was a huge supporter of the theory that van Vermeer painted many religious artworks in his early stages, though none of those works had surfaced. So van Megereen decided to make one. He called it “The Supper at Emmaus”. Bredius declared van Meegeren’s fake as a masterpiece. Van Meegeren’s painting was not totally up to Vermeer’s technical standards, but these inconsistencies could be made to fit the narrative – this was an early work, before the Vermeer developed his very own style. With the approval from the art world, the fake was sold in 1937 for the equivalent of over $4 million in today’s money. The success prompted van Meegeren to forge and sell more works through various art dealers.

The Supper at Emmacus

When the Nazi occupation of Netherlands took place during the Second World War, Hermann Goring, one of Hitler’s top generals, wanted to add a Vermeer painting to his collection of artwork. Van Meegeren sold him an alleged early Vermeer painting titled “Christ with the Adulteress”.

The Christ and the Adulteress

Now let us come back to the 1947 case that we mentioned earlier in the article. As the war took turn, so did van Meegeren’s luck. Following the defeat of Germany, van Meegeren was arrested for delivering a priceless piece of Dutch heritage to the Nazis – an act of treason punishable by death. Trial of van Meegeren began on 29th October 1947 in Amsterdam. To prove the court that the painting was actually a work of his forgery, he explained step-by-step how he had forged it.  But now, the ghosts of his past were haunting him. The very expert who had enabled his scam, Abraham Bredius moved to protect his reputation and defended the painting’s authenticity. With few options left, van Meegeren started painting another ‘Vermeer painting’. When he presented the fake to the court, they finally believed him. He was acquitted for collaborating with the Nazis and sentenced to a year imprisonment for fraud.

This tale is as hilarious as it is unique. Van Meegeren was indeed a man of talent, but he used his skills for something that bought him great amount of problems. In the end, it was his skill that saved him from death penalty. It is important to hone our skills, but it is even more important to employ them in the righteous deed.

Hope you learned something new and interesting…

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