Pages 220221 give an example of a non van meegeren fake attributed to him. Professor philip steadman published the book vermeers camera. He broke off his studies to become an artistpainter, but before doing so he designed a boathouse for his rowing club in delft. Major dealers like sir joseph duveen were stung by these forgeries, as was the great pittsburgh banker andrew mellon, who bought two of van meegeren s fake vermeers during the 1920s. He was born in delft, where he spent his entire life. Jun 22, 2008 in the late 1930s and early 40s, a middling dutch painter of oldfashioned taste, han van meegeren, made several pictures in the style of vermeer 163275, with the object of passing them off. Personally, i dont believe that van meegeren cast any kind of spell on people, nor do i think that the collectors and dealers that van meegeren duped were necessarily foolishandrew mellon, for instance, was by no means a foolish man.
We may well compare this painting with two other works of terborch see below. He also created several forgeries during this time, including the head of christ, the last supper ii, the blessing of jacob, the adulteress, and the washing of the feet all in the manner of vermeer. Han van meegeren 1889 studied architecture in delft, the town of johannes vermeer. Writing this popular history is jonathan lopez, an art historian and writer by trade. In order to demonstrate his case, it was arranged that, under police guard before the court, he would paint another vermeer, jesus among the doctors fig. Henricus antonius han van meegeren was a dutch painter and portraitist, considered to be. Aug 05, 2006 the supper at emmaus was unlike any acknowledged vermeer. Then i read the man who made vermeers, and learned that van meegeren s story is a far darker tale. This clubhouse became the only architectural design van meegeren ever made. Carel fabritius is presumed to have influenced him greatly. Unvarnishing the legend of master forger han van meegeren 9780547247847.
With han van meegeren, everything was doubleedged and his character presents itself as fragments rather than unity. Han van meegeren project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Unvarnishing the legend of master forger han van meegeren by jonathan lopez. Steadman noted that many of vermeers paintings had been painted in the same room, and he found six of his paintings that are precisely the right size if they had been painted from inside a camera. Quality prints laminated 16x vibrant durable photo poster jan vermeer han van meegeren. A wellknown epigram says that revenge is a dish best served cold. Henricus antonius han van meegeren dutch pronunciation.
And the fact that i was vermeer is by someone who wasnt vermeer nor even van meegeren. Van meegeren set to work in the south of france creating supper at emmaus, long considered to be vermeer s finest work. Frank wynne tells the extraordinary story of han van meegeren, the dutch artist whose vermeer made him a folk hero ive always loved a forger. In this film actor gerard thoolen plays van meegeren, a surgeon and painter modeled after han van meegeren.
This is evident in the elaborate schemes of dutch art forger han van meegeren, as revealed in frank wynnes i was vermeer. Novels about or inspired by han van meegeren films about or inspired by han van meegeren. About 450 works were registered in a study of 1979, more than 100 have come to light since then. He becomes frustrated early on because critics say he has no talent. Unvarnishing the legend of master forger han van meegeren jonathan lopez. Delusional hans van meegeren truly believed he was a great painter, but in reality he most certainly was not his work was often marred by a taste for the excessively sweet or the creepily erotic there was too much frivolity, too little depth, too little psychology, too little respect, and no sense of religious feeling. The other book repeats a lot of van meegerens selfserving mythology. Unvarnishing the legend of master forger han van meegeren reprint by lopez, jonathan isbn. However, from the synopsis this new book my grandfather handed me this book first published in 1950. Its difficult not to feel a surge of joy at the thought of an eminent critic waxing lyrical over the glories of a 17thcentury. Its a story that made dutch painter han van meegeren famous worldwide when it broke at the end of world war ii.
Van meegeren knew the picture would have to withstand tests if it. Frank wynnes remarkable book tells the story of han van meegeren, a paranoid, drugaddicted, secondrate painter whose vermeer forgeries made him a secret superstar of the art world. Een verrijking van het nederlandse kunstbezit, zo luidde het unanieme oordeel toen in 1938 het bij. During van meegeren s heyday as a forger of vermeers, he. Van meegeren, who sold hermann goering a fake vermeer, was convicted of collaboration. Hans van meegeren, forger university of notre dame.
Van meegerens activities as a forger came to light after world war ii when an allied art commission was established to identify and restore to their. The fake vermeers of van meegeren museum boijmans van. The revenge of han van meegeren, one of the great art forgers. First i read the forgers spell, by edward dolnick, tremendous fun, and the first id heard of van meegeren, the forger. Van meegeren painting jesus among the doctors in court. A true story of vermeer, nazis, and the greatest art hoax of the twentieth century p.
Unvarnishing the legend of master forger han van meegeren. Drawing upon three years of archival research conducted in five nations and. Throughout 1941, van meegeren issued his designs, which he published in 1942 as a large and luxurious book entitled han van meegeren. The experts assumed that vermeer had studied in italy, so van meegeren used the. Han van meegeren, dutch painter, best known for his successful and complex scheme of forging and selling paintings attributed to dutch masters. Shortly after the end of world war ii van meegeren was arrested for treason because he had sold a priceless vermeer to nazi leader hermann goering. Van meegeren goes to school to become an architect and designs a few buildings. Han van meegeren made hundreds of pictures under his own name. Van meegeren, true to his perversely moral scheme, painted it in his own style, adding only subtle allusions to works by the dutch master.
In 19 van meegeren establishes himself as a painter in the hague, where he wins many commissions for portraits. Book depository books with free delivery worldwide. Jul 12, 2008 how mediocre dutch artist cast the forgers spell a new book tells how han van meegeren committed the greatest art hoax of the 20th century, passing off his paintings as works by jan vermeer. A new book tells how han van meegeren committed the greatest art hoax of the 20th century, passing off his paintings as works by jan vermeer. Book overview its a story that made dutch painter han van meegeren famous worldwide when it broke at the end of world war ii. The opportunities for fake arts arose as a side effect of the world war i. The supper at emmaus was unlike any acknowledged vermeer. Its a story that made dutch painter han van meegeren fa. The painting life of rembrandt van rijn english hd duration. Jonathan lopez has written a stunning book that sweeps the reader up into the peculiar world of han van meegeren, who spent years creating supposedly missing masterpieces by the dutch painter johannes vermeer.
I was vermeer, edward marriotts biography of han van meegeren, the most famous forger in history, is both gripping and psychologically fascinating, says edward marriott. Brauns differential equations and their applications springerverlag, new york, fourth edition, 1993. A true story of vermeer, nazis, and the greatest art. Han van meegeren, after vermeer, christ with the woman taken in. Uncovering the truth behind the masterpieces in 2001 which specifically claimed that vermeer had used a camera obscura to create his paintings. Van meegeren owned this painting by gerard terborch, dutch master and contemporary of johannes vermeer. Michel faber admires the brushstrokes in i was vermeer, frank wynnes account of the brilliant dutch forger han van meegeren. The silverhaired van meegeren, a small man with a theatrically large presence, expressed complete bewilderment at pillers inquiries into hermann goerings seemingly looted vermeer. The van meegeren art forgery of johannes vermeer edited excerpts from m. Jul 29, 2006 i was vermeer, edward marriotts biography of han van meegeren, the most famous forger in history, is both gripping and psychologically fascinating, says edward marriott. Van meegeren would use this product to mix his paints instead of more traditional oil. An illustrated study of the fake vermeer paintings by han van meegeren.
A journalist and translator, wynne blends reportorial skill with a love of irony to tell van meegeren s life. He wasnt supported in his dream to become an artist by his father, who forbade van meegerens artistic development, trying to steer his son in the direction of architecture instead. Han van meegeren painted a fake vermeer that the greatest experts have certified as a real. The man who made vermeers by jonathan lopez kirkus. Sep 10, 20 today i found out about han van meegeren, the great art forger han van meegeren was born in 1889 and developed an interest in painting at a young age.
Despite his problems van meegeren s forgeries continued to be accepted as the real thing until 1945. Two new books respin the van meegeren saga, one breezily, with. Jul 28, 2008 this is the second book that i have read in the past couple of months about the dutch forger han van meegeren. The rise and fall of the twentieth centurys greatest forger was a very sympathetic portrait of the man who made in todays dollars millions creating fake works of art.
The book is a story of a man named han van meegeren who made his living forging art works of dead masters, including vermeers and hals. It was a singinglesson that we know from a blackandwhite copy in a book from 1943 on the 17th century painter gerard terborch. One of the main techniques that let van meegerens forgeries stand the test of experts and science was his use of bakelite, a synthetic resin. On almost every page of vermeer s family secrets, there is a perception or an adjustment that rethinks what we know about vermeer, his oeuvre, dutch painting, and western art. It may safely be assumed that van meegeren created at least 800 pictures in his life, including advertisements, posters, book illustrations, jocular sketches, etc. A lifetime of disappointment drove him to forge vermeers, one of which he sold to hermann goering in mockery of the nazis. Van meegerens vermeers the connoisseurs eye and the. Van meegerens vermeer forgery, the supper at emmaus. Van meegeren knew that vermeer had done some early paintings with religious themes, so he decided to plug the gap with more. Van meegerens vermeers the connoisseurs eye and the forgers art. Museum boijmans van beuningen presented van meegeren s fake vermeers, an exhibition of ten famous forgeries of han van meegeren. The rest of the book the author infuses his own machinations on the life of han van meegeren, which are mostly boring or obviously fantasized. I never heard of van meegeren before i picked up this book. Van meegeren, true to his perversely moral scheme, painted it in his own style, adding only subtle allusions to.
However, as our author noah charney points out in his new book the art. He painted several pictures and passed them as newly discovered works of 17th century dutch artist jan vermeer van delft. I got interested in fakes, forgeries, and heists, and that led me to some books about vermeer. One of the main techniques that let van meegeren s forgeries stand the test of experts and science was his use of bakelite, a synthetic resin. Piecing together evidence, the tools of art history, and his own intuitive skills, he gives us for the first time a history of vermeer s work in light of vermeer s life. Two new books respin the van meegeren saga, one breezily, with entertaining digressions on secondary figures and the arcana of forgery, and the other in profoundly researched, focussed, absorbing. There is a newer book on this subject by jonathan lopez. His talent for drawing and painting is discovered at a young age. Aug 30, 2010 during his trial, han van meegeren was able to present himself in such a way that he did not go down in history as a swindler, but rather as the misunderstood artist who had deceived the elite. Van meegerens story is fascinating and deserves to remain in the public consciousness. Van meegeren managed to dupe not only wealthy financiers, such as andrew mellon, and important political figures like hermann goering. Van meegeren the forger who fooled the nazis youtube. Best remembered for selling a fake vermeer to hermann goering during the second world war, han van meegeren never admitted to creating any fakes dating from before 1937but there have always been rumors suggesting that his career actually began much earlier than that. And with regard to the five other biblical vermeers that lieutenant piller had traced back to him, van meegeren was likewise unable to provide further particulars.
For the first time since 40 years new facts about van meegerens life were found and new fakes were discovered. It still exists as can be seen in the picture below. Dutch artist han van meegeren was so belittled by art critics, that he could not exhibit any longer. Vermeer s forger tells the story of a young child, han van meegeren, and his desire to spend his life as an artist. In 2008 jonathan lopez, a harvard trained art historian, who had become fluent in dutch, published the man who made vermeers, unvarnishing the.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. List of books and articles about johannes vermeer online. Or so claims the subtitle of 20 book forged, in which philosopher and conceptual artist jonathon keats surveys the careers of six notorious forgers, including dutch artist han van meegeren, who tricked the worldand the naziswith his counterfeit vermeer paintings, the teded lesson above tells us. Ripleythis is the story of han van meegeren, a dutch artist who made a living producing art as forgeries in the name of vermeer during the interwar and world war ii period. Van meegeren s only defence was to admit his work was in fact a forgery. Foiling the forgers with noah charney vermeer art agenda. In the late 1930s and early 40s, a middling dutch painter of oldfashioned taste, han van meegeren, made several pictures in the style of vermeer 163275, with the object of passing them off. Van meegeren s vermeer forgery, the supper at emmaus. Meet notorious art forger han van meegeren, who fooled the. In 1653 he was admitted to the painters guild, of which he was twice made dean. Van meegerens story is absolutely unique and may be justly considered the most dramatic art scam of the twentieth century.
1264 229 1178 905 647 526 674 1218 372 47 742 328 1149 784 282 663 649 369 1354 848 1463 1324 1276 1027 695 1078 570 327 721 1428 361 278 834 112 722 1472 57 396 611 363 1098 31 1303 1411