At the end of World War Two, a Dutch art dealer named Han van Meegeren was put on trial for collaborating with the Nazis for the crime of selling them a prized painting by the 17th century Dutch artist, Jan Vermeer.
To defend himself, he confessed to painting the picture himself. For proof, he created another “Vermeer” in front of witnesses and completed it in two months!
As it turned out, he had been forging pictures for years. He fooled experts by using real 17th century canvases and replicating old pigments. He had a way of baking his pictures to “age” them. But more importantly, he was a gifted painter. His fakes were admired by many before his con was revealed to the public. When the trial ended, he was acquitted of collaboration and was given a prison sentence for forgery.
Note: To check if a painting is genuine, collectors don’t just look at the picture itself. They also check its history or ‘provenance,’ inspecting details of former owners and sales.
Check out last week’s Monday Muse about the theft of the Mona Lisa!