Han van Meegeren was renowned as one of the most ingenious art forgers of the 20th century. Despite being a very talented portrait artist, critics dismissed his work and ambition. Whether for revenge or personal gain, he became a master forger specialising in paintings from the 17th century, the golden age of Dutch art.
In 1932, Van Meegeren created the procedures necessary to paint his forgeries using period canvases and period-authentic paint, which he mixed. He was also able to age the paint too.
His forgeries were so good that leading experts and critics accepted them as genuine.
During World War II, he sold a forged Vermeer to Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, a high-ranking Nazi official who believed it to be genuine. Unfortunately, Göring may have had the last laugh as van Meegeren was later facing a death sentence for selling cultural art to the Nazis. He was forced to come clean and was sent to jail for a year in 1947, where he died from a heart attack. It was estimated that van Meegeren duped buyers out of more than US$30 million, including the Dutch government.
