The Forger's Spell - Edward Dolnick [149]
“delicious Vermeer”…The phrase occurs in a letter from Bredius to Hannema written on Sept. 13, 1937. Van der Meer Mohr, “Reconstructie.”
“wonderful moment”…Bredius, “A New Vermeer,” p. 210.
“in an almost overwrought state”…Bredius letter to Hannema written on Sept. 9, 1937. Van der Meer Mohr, “Reconstructie.”
“As requested by Dr. A. Bredius”…Van der Meer Mohr, “Reconstructie.”
“Dear sir,” Boon wrote…Ibid.
Boon and Bredius kept diaries…Ibid.
Perhaps the simplest scenario…Van der Meer Mohr suspects that Bredius genuinely was unavailable at the time of Kronig’s first visit. He believes that Bredius was in Holland at the time. Van der Meer Mohr has managed to track some of Bredius’s comings and goings in that summer, but documentation for the crucial dates remains elusive.
But Albert Blankert, the Dutch art historian believes…Blankert and I debated the events of this mysterious summer endlessly, in dozens of exchanges throughout 2005–2007. He included some of his thoughts on this question in Blankert, “The Case of Van Meegeren.”
“it belongs in your archives”…Bredius letter to Hannema written on Feb. 10, 1938, Van der Meer Mohr, “Reconstructie.”
“I am in a state of anxiety”…Van der Meer Mohr, “Reconstructie.”
“This gorgeous work by Vermeer”…Ibid.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: THE LAMB AT THE BANK
“a charming man”…Bredius letter to Hannema written on Sept. 13, 1937, Van der Meer Mohr, “Reconstructie.”
He wrote to the Rembrandt…Bredius letter written on Dec. 2, 1937, Van der Meer Mohr, “Reconstructie.”
He wrote to the minister…Bredius letter written on Sept. 15, 1937, Van der Meer Mohr, “Reconstructie.”
“When an archer is shooting”…Thomas Merton, The Way of Chuang Tzu (New York: New Directions, 1969) p. 158.
“In raptures about discovery”…Van der Meer Mohr, “Reconstructie.”
“These bargains were for somebody else”…Het Museum-Boijmans te Rotterdam door P. Haverkorn van Rijsewijk, Oud-Director van het Museum, Amsterdam, pp. 215–33.
“If only those in power”…Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant, Aug. 24, 1935.
Rotterdam had “lost”…Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant, Oct. 30, 1932, “Johannes Vermeer van Delft, 31 October 1632–13 December 1675.”
“Mr. Boon informed me”…Van der Meer Mohr, “Reconstructie.”
Duveen had been the one to plant…Behrman, Duveen, p. 260.
“If Duveen offered me two”…Ibid., p. 139.
“Lord Duveen will immediately sell”…Bredius letter to Hannema written on Sept. 13, 1937, Van der Meer Mohr, “Reconstructie.”
“an almost infallible eye”…Secrest, Duveen, p. 180.
“The moment we looked”…Letter written by Fowles on May 1, 1952, in Duveen Archives, Watson Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Box 300, reel 155, folder 9 of the microfilms.
“a poor piece of painted up linoleum”…Blankert, “The Case of Van Meegeren,” p. 50.
“The thing I can never understand”…Letter written by Fowles on Sept. 15, 1951, Duveen Archives, Watson Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Box 300, reel 155, folder 9 of the microfilms.
Had Duveen’s men truly hated…Boon letter to Bredius written on March 3, 1938. See the last paragraph of the letter, which begins, “One thing I hope to find out some day: was it ignorance or cunning on Duveen’s part?” Van der Meer Mohr, “Reconstructie.”
“Fortunately you have seen”…Bredius letter to Hannema written on Nov. 12, 1937. Van der Meer Mohr, “Reconstructie.”
“the old man, past his prime”…Bredius letter to Rembrandt Society written on Dec. 2, 1937, and Bredius letter to Martin written on Dec. 3, 1937. Van der Meer Mohr, “Reconstructie.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: “EVERY INCH A VERMEER”
“It is a wonderful moment”…Bredius, “A New Vermeer,” p. 210.
“Go and see the painting”…Bredius letter to Hannema written on Nov. 19, 1937, Van der Meer Mohr, “Reconstructie.”
Titian, one story has it…Quoting Seymour Keck, the renowned conservator, in Harris, The New Yorker, Sept. 16, 1961.
its account was “in total disagreement”…Boon’s letter appeared in the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant on March 2, 1938.
“every inch a Vermeer”…Bredius, “A New Vermeer,