The Forger's Spell - Edward Dolnick [82]
Allegory of Faith by Vermeer, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Friedsam Collection, bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931 [32.100.18]. Photograph copyright 1994, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Woman in Blue Reading a Letter by Vermeer, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Van Meegeren began his “Vermeer” career by making close copies of well-loved originals. Woman in Blue Reading a Letter is a genuine Vermeer, Woman Reading Music a Van Meegeren forgery. This fake was an experiment that Van Meegeren never tried to sell. Perhaps he judged that it might fool a layman but not an expert.
Woman Reading Music by Van Meegeren, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The Lacemaker by Vermeer, Louvre, Paris, France
Vermeer’s Lacemaker, now in the Louvre, is one of his most admired pictures. In the 1920s, this fake Lacemaker, supposedly by Vermeer, was considered just as dazzling. It was one of the gems of Andrew Mellon’s art collection, and when that immensely wealthy banker died, he bequeathed the prize to the National Gallery. After the picture was revealed as a fake, it was banished to a “Special Collection.”
The Lacemaker by imitator of Vermeer/forgery, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Lady and Gentleman at the Harpsichord by Van Meegeren, Rijksdienst Beeldende Kunst, The Hague
This ambitious Van Meegeren forgery, Lady and Gentleman at the Harpsichord, fizzled. “The cavalier,” says one present-day critic, “would demonstrate a frightening case of anorexia nervosa.” Woman Playing Music was another experiment in forgery. Van Meegeren invoked a number of Vermeer touches—a solitary woman in blue in a quiet room with light pouring from the left—but he did not try to sell this painting.
Woman Playing Music by Van Meegeren, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Vermeer, Mauritshuis, The Hague
Girl with a Pearl Earring is an authentic Vermeer (which was lost until 1881, when a buyer picked it up for the equivalent of $200 today). In comparison, two Van Meegeren forgeries look like waxwork dummies. But the Smiling Girl ended up in Andrew Mellon’s art collection and then in the National Gallery, and critics in the 1940s judged the woman in the Last Supper a match for the Girl with a Pearl Earring
The Smiling Girl by imitator of Vermeer/forgery, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
The Last Supper [detail], by Van Meegeren, Caldic collection, Rotterdam
Christ at Emmaus by Van Meegeren, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam
Van Meegeren changed tactics. When nearly all the critics ignored Lady and Gentleman at the Harpsichord, he abandoned the close copy strategy. Instead, he decided to create a painting unlike any known Vermeer. Christ at Emmaus was his most successful forgery. This painting was hailed as Vermeer’s greatest masterpiece.
Christ at Emmaus on display at Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 1938
Christ at Emmaus was unveiled at a blockbuster show in Rotterdam in 1938. Rapturous critics and huge crowds gazed at it in silent reverence. Today it looks lifeless and awkward, and the great mystery is why those early admirers swooned before it.
The Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio, Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, Italy
Vermeer never painted a Christ at Emmaus, but Caravaggio painted two versions. Van Meegeren modeled his composition on Caravaggio’s 1606 version, above. In the version below, from 1601, Jesus has just revealed his identity, and the disciples have nearly fallen over in astonishment. Van Meegeren chose to follow the quieter version, which depicts the moment before the revelation. The mood is intense, watchful, subdued. Van Meegeren’s brilliant choice was to evoke precisely the moment that Vermeer would have chosen.
The Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio, National Gallery, London
Head of Christ by Van Meegeren, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam
Christ at Emmaus was such a colossal hit that Van Meegeren followed it up with five more biblical “Vermeers.” He sold this Head of Christ to a collector (for the equivalent of $1.5 million