SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
Han van Meegeren, whose full name was Henricus Antonius van Meegeren (1889–1947), was a Dutch painter whose career combined painting, the restoration of artworks and the imitation of Old Masters.
Sent by his father to study architecture at the Hogeschool de Delft, he quickly turned away from this path to devote himself to painting. During his studies, he received the gold medal of the five-yearly prize of the Technische Hogeschool de Delft. His first solo exhibition took place in The Hague in 1917; according to the source, all the paintings shown there were sold. The second exhibition, in 1922, is described instead as a failure.
He made imitations of Old Masters by working to reproduce their style and colours. Some of his forgeries thus escaped the authentication methods then in use. The source identifies Woman Reading Music, sold in 1934, as his first sold pastiche. To produce his fakes, he obtained pigments presented as those used in Vermeer’s time and reused supports from 17th-century paintings after scraping off the paint. He also built an oven to dry his canvases and give them, according to the source, the appearance of old works.
In 1937, he presented The Disciples at Emmaus as a work attributed to Vermeer. After several days of study, Abraham Bredius judged it authentic; the source dates the canvas to 1937 and reports that it deceived experts in the 1930s and 1940s. The regional court of justice of Amsterdam sentenced him to one year in prison for forgery and fraud.
This profile brings together identity references for Han van Meegeren and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
3 references are documented at Dobiaschofsky. Each record links to its source; the amounts are not a general valuation of the artist’s work.
Oil on canvas
Tischstillleben mit Pilzen und Blumenkohl.
Öl auf Leinwand
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
View the lot at the auction house ↗
Oil on canvas
"Arabeske".
Öl auf Leinwand
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
View the lot at the auction house ↗Coloured chalk drawing
Kopfbildnis eines bärtigen Mannes.
Farbkreidezeichnung
Date to be documented
Published result : 40 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 450
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
Documentation updated : 2026-10-19
