Pastel on paper, signed on the underside "H. van Meegeren".
Dimensions with frame 95x75 cm (70x50 cm).
Han van Meegeren, actually Henricus Anthonius van Meegeren (Deventer 1889 - 1947 Amsterdam) - Dutch painter who gained fame as a forger of paintings. He forged works by Dutch masters of the 17th century (most notably Jan Vermeer) so perfectly that eminent experts considered them originals. From childhood, Van Meegeren's love of art was fought in Van Meegeren by his strict father. Even at a young age, Van Meegeren held a belief in the superiority of old masters' paintings over modern art. After his initial artistic successes, the painter was criticized and considered capable only of copying and imitating, rather than creating original works. Van Meegeren, convinced that the critics had destroyed his career, decided, in an act of revenge, to falsify the works of one of the most outstanding Dutch painters of the 17th century - Jan Vermeer. After several years of preparation and testing, the first work he decided to sell (The Disciples at Emmaus) was recognized by the authority of the time - Abraham Bredius - as an original and sold to one of the museums. After the first successful sale of the forgery, Van Meegeren created several more canvases believed to be originals. In total, he managed to sell at least six alleged works by Vermeer and two by Pieter de Hooch. He also painted a couple of paintings (by Vermeer, Frans Hals and Gerard ter Borch) that he did not sell, which he faked as an experiment.
