Aftermath Han_van_Meegeren

the auction of estate of han van meegeren (in dutch).

after death, court ruled van meegeren’s estate auctioned , proceeds property , sale of counterfeits used refund buyers of works , pay income taxes on sale of paintings. van meegeren filed bankruptcy in december 1945. on 5 , 6 september 1950, furniture , other possessions in amsterdam house @ keizersgracht 321 auctioned order of court, along 738 other pieces of furniture , works of art, including numerous paintings old , new masters private collection. house auctioned separately on 4 september, estimated worth 65,000 guilders. proceeds of sale house amounted 123,000 guilders. van meegeren’s unsigned last supper bought 2,300 guilders, while jesus among doctors (which van meegeren had painted while in detention) sold 3,000 guilders (about $800 or $7,000 today.) today painting hangs in johannesburg church. sale of entire estate amounted 242,000 guilders ($60,000, or $500,000 today).

throughout trial , bankruptcy, van meegeren maintained second wife jo had nothing creation , sale of forgeries. large part of considerable wealth had been transferred when divorced during war , money have been confiscated if had been ruled accomplice. van meegeren told same story authors, journalists, , biographers: jo didn’t know , , apparently believed him. biographers believe, however, jo must have known truth. involvement never proven , able keep substantial capital. jo outlived husband many years, in great luxury, until death @ age of 91.

m. jean decoen s objection

m. jean decoen, brussels art expert , restorer, stated in 1951 book believed supper @ emmaus , last supper ii genuine vermeers. decoen went on state conclusions of dr. paul coremans s panel of experts wrong , paintings should again examined. daniel george van beuningen buyer of last supper ii, interior drinkers, , head of christ, , demanded dr. paul coremans publicly admit had erred in analysis. coremans refused , van beuningen sued him, alleging coremans’s wrongful branding of last supper ii diminished value of vermeer , asking compensation of £500,000 (about $1.3 million or $10 million today). trial set 2 june 1955 delayed owing van beuningen s death on 29 may 1955. approximately 7 months later, court heard case on behalf of van beuningen s heirs. court found in favour of coremans, , findings of commission upheld.

further investigations

in 1967, artists material center @ carnegie mellon university in pittsburgh examined several of vermeers in collection, under direction of robert feller , bernard keisch. examination confirmed several of paintings in fact created using materials invented in 20th century. concluded vermeers in possession modern , van meegeren forgeries. confirmed findings of 1946 coremans commission, , refuted claims made m. jean decoen. test results obtained carnegie mellon team summarized below.

han van meegeren knew white lead used during vermeer’s time, of course had obtain stocks through modern colour trade, had changed since 17th century. during vermeer’s time, dutch lead mined deposits located in low countries; however, 19th century, lead imported australia , americas, , differed white lead vermeer have used both in isotope composition of lead , in content of trace elements found in ores. dutch white lead extracted ores containing high levels of trace elements of silver , antimony, while modern white lead used van meegeren contained neither silver nor antimony, elements separated lead during modern smelting process.

forgeries in modern lead or white lead pigment has been used can recognized using technique called pb(lead)-210-dating. pb-210 naturally occurring radioactive isotope of lead part of uranium-238 radioactive decay series, , has half-life of 22.3 years. determine amount of pb-210, alpha radiation emitted element, polonium-210 (po-210), measured. possible estimate age of painting, within few years span, extrapolating pb-210 content present in paint used create painting.

the white lead in painting supper @ emmaus had polonium-210 values of 8.5±1.4 , radium-226 (part of uranium-238 radioactive decay series) values of 0.8±0.3. in contrast, white lead found in dutch paintings 1600–1660 had polonium-210 values of 0.23±0.27 , radium-226 values of 0.40±0.47.

in 1977, investigation undertaken states forensic labs of netherlands using up-to-date techniques, including gas chromatography, formally confirm origin of 6 van meegeren forgeries had been alleged genuine vermeers, including emmaus , last supper. conclusions of 1946 commission again reaffirmed , upheld dutch judicial system.

in 1998, a&e ran program called scams, schemes & scoundrels highlighting van meegeren s life , art forgeries, many of had been confiscated nazi loot. program hosted skeptic james randi , featured stories of victor lustig , soapy smith.

in july 2011, bbc tv programme fake or fortune investigated copy of dirck van baburen s procuress owned courtauld institute. opinion had been divided whether 17th-century studio work or van meegeren fake. programme used chemical analysis of paint show contained bakelite , confirmed painting 20th-century fake.