# Henricus Antonius van Meegeren artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/henricus-antonius-van-meegeren/
Profile generated: 2026-05-27T11:11:26.248Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1889-10-10
- Death date: 1947-12-30
- Nationality: Dutch
- Movements: Dutch Golden Age revival (as forger)
- Common media: Oil painting, Watercolor, Drawing

## About Henricus Antonius van Meegeren

Henricus Antonius "Han" van Meegeren (1889–1947) was a Dutch painter, portraitist, and draftsman who became one of the most notorious art forgers in history. Born in Deventer and trained in architecture at Delft—the same city associated with Johannes Vermeer—van Meegeren turned to painting but grew frustrated with critical neglect of his original work. Beginning in the 1930s, he produced a series of masterful forgeries in the style of Vermeer, Pieter de Hooch, and Gerard ter Borch, using specially developed pigments and aging techniques that deceived leading connoisseurs and museum curators of the era. His most famous deception, The Supper at Emmaus, was hailed as a Vermeer masterpiece and acquired by the Boijmans Museum in Rotterdam. Van Meegeren's notoriety transformed into unlikely celebrity after World War II, when he publicly confessed to selling a forged Vermeer to Hermann Göring—turning a potential collaboration charge into proof of having swindled the Nazi regime.

## Common works and media

Van Meegeren's original output includes portraits, still lifes, landscapes, and figure studies in oil and watercolor. His forgeries encompass Vermeer-style genre interiors, religious compositions such as Supper-at-Emmaus-type scenes, and works after other seventeenth-century Dutch masters. Drawings and preparatory sketches by van Meegeren also circulate. The monogram HVM appears on some works. Collectors may encounter oil paintings, works on paper, and occasional sculptures. Many lots in auction records are attributed to van Meegeren on stylistic grounds rather than firm documentation, so attribution confidence varies.

## Market and appraisal context

Van Meegeren's works appear at auction in two distinct categories: his original paintings and drawings, and his acknowledged forgeries after Dutch Golden Age masters. Both categories attract collector interest, but for very different reasons. Confirmed forgeries carry historical and cultural significance that can drive strong results, while original works are scarcer and valued for their own artistic merit. For any van Meegeren work, authentication and documented provenance are the primary valuation factors. Attribution disputes remain possible given the artist's skill at imitation, so specialist examination is advisable. Medium, subject, date, condition, and exhibition history all influence appraisal outcomes.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine independent artist-identity research with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Han van Meegeren, identity data is sourced from the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, Getty ULAN, VIAF, Wikidata, and dedicated van Meegeren research sites. Market observations reference publicly documented auction results and historical scholarship.

## Sources

- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/54449
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q436161
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500017445
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/72189137/
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_van_Meegeren
- Henricus Antonius van Meegeren (dedicated research site): http://www.meegeren.net/
- Henricus Antonius van Meegeren (dedicated research site): https://hanvanmeegeren.info/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n80008221