2. Art critics contributed to van Meegeren’s decision to create forged art
Han van Meegeren’s admiration of the Dutch Masters of the 17th century reflected in his own work. By the mid-1920s, its influence drew the denigration of art critics, many of whom dismissed van Meegeren’s work as dated. Van Meegeren painted several legitimate copies of paintings, in the style of Frans Hals, drawing further disdain from critics, who regarded his talent as one of imitation. Then modern art critics preferred innovation over tradition, considering artists who worked in the genre of surrealism as superior talents. Cubism also emerged as a modern style, as practiced by Picasso and others. Modern artists drew plaudits, while traditionalists such as van Meegeren at best were ignored.
Van Meegeren’s work languished, and he drew comments from critics describing him as possessing “every virtue except originality”. He responded in a magazine he published with a journalist partner, creating a war of words he had no chance of winning. Criticism of his work simply grew harsher, and sales of his paintings slowed, with the prices he commanded dwindling. At some point in the mid-to-late 1920s, van Meegeren decided rather than copying the old masters, to create forgeries attributed to them, particularly Frans Hals and Johannes Vermeer. The latter he believed would be particularly profitable since fewer than three dozen Vermeer’s existed. A lost Vermeer, certified by art experts, would create a cyclone of interest in the art world, and command a significant price at sale.