Hans van Meegeren

1. Hans van Meegeren On Trial

2. Hans van Meegeren • Born in Deventer, The Netherlands in 1889 • An architect at first, but turns to art in 1913 when he wins first prize for a drawing of the interior of a church • He began to research for the forgery of a Vermeer in 1932 and had begun by 1936 • Arrested for conspiring with the enemy in 1945; his confession that he forged the paintings saved him from this charge • Found guilty of forgery; died in prison of a heart attack less than a year later

3. Why Forge? • Not very successful on his own • Bitterness toward the art world because of this • Mental condition • Financial gain “The defendant’s character leads to sensitiveness to criticism, fed by a revenge complex which explains his anti-social tendencies (i.e. – crime)” – van der Horst Van Meegeren’s Best Known Work

4. Why Vermeer? • Fairly unknown during his lifetime • Small body of works • Not an “heirloom” painter (vs. Rembrandt) Girl with a Pearl Earring

5. Christ in the House of Martha and Mary

6. Caravaggio- Supper at Emmaus

7. The Technique Christ at Emmaus

8. Woman in Blue Tests Woman with a Lute

9. Pigments Ultramarine White Lead Vermillion Yellow Ochre Green Earth Indigo

10. Crack Lines Girl with a Pearl Earring

11. Crack Lines Christ at Emmaus

12. Crack Lines

13. Phenolformaldehyde resin

14. Examining Christ

15. The Last Supper

16. I Have Summoned up the Depths

17. Girl with a Pearl Earring The Last Supper

19. Physics Radiograph Analysis Christ at Emmaus Washing of the Feet

20. Radiograph Christ at Emmaus Sketch at Trial

21. Physics Radiograph Analysis Christ at Emmaus Washing of the Feet

22. Radiograph Washing of the Feet

23. XRF Analysis Examination of Christ’s Robe Woman Taken in Adultery

24. Na8-10Al6Si6O24S2-4 Ultramarine

25. Characteristic X-Ray Transitions Ex = (Z-1)2 · 13.6 [eV] · (1- 1/ni2) Na = 1.02 keV Al = 1.47 keV Si = 1.72 keV S = 2.295 keV

26. Na Counts Al Si S

27. Na ? Counts Al Al Si S

28. Na8-10Al6Si6O24S2-4 Ultramarine CoO · Al2O3 Cobalt Blue

29. Ex = (Z-1)2 · 13.6 [eV] · (1- 1/ni2) Co = 6.895 keV !

30. Na Co Counts Al Al Si S

31. Cobalt Blue • Discovered in 1802 by Thénard • Vermeer died in 1675

32. XRF Analysis FAKE Woman Taken in Adultery

33. Physics 2 – Van Meegeren 0 Iron Smelting White Lead

35. Iron Smelting Ra-226 Pb-210 Ore Slag White Lead

37. Half-life Pb- 210: 22 years Half-Life Ra- 226: 1600 years

38. Sample Calculations Measuring activity over a periods of 300 years (the time when Vermeer would have smelted) and 50 years (the time when Van Meegeren would have smelted) • Ra- 226: constant- k • Since both these times are relatively short compared to the half-life of radium, the activity will remain approximately constant

39. Sample Calculations Measuring activity over a periods of 50 years (the time when Van Meegeren would have smelted) and 300 years (the time when Vermeer would have smelted) Pb-110: 1g sample @ 50 years A = λN N0 (Pb-110) = 5.48 x 1021 atoms N (Pb-110) = 5.13 x 1020 atoms A (Pb-110) = 5.25 x 1011 decays/second

40. Sample Calculations Measuring activity over a periods of 50 years (the time when Van Meegeren would have smelted) and 300 years (the time when Vermeer would have smelted) Pb-110: 1g sample @ 300 years A = λN N0 (Pb-110) = 5.48 x 1021 atoms N (Pb-110) = 4.3 x 1017 atoms A (Pb-110) = 3.15 x 107 decays/second

41. Pb-110/ Ra-226 Ratio 3.15 x 107 decays/second 5.25 x 1011 decays/second k k @ 300 years @ 50 years 60% difference!

43. Hans van Meegeren Guilty Again... On Trial