Headspace

I didn't know there was a forger, Han van Meegeren who made a lot of money on fake Vermeers until I read this book review on nytimes and this other article here. Here you can see a collection of his forgeries.

Christ at Emmaus

Washing of Christ Feet

Christ and the Adulteress

I couldn't believe they were Vermeers - they were stiff, almost 2D, almost well, ugly. Well, yes, Vermeer is not always wonderful. Pieces I classify as painting-on-a-bad day are Diana and Her Companions, Christ In The House of Martha and Mary and St Praxedis. Perhaps, it is quite close to St Praxedis on the badness scale that it could be mistaken as Vermeer. These pieces seem to be far worse than Vermeer on a bad day.

Then, I realised that if they were signed as IVMeer, it is difficult to assert they are forgeries unless there is concrete proof and fairly accurate dating.

On the other hand, they are so...ugly. Look at the window and table of Christ at Emmaus and the bread in the Washing of Christ Feet. The light treatment of the window looks harsh and the table as if it's being stopped from floating. The furniture in Vermeer always looks heavy and stuck firmly to the ground. The bread is so unappetizing, unlike the bread in The Milkmaid no wonder Christ doesn't even want it! Big clue there!

Or is it only me being hungry again?