Editing Han van Meegeren (section)

==Career as a legitimate painter==
[[Image:Princess Juliana's deer.jpg|thumb|upright|''The Deer'' (or "''Hertje''") is one of Han van Meegeren's best-known original drawings.]]
In 1914, van Meegeren moved his family to [[Scheveningen]] and completed the diploma examination at the [[Royal Academy of Art (The Hague)|Royal Academy of Art]] in The Hague,<ref name="Kreuger22" /> which allowed him to teach. He took a position as the assistant to the Professor of Drawing and Art History. In March 1915, his daughter Pauline was born, later called Inez.<ref name="Kreuger22" /> To supplement his small salary of 75 [[Dutch gulden|guldens]] per month, Han sketched posters and painted pictures for [[Christmas card]]s, [[still-life]], landscapes, and portraits for the commercial art trade.<ref name= Dutton1993/> Many of these paintings are quite valuable today.<ref name="Kreuger2007">{{harvnb|Kreuger|2007}}</ref>

Van Meegeren's first exhibition was held from April to May 1917 at the [[Kunstzaal Pictura]]<ref>''Tentoonstelling van schilderijen, acquarellen, en teekeningen door H. A. van Meegeren''. The Hague: ''Kunstzaal Pictura'', 1917.</ref> in the Hague.  In December 1919, he was accepted as a member by the [[Haagse Kunstkring]], an exclusive society of writers and painters who met weekly on the premises of the [[Binnenhof|Ridderzaal]]. Although he had been accepted, he was ultimately denied the position of chairman.<ref>{{harvnb|Lopez|2008|p=98}}</ref> He painted the tame [[roe deer]] belonging to [[Juliana of the Netherlands|Princess Juliana]].  The painting, ''Hertje'' (''The Fawn'' or ''The Deer''), was completed in 1921, and became popular in the Netherlands. He undertook numerous journeys to Belgium, France, Italy, and England, and acquired a name for himself as a portraitist, earning commissions from English and American socialites who spent their winter vacations on the [[Côte d'Azur]]. His clients were impressed by his understanding of the 17th-century techniques of the [[Dutch masters]]. Throughout his life, van Meegeren signed his own paintings with his own signature.<ref>{{harvnb|Kreuger|2007|p=208}}</ref>

By all accounts,{{which|date=March 2023}} infidelity{{whose|date=May 2018}} was responsible for the breakup of Van Meegeren's marriage to Anna de Voogt; the couple divorced on 19 July 1923.<ref>{{harvnb|Godley|1951|pp=143–147}}</ref><ref name= "Bailey253">{{harvnb|Bailey|2002|p=253}}</ref> Anna moved to [[Paris]], where van Meegeren visited his children from time to time. He dedicated himself to [[portrait]]ure and began producing forgeries to increase his income.<ref>{{harvnb|Kreuger|2007|pp=46, 56}}</ref>

He married actress Johanna Theresia Oerlemans in [[Woerden]] in 1928, with whom he had been living for the past three years. Johanna's stage name was Jo van Walraven, and she had previously been married to [[art critic]] and journalist Dr. C H. de Boer (Carel de Boer). She brought their daughter Viola into the van Meegeren household.<ref name= Dutton1993/>