Editing Han van Meegeren (section)

==Rejection by the critics==
[[Image:Residence Villa Primavera of Han van Meegeren 1932-1938 in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Avenue des Cyprès 10, France 1.jpg|thumb|upright|Han van Meegeren's mansion Primavera in [[Roquebrune-Cap-Martin]] where he painted his forgery ''The Supper at Emmaus'' in 1936, which sold for about US$300,000]]
Van Meegeren had become a well-known painter in the Netherlands with the success of ''Hertje'' (1921) and ''Straatzangers'' (1928).<ref name= Dutton1993/> His first legitimate copies were painted in 1923, his ''Laughing Cavalier'' and ''Happy Smoker'', both in the style of [[Frans Hals]]. By 1928, the similarity of van Meegeren's paintings to those of the [[Old Master]]s began to draw the reproach of Dutch art critics, who said that his talent was limited outside of copying other artists' work.<ref name="Godley127"/>

One critic wrote that he was "a gifted technician who has made a sort of composite [[facsimile]] of the Renaissance school, he has every virtue except originality".<ref name="Wynne2006">{{Cite news |last1=Wynne |first1=Frank |last2=Davies |first2=Serena |date=2006-05-08 |title=The forger who fooled the world |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3654259/The-forger-who-fooled-the-world.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404145820/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3654259/The-forger-who-fooled-the-world.html |archive-date=2019-04-04 |access-date=2012-06-15 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |location=London |language=en-GB}}</ref> Van Meegeren responded in a series of aggressive articles in ''De Kemphaan'' ("The Ruff"), a monthly periodical published by van Meegeren and journalist Jan Ubink from April 1928 until March 1930.<ref>Van Meegeren, Han (partly under alias) (April 1928–March 1930). ''De Kemphaan''.</ref> Jonathan Lopez writes that van Meegeren "denounced modern painting as 'art-Bolshevism' in the articles, described its proponents as a 'slimy bunch of woman-haters and negro-lovers,' and invoked the image of 'a Jew with a handcart' as a symbol for the international art market".<ref name="NewYorker2008" /><ref name="LTimes20210219">{{Cite news |last=Campbell-Johnston |first=Rachel |date=2021-02-19 |title=The Last Vermeer: how one man's counterfeits duped the art world |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/article/the-last-vermeer-how-one-mans-counterfeits-duped-the-art-world-rmw5f0kfx |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220013423/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-last-vermeer-how-one-mans-counterfeits-duped-the-art-world-rmw5f0kfx |archive-date=2021-02-20 |access-date=2021-02-20 |work=[[The Times]] |location=London |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Van Meegeren set out to prove to the art critics that he could more than ''copy'' the Dutch Masters; he would produce a work to rival theirs.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}