the MEEGEREN website

There are at least twenty-five Meegeren related books, as well as countless articles about the relation Meegeren Vermeer. The more important Meegeren books are discussed here. For a complete survey see reference 6. All these books are still available, either with antiquarians, regular bookshops, or at internet bookshops.

DUTCH BOOKS

1. Meegeren, Han van: Teekeningen 1 (Drawings nr 1),  The Hague 1942.
   A large volume with drawings by van Meegeren and a foreword by his old friend Van Genderen. Although in Dutch it is also of interest for non-Dutch readers as it contains 40 large reproductions of drawings and watercolors. The excellent watercolour Nachtlokaal 1924 is included as well.
   Browse in antiquarian’s catalogues, or place a commission, the book is not that rare.
   
   

2. Marie-Louise Doudart de la Greé: Geen Standbeeld voor Van Meegeren (No Statue for Van Meegeren),  Amsterdam 1966. Containing 18 illustrations.
   The oldest serious report on Van Meegeren’s life, based on interviews with the artist in 1946. Both this book and the book by Kilbracken are vital for Meegeren related studies.
   See www.boekwinkeltjes.nl and insert “geen standbeeld” as a title to find antiquarian copies.
   
   

3. Frederik H Kreuger: Han van Meegeren, Meestervervalser (Master forger), Diemen (Amsterdam) 2004, ISBN 90-76988-53-6. Containing 120 illustrations, many in color.
   New facts and recently found paintings and photographs are shown here.
   See www.veenmagazines.nl click “Boeken en producten” and insert “Meegeren” as a title

ENGLISH BOOKS

1. John Godley: The Master Forger, London 1950. Contains 3 illustrations.
   The journalist John Godley was asked by the Meegeren family (his first wife and her children) to write this book.
   See www.bookfinder.com and insert “meegeren” as a title to find antiquarian copies.
   
   

2. Lord Kilbracken: Van Meegeren, Master Forger, New York 1967. Contains 40 illustrations.
   After he had inherited the title Lord Kilbracken, John Godley wrote this second Meegeren book with the aid of van Meegeren’s son Jacques. Together with Doudart’s book from 1966 it forms the most valuable source of information, although one has to “read between the lines” because of misinformation caused by van Meegeren himself. Contains 40 illustrations.
   See www.bookfinder.com and insert “meegeren” as a title to find antiquarian copies.
   
   

3. Frederik H. Kreuger: A New Vermeer, Life and Work of Han van Meegeren,  Rijswijk (The Hague, Holland) 2005, ISBN 978-90-5959-047-2.  With 185 illustrations.
   The most complete biography of the three, based on new facts, recently found documents and interviews with witnesses.
   Available from www.quantes.nl or mail uitgeverij@quantes.nl for information or ordering.

OTHER BOOKS

More books have been published about the Meegeren affair, but not all of them are reliable. Reference 6 gives indications about the various works.

SHORT SURVEYS

For a short survey of the life of Han van Meegeren the lemma ” Meegeren “ yields excellent results in Wikipedia. The author has checked the English, Dutch and German versions of the Meegeren lemma and has found them to be adequate. He made corrections in some of these texts.

COLLECTION OF PICTURES

The largest collection of digital pictures of Meegeren work can be found in the files of the RKD, the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (Netherlands Institute for Art History) in The Hague, Holland.
See http://website.rkd.nl  in English and search for “ Meegeren “.
For specific questions contact RKDdatabases@rkd.nl since not all collections are on-line.

A choice of Van Meegeren miscellania is shown in the gallery below.

Kreuger made this recent study in 2004 and 2007 and updated our knowledge of Han van Meegeren. Up till now an integral study on Van Meegeren's life was missing. The author, Frederik H. Kreuger has filled this gap and was in a position to do so: - he lived in war-time Holland and speaks Dutch - he met the last surviving relatives and witnesses - he discovered an unpublished biography of Van Meegeren's son. If you want to know what really happened you should read this book. Click on the image to enlarge the picture and read the back-cover. For info or ordering, send an e-mail to info@quantes.nl (International delivery organized)