PAINTER

Han van Meegeren

1889 - 1947

Photo of Han van Meegeren

Icon of person Han van Meegeren

Henricus Antonius "Han" van Meegeren (Dutch pronunciation: [ɦɛnˈrikʏs ɑnˈtoːnijəs ˈɦɑɱ vɑ ˈmeːɣərə(n)]; 10 October 1889 – 30 December 1947) was a Dutch painter and portraitist, considered one of the most ingenious art forgers of the 20th century. Van Meegeren became a national hero after World War II when it was revealed that he had sold a forged painting to Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Van Meegeren attempted to make a career as an artist, but art critics dismissed his work. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Han van Meegeren has received more than 1,164,794 page views. His biography is available in 32 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 29 in 2019). Han van Meegeren is the 182nd most popular painter (down from 165th in 2019), the 59th most popular biography from Netherlands (down from 52nd in 2019) and the 11th most popular Dutch Painter.

Han van Meegeren was most famous for his forgery of the painting "The Supper at Emmaus" by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. Van Meegeren forged the painting in 1937, and he sold it as an original to a Dutch art dealer for $60,000.

Memorability Metrics

  • 1.2M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 66.79

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 32

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 8.33

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.20

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among PAINTERS

Among painters, Han van Meegeren ranks 182 out of 2,023. Before him are Pinturicchio, Niki de Saint Phalle, Ivan Shishkin, Bernardo Bellotto, Fra Bartolomeo, and Anton Raphael Mengs. After him are Anselm Kiefer, Johannes Itten, Benozzo Gozzoli, Jan Matejko, Maurice de Vlaminck, and Domenichino.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1889, Han van Meegeren ranks 22. Before him are Idris of Libya, Gabriel Marcel, Gabriela Mistral, Carl von Ossietzky, Louise Mountbatten, and Otto Frank. After him are Jacob L. Moreno, Risto Ryti, Carl Theodor Dreyer, Zalman Shazar, Pitirim Sorokin, and Vasily Blyukher. Among people deceased in 1947, Han van Meegeren ranks 21. Before him are Alfred North Whitehead, Ettore Bugatti, Halford Mackinder, Anton Denikin, Aung San, and Ernst Lubitsch. After him are G. H. Hardy, Karl Mannheim, Frederick Gowland Hopkins, Pierre Bonnard, Nicholas Roerich, and Black Dahlia.

Others Born in 1889

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Others Deceased in 1947

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In Netherlands

Among people born in Netherlands, Han van Meegeren ranks 59 out of 1,646. Before him are Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach (1870), Theo van Doesburg (1883), Michiel de Ruyter (1607), William II, Prince of Orange (1626), Sylvia Kristel (1952), and Paul J. Crutzen (1933). After him are Frederick de Houtman (1571), Jan Tinbergen (1903), Pieter de Hooch (1629), Simon van der Meer (1925), Johan de Witt (1625), and Gerrit Rietveld (1888).

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Among PAINTERS In Netherlands

Among painters born in Netherlands, Han van Meegeren ranks 11. Before him are Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525), Hieronymus Bosch (1450), Gerrit Dou (1613), Jan Steen (1626), Theo van Gogh (1857), and Jacob van Ruisdael (1628). After him are Pieter de Hooch (1629), Dieric Bouts (1415), Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836), Petrus Christus (1410), Saskia van Uylenburgh (1612), and Lucas van Leyden (1494).

Dutch born Painters

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