orig. Henricus Antonius van Meegeren
born Oct. 10, 1889, Deventer, Neth.
died Dec. 30, 1947, Amsterdam
Dutch art forger.
He forged at least 14 "Old Masters" and sold them at enormous profit; critics had hailed his Christ and the Disciples at Emmaus as a Johannes Vermeer masterpiece. His activities came to light after World War II, when a commission was established to restore to their owners artworks collected by Nazi leaders. Discovering a work purportedly by Vermeer among those amassed by Hermann Göring , the commission traced it to Meegeren. Charged with collaboration, he confessed. He died of a heart attack before his one-year sentence began.