De strijd om de echte Vincent van Gogh : De kunstexpert als brenger van een onwelkome boodschap. 1900-1970

Abstract

Art experts play a key role in the art world, because it is their task to provide works of art with their real history. This also applies to Van Gogh experts. They can issue contradictory verdicts about the authenticity of the same paintings and drawings by Vincent van Gogh, because they do not use the same theories or methods and because they are not in the same possession of the facts. Contradictory verdicts may however also be made as a result of a struggle for power and authority, of forecasts of financial profit or the threat of financial loss, of attempts to protect personal honour or out of political and ideological interests. This book first of all tries to give insight into the background of breaches in the professional norms of art experts. Secondly, it gives a typology of what can happen to an art expert who brings the truth about the authenticity of Vincent van Gogh works to the fore. The experiences of art experts who bring unwelcome news about the authenticity of Van Gogh works are central to this book. The news can be unwelcome to experts, collectors, dealers, curators, critics, government representatives, and others who have reacted to the findings and opinions of Van Gogh experts in the following ways, by 1)accepting them, 2) rejecting them, 3) keeping quiet about them, 4) fighting them rhetorically, 5) (attempting to) shut them up.

The Van Gogh experts have then in turn reacted in different ways to the conflicts arising from their research and conclusions. Their reactions have varied from 1) standing up for the truth 2) keeping quiet, 3) compromising and 4) advocacy. In the latter case, it isn't so much a matter of the expert serving the truth as making sure that his own interests and those of others prevail. The main characters in the book are J.B. de la Faille, H.P. Bremmer, Ir. V.W. van Gogh and A.M. Hammacher.