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How was Han van Meegeren’s Supper at Emmaus exposed as a forgery?

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kouros — Art fraud Kouros of uncertain provenance, formerly on display with the label “about 530 bc or modern forgery,” dolomitic marble; in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu, California.

The exposure of Han van Meegeren’s The Supper at Emmaus as a forgery was not the result of initial scientific testing, but rather a direct confession by the artist himself.12

Following World War II, an Allied art commission investigating the collection of Hermann Göring discovered a previously unknown painting attributed to Johannes Vermeer. The commission traced the work to van Meegeren, who was subsequently arrested and faced serious charges of collaboration with the Nazi regime.1

To avoid these charges, van Meegeren confessed to forging the painting—and several others, including The Supper at Emmaus—to prove that he had deceived the Nazis rather than collaborated with them. Although the Boymans-van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam had previously proclaimed The Supper at Emmaus a masterpiece, it was forced to acknowledge the forgery following van Meegeren’s revelation. To further substantiate his claim, van Meegeren painted another "Vermeer" under the observation of authorities, demonstrating his use of techniques designed to mimic the aging of oil paintings.123