Wolfgang Beltracchi
Wolfgang Beltracchi (born Wolfgang Fischer in 1951) is a German art forger and artist.[1]
Biography
Wolfgang Fischer was born 4 February 1951 in Höxter[2][3] and grew up in Geilenkirchen. His father was an art restorer and muralist.[1] After marrying Helene Beltracchi in 1993 he adopted her name.[4]
Forgeries
Fictional collections
To provide a provenance for their fake works of art Beltracchi and his associates fabricated stories about their grandparents who supposedly had been art collectors in the 1920s: the Sammlung Knops and Sammlung Werner Jägers.
The Sammlung Knops (Knops Collection) had allegedly belonged to master tailor Johann Wilhelm Knops from Krefeld, grandfather of Otto Schulte-Kellinghaus.
Sammlung Werner Jägers (Werner Jägers Collection) had allegedly belonged to Werner Jägers, Helene Beltracchi's grandfather.
Both Johann Wilhelm Knops and Werner Jägers were made up to have been customers of Alfred Flechtheim, and many forgeries were labelled with his name.[5]
List of known forgeries
The Bundesverband Deutscher Kunstversteigerer (German Federation of Art Auctioneers), as a section of their database of known forgeries[6] has published a catalogue of works from the fictional Sammlung Jäger which have been investigated by the LKA. The catalogue lists 54 paintings as per October 2012, fakes presented as works by 24 different artists, including Heinrich Campendonk, Max Ernst, Auguste Herbin, Louis Marcoussis, André Derain, Jean Metzinger, Raoul Dufy, Kees van Dongen and Fernand Leger.[7]
Notable cases
La Fôret (2) by Max Ernst
In 2004 Beltracchi and his associates sold La Fôret (2), a fake 1927 Max Ernst painting, to a dealer for €1.8 million after Werner Spies had appraised it and had issued a certificate of authenticity. Galerie Cazeau-Béraudière lent it to the Max Ernst Museum for a 2006 exhibition and subsequently sold it to collector Daniel Filipacchi for $7 million.[8] The painting is now listed as a forgery from the Sammlung Jägers.[7]
Landschaft mit Pferden by Heinrich Campendonk
In July 2004 Steve Martin paid Paris gallery Cazeau-Béraudière €700,000 for Landschaft mit Pferden (Landscape with horses), supposedly painted by Heinrich Campendonk in 1915. In February 2006 Martin sold the painting through Christie's to a Swiss businesswoman for €500,000.[9][10] The painting is now listed as a forgery from the Sammlung Jägers.[7]
Rotes Bild mit Pferden by Heinrich Campendonk
In November 2006 Beltracchi and associates sold Rotes Bild mit Pferden (Red Picture with Horses), supposedly a 1914 painting by Heinrich Campendonk, to Trasteco, a Maltese company, for €2.88 million through Lempertz auctioneers in Cologne. In 2008 a scientific analysis showed the painting contained titanium white, which was not yet available in 1914. Experts identified old gallery labels on the back of the painting as fake.[4] The painting is now listed as a forgery from the Sammlung Jägers.[7]
Arrest and court case
Wolfgang and Helene Beltracchi were arrested 27 August 2010 in Freiburg.[4]
27 October 2011 Wolfgang Beltracchi was sentenced to 6 years in jail. His wife Helene to 4 years, and his accomplice "Otto S.K." to 5 years. Helene's sister "Jeanette S." was given a suspended sentence of 21 months in jail.[11][5]
Aftermath
Wolfgang and Helene Beltracchi are allowed to serve their sentences in an open prison, as long as they have regular jobs. They have been employed by a friend's photostudio, leaving prison in the morning and returning after work. Wolfgang Beltracchi stated this is "his first regular job ever".[4]
Filmmaker Arne Birkenstock, whose father Reinhard Birkenstock is Wolfgang and Helene Beltracchi's legal counsel, is working on a documentary about the Beltracchi case.[12]
Notes and references
- ^ a b "Copying the Expressionists: Germany's Mega-Forgery Scandal Gets Even Bigger". Der Spiegel. 16-Dec-2010.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Keiner will's gewesen sein". 22-Sep-2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Vorläufige Sicherungsmaßnahmen". 117 Js 407/10 and 110 KLs 17/11 (search for "Wolfgang Beltracchi")
- ^ a b c d "Confessions of a Genius Art Forger". Der Spiegel. 9-Mar-2012.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b "Art Forger All Smiles After Guilty Plea Seals Deal". Der Spiegel. 27-Oct-2011.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Die Datenbank kritischer Werke".
- ^ a b c d "Ermittelte Werke der sog. Sammlung „Jägers"" (PDF).
- ^ "The $7 Million Fake: Forgery Scandal Embarrasses International Art World". Der Spiegel. 13-Jun-2011.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Steve Martin Swindled: German Art Forgery Scandal Reaches Hollywood". Der Spiegel. 30-May-2011.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Steve Martin victim of German art forgery gang". The Guardian. 1-Jun-2011.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Wie erwartet: Kunstfälscher Beltracchi muss sechs Jahre in Haft". Express. 27-Oct-2011.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Kunstfälscher Beltracchi lehnt geplante Filmkomödie ab". Focus.