Wolfgang Beltracchi
| Wolfgang Beltracchi | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Wolfgang Fischer February 4, 1951 Höxter, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
| Years active | 1965–2010 |
| Known for | Art forger |
| Spouse(s) | Helene Beltracchi (m. 1993) |
Wolfgang Beltracchi (born Wolfgang Fischer in 1951) is a German art forger and artist who has admitted to forging hundreds of paintings in an international art scam netting millions of euros. Beltracchi, together with his wife Helene, sold forgeries of original works by famous artists, including Max Ernst, Heinrich Campendonk, Fernand Léger and Kees van Dongen. Though he was found guilty for forging 14 works of art that sold for a combined $45m (£28.6m), he claims to have faked "about 50" artists.
In 2011, after a 40-day trial, Beltracchi was found guilty and sentenced to six years in a German prison. His wife, Helene, was given a four-year sentence, and both were ordered to pay millions in restitution. Beltracchi was freed on January 9, 2015, having served just over three years in prison.
Wolfgang Fischer was born 4 February 1951 in Höxter, Germany and grew up in Geilenkirchen, Germany. His father was an art restorer and muralist.
According to his own statements, Beltracchi copied a Pablo Picasso painting when he was 14 years old. He was expelled from school when he was 17, and went to art school in Aachen. He said that, as a young man, he used drugs such a LSD and opium and started doing art forgeries "a little." He travelled through Europe and lived in Amsterdam and Morocco.
He also lived in Mallorca, Spain and France.
In the 1980s, Beltracchi ran an art gallery for a short time with a business partner. The two had a falling out, with the partner accusing Beltracchi of stealing paintings from his house, an accusation Beltracchi vehemently denies.
Beltracchi designed the artwork to The Fall of a Rebel Angel, the eighth studio album from German musical project Enigma.
Fischer met Helene Beltracchi in 1992 and, after marrying in 1993, adopted her surname.
Wolfgang and Helene Beltracchi were arrested 27 August 2010 in Freiburg. Otto Schulte-Kellinghaus was arrested 1 December 2010.
...
Wikipedia