Art Forger freed and making millions

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A German forger who conned the art world out of millions is holding his first exhibition this week, after becoming a free man.

Wolfgang Beltracchi forged paintings by some of the world's most famous artists including Pablo Picasso and Max Ernst.

His work made the front cover of a Christie's catalogue, and hung in some the most prestigious galleries across the world.

But after one life-changing mistake, the 64-year-old was sent to prison.

     

Beltracchi maintains "the only thing that was wrong was the signature".

In other words, if he had put his own name on the paintings, instead of those of Ernst and Picasso, he would have walked away.

"I was in prison not for the painting," he insists again, but "for the signature."

"I regret the wrong signature," he adds.

That's hardly a surprise. In 2011, following a 40-day trial, Beltracchi was sentenced to six years in a German prison, on charges of forgery and corruption relating to 14 works that sold for $45m (£28.6m).

His wife, Helene, was given a four-year sentence, and they were both ordered to pay millions in compensation to the people they conned.

     

In the past, Beltracchi has been described as a "genius" and "mastermind".

He spent years studying and analysing the work and lifestyles of the painters he mimicked - and disputes the accusation his works are mere copies.

"You cannot copy a painting," he says. "A copy is never the same as the original."

He openly declares, "I am the best art forger in the world. Many forgers cannot copy every artist. I can. I can do anybody."

His aim was to get inside an artist's mind and create a piece of work which could be attributed to them. His paintings were all originals - he would find a gap in a collection and invent a new work to fill it.

Some of his paintings sold for millions across the world. But the 64-year-old says it was never about cash: "I was always rich, I've always had enough money."

The excitement, he says came from elsewhere.

"I got a thrill when my wife was going to the experts and they were saying, 'Oh that's my painting... Voila!'"

Wolfgang and his wife Helene were a team. He painted and remained a ghost, whilst she sold the product to unsuspecting bidders.

Together, they concocted an elaborate plan to fool the art market.

"At first it was not a big story, I told people I got these paintings from my family." Helene claims.

But after multiple inquiries about the origins of the paintings, the couple mocked up photographs to prove their provenance.

Helene dressed up in vintage clothes and pretended to be her grandmother as she sat in front of Wolfgang's paintings. Then she took the photos along when she sold the forgeries.

     

Asked if she was a good actress, Helene replies: "I don't know, maybe that was my talent!"

Wolfgang says: "You must have a good story to sell paintings for millions."

Beltracchi says he has created hundreds of forgeries, some of which he has seen hanging in the world's most famous galleries: "In 1986, I sold a painting to New York for $25,000.

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