Beltracchi: The Art of Forgery explained

Beltracchi: The Art of Forgery
Director:	Arne Birkenstock
Distributor:	Global Screen
Runtime:	90 minutes
Country:	Germany
Language:	German

Beltracchi: The Art of Forgery (German: '''Beltracchi – Die Kunst der Fälschung''') is a 2014 film by Arne Birkenstock based on the life of German art forger Wolfgang Beltracchi.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

The Art of Forgery is a Documentary film about Wolfgang Beltracchi and the biggest Art Forgery scandal in post war Germany, 90 min., started in German theaters in March 2014 and had its world premier at the Montreal World Film Festival.^{[5] [6]} The film will be distributed worldwide by Global Screen.^[7]

Wolfgang Beltracchi (born Wolfgang Fischer in 1951) is a German art forger and artist,^[8] who has admitted to producing hundreds of fake paintings with M Feider, his mentor and mastermind behind the international art scam netting millions of Euros along with Wolfgang's wife, and two accomplices sold these as original works by famous artists including Max Ernst, Heinrich Campendonk, Fernand Léger and Kees van Dongen. In 2011, Beltracchi was sentenced to six years in prison.^[9] This was after a 40-day trial ending in Guilty for Beltracchi who was then sentenced to six years in a German prison.^{[10] [11] [12]}

Wolfgang Beltracchi was found guilty and charged with forgery and corruption related to 14 works of art that sold for a combined $45m (£28.6m). But Beltracchi has stated to the BBC that he faked 'about 50' artists.^[13] Demand was so high, said Wolfgang Beltracchi, that he could have found buyers for up to 2,000 bogus pieces, had he been inclined to paint them.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2014-08-29 . ‘Beltracchi: The Art of Forgery’ (‘Beltracchi: Die Kunst der Falschung’): Montreal Review . 2024-08-01 . The Hollywood Reporter . en-US.
2. https://www.globalscreen.de/content/general/190337 A mesmerizing, thought-provoking yet surprisingly amusing documentary on the life and times of Wolfgang Beltracchi, who tricked the international art world for nearly 40 years by forging and selling paintings of early 20th-century masters. A larger-than-life personality who was responsible for the biggest art forgery scandal of the postwar era.
3. http://www.blu-ray.com/Beltracchi-The-Art-of-Forgery/322135/ For nearly 40 years, The Art of Forgery goes over nearly forty years of details of the forging and selling paintings of early 20th-century masters by Beltracchi, who was responsible for the biggest art forgery scandal of the postwar era.
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS6a3XochQU BELTRACCHI - THE ART OF FORGERY Subtitled Trailer | German Currents 2014
5. Web site: 2012-06-07 . Anwaltssohn dreht Film über Kunstfälscher Beltracchi - WELT . 2024-08-01 . DIE WELT . de.
6. Web site: Hammer . Joshua . 2012-10-10 . The Incredible Rise and Fall of High-Flying Art Scammers Helene and Wolfgang Beltracchi . 2024-08-01 . Vanity Fair . en-US.
7. Web site: Roxborough . Scott . 2012-05-04 . CANNES 2012: Match Factory Takes ‘Measuring The World,’ Beta Grabs ‘Lost In Siberia’ . 2024-08-01 . The Hollywood Reporter . en-US.
8. Web site: Hammer . Joshua . 2012-10-10 . The Incredible Rise and Fall of High-Flying Art Scammers Helene and Wolfgang Beltracchi . 2024-08-01 . Vanity Fair . en-US.
9. Wolfgang Beltracchi: portrait of the artist as a conman . 2014-04-16 . 2024-08-01 . YouTube.
10. https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/0/32608939 Art Forger Wolfgang Beltracchi is now free and is making millions reported by the bbc.co.uk BBC.
11. Web site: How Beltracchi, the world's most famous art forger, plays with the market | DW | 19.08.2015.
12. Web site: A Not-Quite-Great Documentary About the Greatest Art Forger of Our Time. 21 August 2015.
13. News: Convicted forger claims he faked 'about 50' artists. BBC News. 7 March 2012.