Wolfgang Beltracchi

German art forger (born 1951)

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Born 1951 · age 75Germany

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Wikipedia
13 languages
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Age
75
Born 1951
Known for
Beltracchi: The Art of…
2014

Summary

Updated 2026-08-30

Wolfgang Beltracchi is a German former art forger and visual 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 alleged 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. The total estimated profits Beltracchi made from his forgeries surpasses $100m.