Emailed Response Implicates Beltracchi in Forging 2 Oil Painting Owned by Japanese Art Museums; Apologizes for Causing Confusion

Photo taken from his Facebook
Wolfgang Beltracchi

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:57 JST, August 7, 2024

Wolfgang Beltracchi, the world-famous art forger suspected of creating two fake oil paintings owned by two Japanese art museums, appeared to have confessed to forging them in a response to an email inquiry from The Yomiuri Shimbun.

Beltracchi, who hails from Germany, has been referred to as a “genius forger.”

The Yomiuri Shimbun sent the inquiry to Beltracchi through his website and received a response under his own name.

The response said he has produced about 300 fake paintings over 35 years, imitating the artistic styles of about 120 painters and selling them at auctions and elsewhere.

He created the fake painting of “At the Cycle-Race Track” around 1986 and 1987 and sold it to the owner of an art gallery in Paris, the email said. It also said that he forged “Girl with Swan” around 1990, and his wife sold it at an auction in 1995.

In response to the fact that these paintings have caused problems in Japan, Beltracchi’s message said he was very sorry for the confusion.