SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

BELTRACCHI — THE RETURN OF SALVATOR MUNDI

Wolfgang Beltracchi book The Return of Salvator Mundi book

Wolfgang Beltracchi —The Return of Salvator Mundi
Published by Alberto Venzago, 2023
Hardcover
212 pages
24 x 32.5 cm

ISBN 978-3-03942-142-8
Available in English and German languages

Buy Online

In recent years, the painter and legendary art forger Wolfgang Beltracchi has embarked on a new artistic chapter. One of the focal points of his most recent work, created since Wolfgang and Helene Beltracchi relocated to Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, is an extensive series of paintings that have been offered for sale as digital artworks using NFT technology. The starting point for this series was the painting "Salvator Mundi," allegedly attributed to Leonardo da Vinci and sold at Christie's in 2017 for a record price of $450 million to the Saudi royal family. Beltracchi delved deeply into this painting and created several hundred versions of it in various styles under the title "The Greats": the Salvator Mundi in the style of Pop Art, Cubism, Surrealism, Asian comic art, personified as Mick Jagger, Mao, or Rammstein's singer Till Lindemann... It's a fascinating puzzle game with the controversial painting and its symbolism.

This large-format, English-language book combines photographic insights into Beltracchi's studio routine with documentation of the works from this new phase of creation, as well as texts from surprising and, in some cases, well-known authors. Among them are philosophers Peter Sloterdijk and Markus Gabriel, German-American literary scholar Hans Ulich Gumbrecht, Stern's star reporter Ulrike Posche, and Swiss photographer Alberto Venzago, whose photographs are also featured in the book. Thus, the phenomenon of Beltracchi is described and interpreted from various perspectives.

Wolfgang Beltracchi painting bookbook Wolfgang Beltracchi book The Return of Salvator Mundi bookThe Return of Salvator Mundi book Wolfgang Beltracchi

PSYCHOANALYST MEETS HELENE AND WOLFGANG BELTRACCHI
ARTIST COUPLE MEETS JEANNETTE FISCHER

buch Psychoanalytikerin trifft Helene und Wolfgang Beltracchi

Psychoanalyst Meets Helene and Wolfgang Beltracchi
Artist Couple Meets Jeannette Fischer
Scheidegger & Spiess, 2022
188 pages, 20 colour illustrations
11.5 x 16.5 cm

ISBN 978-3-03942-071-1
Available in English, German, and Czech languages

Buy Online

Wolfgang Beltracchi is an exceptional figure in the international art world. His name is inseparably linked to one of the greatest disruptions of the global art market. In the handwriting of numerous world-renowned artists, he has developed and painted new pictures, continued their narratives and biographies, and added their forged signatures. His wife, Helene Beltracchi, then introduced the paintings into the art market. Numerous experts were deceived by Beltracchi's astounding craftsmanship, auction houses brushed aside many doubts in an insatiable market environment and sold the paintings as authentic works of the alleged artists.

Reading the artistic handwriting of a painter requires an extraordinary willingness and ability to empathize with that person until you can "feel the feelings of the other" (Wolfgang Beltracchi). In extensive conversations with the painter and his wife, psychoanalyst Jeannette Fischer explored this highly developed ability in Beltracchi. In this English-language edition of her new book, she relates this to the disappearance of Beltracchi's own signature. Just as with her previous successful book about performance artist Marina Abramović, Jeannette Fischer has created an extremely insightful portrait of a fascinating artist personality.

This large-format, English-language book combines photographic insights into Beltracchi's studio routine with documentation of the works from this new phase of creation, as well as texts from surprising and, in some cases, well-known authors. Among them are philosophers Peter Sloterdijk and Markus Gabriel, German-American literary scholar Hans Ulich Gumbrecht, Stern's star reporter Ulrike Posche, and Swiss photographer Alberto Venzago, whose photographs are also featured in the book. Thus, the phenomenon of Beltracchi is described and interpreted from various perspectives.

publication Artist Couple Meets Jeannette Fischer Psychoanalyst Meets Helene and Wolfgang BeltracchiPsychoanalyst Meets Helene and Wolfgang Beltracchi Artist Couple Meets Jeannette FischerHelene and Wolfgang Beltracchi Artist Couple Meets Jeannette Fischer

WOLFGANG BELTRACCHI
BETONSKULPTUREN — TANZ IM RAUM

Wolfgang Beltracchi Betonskulpturen

WOLFGANG BELTRACCHI
BETONSKULPTUREN — TANZ IM RAUM 
Exhibition Catalogue 

Published in 2019
Arton Freiburg i.Br. 2019  

ISBN: N/A
In German language

*OUT OF STOCK

"A work of art can be an objective raw material for a completely different subjective work of art; it can consciously or subconsciously serve as material."
—Wolfgang Beltracchi

Following the paths of artists Léger and Schlemmer, Wolfgang Beltracchi merges the ideas of these artists into a new painting, expanding the theme into a third visual language. From this fusion, he derives a series of sculptures that elevate the panel painting into a third dimension.

Wolfgang Beltracchi catalogueWolfgang Beltracchi sculpturesWolfgang Beltracchi sculptures

WOLFGANG BELTRACCHI — BRONZESKULPTUREN
"TANZ IM RAUM — TANZ AUF DER TREPPE"

Wolfgang Beltracchi Brozeskulpturen

WOLFGANG BELTRACCHI — BRONZESKULPTUREN
"TANZ IM RAUM — TANZ AUF DER TREPPE"
Exhibition Catalogue 

Published in 2019
ISBN: N/A
In German language

*OUT OF STOCK

"A work of art can be an objective raw material for a completely different subjective work of art; it can consciously or subconsciously serve as material."
—Wolfgang Beltracchi

Wolfgang Beltracchi translates the two-dimensional figures from the painting series into the third dimension. Gypsum models of two dancers and one dancer have been created.

Wolfgang Beltracchi creates sculptures out of bronzeWolfgang Beltracchi bronze sculpturesWolfgang Beltracchi sculpture book

BELTRACCHI — TIME LINK

Wolfgang Beltracchi Time Link exhibition and catalogue

BELTRACCHI — TIME LINK
Exhibition Catalogue 

Published in 2019
for the exhibition"KAIROS . THE RIGHT MOMENT"
at Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien, Vienna Austria

ISBN: N/A
In German language

*OUT OF STOCK

The exhibition catalogue for "Kairos – The Right Moment". The conversations that set the exhibition in motion began around the turn of the year 2015–2016. Initial talk was of a combined photography-and-painting exhibition, a commercial idea by Munich entrepreneur Christian Zott which eventually gave rise to this exhibition series. Our knowledge of European art and culture and my experience as a painter allowed us to go beyond Mauro Fiorese’s original photo series "Treasure Rooms", which was limited to Italian museums only, and expand our horizon to encompass the great museums of Europe. I would connect the dots between my “unpainted paintings” and various artists exhibited in these museums. This in turn would reveal the links between my paintings and Mauro’s photographs.

What matters to me most about our project is the human side. Who were these people the paintings tell us about? What was their significance? How were the events taking place around them significant? What influence did these people or certain developments during their lifetimes have, and how do we feel their influence in society today? The spiritual and artistic development of our continent has fused us, across national borders, into a multiethnic unit, and the present moment is calling on us to show our unity.

Wolfgang Beltracchi time link catalogueWolfgang Beltracchi Time Link exhibition and catalogueWolfgang Beltracchi Time Link exhibition and catalogue

DU888 — DAS KUNSTMAGAZIN
ICH, BELTRACCHI JAHRHUNDERFÄLSCHER

Du Kulturmagazin Wolfgang Beltracchi Jahrhundertfaelscher

Du888 — das Kulturmagazin
Ich, Beltracchi Jahrhundertfälscher

DU Kulturmedien AG / Du Kulturmedien AG, 2018
Seitenzahl: 114
31.5 cm x 23.8 cm x 12 cm 

ISBN-13: 9783905931877
ISBN-10: 3905931877 
Available in German language

Buy Online

Like no other, Wolfgang Beltracchi can immerse himself in the thinking and work of the greatest painters of all time. He never copied their paintings but painted new ones, often in the master's style, and sometimes even better. After his time in prison, Beltracchi has reinvented himself and continues to surprise the art world. "Du" (referring to a publication or magazine) in this issue shows how.

Du Kulturmagazin Beltracchi JahrhundertfaelscherDu magazin Wolfgang Beltracchi JahrhundertfaelscherWolfgang Beltracchi Jahrhundertfaelscher Du Kulturmagazin

KAIROS, THE RIGHT MOMENT
WOLFGANG BELTRACCHI, MAURO FIORESE

book KAIROS the right moment Wolfgang Beltracchi book cover

Kairos, the Right Moment
Wolfgang Beltracchi, Mauro Fiorese

ZOTT Media Verlag, 2018 
226 pages
24 cm 

ISBN-13: 9783905931877
ISBN-10: 3905931877 
Available in English and German languages

* UNAVAILABLE AT THE MOMENT

KAIROS is the Greek god of the right moment for a decision. European art history consists of countless decisions that together determine which works are seen - and which are not. The exhibition "KAIROS. The Right Moment" takes a look at the unseen in art, at forgotten works and those that were never created. Mauro Fiorese visited the storerooms of significant European museums. In his photographs, their hidden treasures become visible. Wolfgang Beltracchi painted important historical events of the past 2,000 years for "KAIROS. The Right Moment" for the first time in the handwriting of the masters of their time. Initiator Christian Zott makes it possible to see European art history with different eyes through this exhibition. The catalog introduces European museums and their collections with Fiorese's photographs. It presents Beltracchi's paintings against the backdrop of their stories and the eras they represent and documents the creation of the works with additional images. In 40 fold-out cards, the catalog provides a comprehensive overview of the exhibition and its artists."

wolfgang beltracchi book KAIROS the right momentKAIROS der richtige moment Wolfgang Beltracchi buchKAIROS the right moment Wolfgang Beltracchi

HELENE UND WOLFGANG BELTRACCHI
SELBSTPORTRÄT

Helene und Wolfgang Beltracchi Selbstportrat

Helen und Wolfgang Beltracchi
Selbstporträt

Rowohlt Taschenbuch, 2018
608 Seite
13.8 x 4.38 x 21.4 cm

ISBN: 978-3-499-62889-4
Available in German language

Buy Online

In 2011, the "Beltracchi Case" shook the international art world and thus changed our perspective on the business of art. For years, Wolfgang Beltracchi forged works by famous painters from various periods of art history and sold the paintings through international auction houses and galleries alongside his wife, Helene. In this book, the Beltracchis tell their adventurous story, provide insights into the mechanisms of the art market, and debunk the myth of the infallible eyes of experts who verify the authenticity of paintings. Exciting, fast-paced, and artfully crafted.

The story of Wolfgang Beltracchi describes this development: Born and raised in the Westphalian province not far from the Dutch border, he led a nomadic hippie life with stops in Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Munich, Berlin, Spain, and Morocco before settling down in a secluded, one might even say hidden life in the South of France, not far from Montpellier. The turning point in his biography came suddenly, within a few days. It was his encounter with his wife Helene that fundamentally changed his life ideas, his sense of life, his goals, and his attitudes.

He had been painting before and after that, and his "work" bears the signatures of many painters. He did not master the styles of just three or four artists like other forgers but an astonishing number of painters. Even today, his paintings hang in museums, appear in catalog raisonnés, art books, and collections, a process that raises the question of original and forgery with new urgency.

How this was possible, how the story of an artist unfolded who realized his own skill in the work of others, how a comprehensive body of work was created through playful ingenuity, expertise, hedonism, deception, social and aesthetic fiction, in which individual paintings represent only a moment in a grand illustration of market procedures and greed, is narrated in this remarkable book by Helene and Wolfgang Beltracchi together.

WOLFGANG BELTRACCHI — FREE METHOD PAINTING  

Wolfgang Beltracchi free method painting

WOLFGANG BELTRACCHI FREE METHOD PAINTING
Exhibition Catalogue 

Published in 2016 by Curtis Briggs
for the exhibition"Free Method Painting"
at art room9, Basel, Switzerland

ISBN: N/A
Available in German language

The exhibition “Free Method Painting” presents new works by the artist as well as the new genre which Wolfgang Beltracchi has created through his artworks. The term “Free Method Painting” was created by Wolfgang Beltracchi and gallery owner Curtis Briggs (gallery art room9), in reflection of Lee Strasberg’s teachings on acting known as “Method Acting”.

As a Free Method Painter Wolfgang Beltracchi understands how to use his skills and creativity to merge the different artistical imprints and techniques used by major artists from different centuries. Beltracchi thereby creates completely new compositions, telling his own stories and producing genuine works of art.

Wolfgang Beltracchi catalogueWolfgang Beltracchi catalogueWolfgang Beltracchi catalogue

WOLFGANG BELTRACCHI — NABOKOV 

Wolfgang Beltracchi Nabakov exhibition with paintings

WOLFGANG BELTRACCHI NABOKOV
Exhibition Catalogue 

Published in 2016
for the exhibition"L’Univers de Nabokov"
at Galerie Christine Brügger, Bern, Switzerland

ISBN: N/A
In German language

*OUT OF STOCK

Wolfgang Beltracchi writes:
"Paintings inspired by the narratives of Vladimir Nabokov's years in Berlin. With precision in detail and in breathtaking colors, Nabokov creates literary worlds that bring to me the confusion in a Europe gone awry. The Russian past intertwines with his Western European present, creating a harmony of language where, for me, music and painting converge.

My paintings are not interpretations or interpretations. Sometimes it's an entire story or a paragraph, sometimes just a word, to evoke images within me. Paintings that I reproduce in different artistic styles and techniques, as my inner self perceives them."

Wolfgang Beltracchi catalogueWolfgang Beltracchi Nabakov exhibition painting in the style of DegasWolfgang Beltracchi catalogue

WOLFGANG BELTRACCHI — FREIHEIT

Wolfgang Beltracchi Freiheit catalogue cover

BELTRACCHI — FREIHEIT
Exhibition Catalogue 

Published in 2015
for the exhibition"FREIHEIT"
at art room9, Munich, Germany

ISBN: N/A
In German language

*OUT OF STOCK

"He is truly a man of genius talent and intelligence. Anyone who observes Beltracchi up close at work, with all the dedication and sharp attention, all the ideas and love for the smallest details, not to mention his incredible skill, eventually wonders: If this man is not a real artist, then who on earth is a real artist?!" —Daniel Kehlmann, writer in the FAZ

The title FREEDOM refers to the current life situation of Wolfgang Beltracchi, in which his new paintings were created. In January 2015, Beltracchi was released from prison after serving four years. The reason for his imprisonment was that he had signed famous artists' names on his works. His previous actions now belong to the past. In a constitutional state, anyone who has served their imposed sentence has the right to start anew, and in Beltracchi's case, to work artistically with complete freedom.

Wolfgang Beltracchi Freiheit new exhibitionWolfgang Beltracchi catalogueWolfgang Beltracchi oil painting detail of animals

BELTRACCHI —HOMMAGE AN DÜRER

Wolfgang Beltracchi Hommage an Dürer

BELTRACCHI Hommage an Dürer
Exhibition Catalogue 

Published in 2015
for the exhibition"Hommage an Dürer"
at art room9, Munich, Germany

ISBN: N/A
In German language

*OUT OF STOCK

BELTRACCHI — IM DUNKEL DER WÄLDER

book cover by Wolfgang Beltracchi Im Dunkel der Wälder

BELTRACCHIIM DUNKEL DER WÄLDER
Exhibition Catalogue 

Published in 2015
Exhibition at Kurt Mühlenhaupt  Museum Bergsdorf, 2015
Text by: H. & W. Beltracchi, Jacques Almira

ISBN: N/A
In German language

*OUT OF STOCK

From the Foreword: "In the course of Christianization, the belief in the spirit and deity realm within trees, springs, and groves was also prohibited for the Nordic peoples. Charlemagne, with the laws of the Capitulatio de partibus Saxione, attempted to banish pagan gods from the daily lives of people. Even though the forest may only be significant to many of us as a destination for Sunday afternoons, the reverence for those protective and punishing beings has persisted in the deepest layers of our memory for centuries. In the collective spirit, the past lives on and urges us not to lose respect for nature. Even though we will disappear from this planet in a relatively short time, something else will endure, echoing us like a work of art in this collective spirit."

Wolfgang Beltracchi publication Im Dunkel der WälderWolfgang Beltracchi publication Im Dunkel der WälderWolfgang Beltracchi publication Im Dunkel der Wälder

HELENE UND WOLFGANG BELTRACCHI
EINSCHLUSS MIT ENGELN

buch helene und wolfgang beltracchi einschluss mit engeln

Einschluss mit Engeln
Gefängnisbriefe vom 31.8.2010 bis 27.10.2011

Rowohlt, 2014
480 Seiten
21.5 cm x 14 cm x 3.9 cm 

ISBN: 978-3-498-04498-5
Available in German language

Buy Online

In 2011, the "Beltracchi Case" shook the international art world and thus changed our perspective on the business of art. For years, Wolfgang Beltracchi forged works by famous painters from various periods of art history and sold the paintings through international auction houses and galleries alongside his wife, Helene Beltracchi. In this book, the Beltracchis tell their adventurous story, provide insights into the mechanisms of the art market, and debunk the myth of the infallible eyes of experts who verify the authenticity of paintings. Exciting, fast-paced, and artfully crafted.

BELTRACCHI — MEISTERFÄLSCHER

Wolfgang Beltracchi der Meisterfälscher Austellung

BELTRACCHI — Meisterfälscher
Exhibition Catalogue 

Published in 2014
for the exhibition"Der Jahrhundertfälscher"
at Galerie Brügger, 2014

ISBN: N/A
In German Language
 
*OUT OF STOCK

PUBLICATION BY ANOTHER ARTIST
BELTRACCHI: CERVERA

Wolfgang Beltracchi Cervera Villa St Claire edition

Beltracchi — Cervera
Exhibition Catalogue, for the exhibition "Cervera" (2003)

In co-edition with Éditions Beltracchi on the occasion of the Art & Design exhibition from 7 November — 20 December, 2003, in Lavérune, Montpellier.

Texts by Jacques Almira and Michel Zoom
72 pages
23 x 27 cm
Print run of 600 copies

ISBN 2-908964-37-6
In French language

*OUT OF PRINT

PUBLICATION BY ANOTHER ARTIST
"TRIBULATIONS" - PAINTING BY ANDRÉ CERVERA

book cover of Tribulation by Andre Cervera

"Tribulations" — Painting by André Cervera

Villa Saint Clair Editions, Sète 2003
Edition Beltracchi 2003
Text by Jacques Almira
38 x 28 cm

ISBN: N/A
*OUT OF STOCK

An art book compilation of 6 booklets featuring works by the painter André Cervera. Afrique with 8 silkscreen prints, Le Mexique with 8 silkscreen prints, Musique with 14 silkscreen prints, Peinture en direct with 6 silkscreen prints, Moyenage with 9 silkscreen prints, Peep Show with 10 silkscreen prints.

the back of the book Tribulation by Andre CerveraAndre Cervera collages

PUBLICATION BY ANOTHER ARTIST
"JUSQUES A QUAND" - MICHEL POISSENOT

Wolfgang Beltracchi with Michel Poissenot

"Jusques a quand" — Michel Poissenot, 1998
Cover painting by Wolfgang Beltracchi

Edition Loess
34300 Grau d'Agde Legal deposit 1998
Print number 17391 ISSN 4161

*OUT OF STOCK