In Brief:
- Wolfgang Beltracchi, a German art forger who served a prison sentence, has entered the world of NFTs.
- Beltracchi is recreating the most expensive painting in the world, Salvator Mundi, using 4,608 NFTs on Ethereum.
- As a result of their convictions in 2011, Beltracchi was sentenced to six years in prison for forging 14 famous art pieces.
Wolfgang Beltracchi – an infamous German art forger – is selling thousands of NFT of the world’s most valuable paintings.
Beltracchi, best known for creating fake works of art decades ago, has joined the world of non-fungible tokens (NFT), where digital assets function as collector’s items that are not duplicated.
The collection is called “The Greats,” with 4608 NFTs and it incorporates seven art eras, including artists such as Picasso, Van Gogh, and Da Vinci.
An original “Salvator Mundi” painting sold for a record-breaking $450 million to Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2017 at a Christie’s auction.
The work by Beltracchi reflects seven specific art historical eras ranging from the High Renaissance period during 1400–1550 to Factory Art 1962-1984.
Beltracchi remade famous paintings throughout his career of over three decades. He has refurbished the works of famous artists and sold them in their names as originals when they were false.
Beltracchi said, “The NFT market offers artists a platform to market themselves independently and makes them independent from traditional art market mechanisms.”
Not all of the 4,608 NFTs are currently on display on The Greats website. All pieces will only be revealed when the sale starts, probably in 10 days.
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In response to a question about why Beltracchi chose Salvator Mundi for his NFT collection, a spokesperson for Beltracchi said, “Beltracchi is the only person with the necessary skills to implement it. He has managed to fool the ‘art experts’ hundreds of times with his recreations of famous painters’ work.”
Between 1980 and 2011, Beltracchi defrauded the art world of an estimated €35 million. German authorities sentenced him to six years in jail in 2011 and he was freed in early 2015 after serving just over three years in prison.
