Werner Jägers collection

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The Werner Jäger collection was an alleged collection of paintings by the Cologne entrepreneur Werner Jäger (1912–1992), which in reality consisted of forgeries. From around 1995 to 2006, these were sold to art collectors at prices up to over a million euros or pounds , or they were auctioned through renowned auction houses such as Lempertz (Cologne) and Christie's ( London ). Overall, investigators estimate (as of October 2012) a fraud profit of 20 to 50 million euros. It is the biggest art forgery scandal to date.

history

Werner Jägers came from a humble background and was the grandfather of Helene Beltracchi . According to the year he was born, when he was in his mid-20s, he should have acquired a considerable number of very expensive works of art even then, without ever appearing as a collector or in the art scene. The existence of the alleged art collection was supported by black and white photographs of the alleged living quarters of the Jäger couple, with some of the paintings later sold on the walls; Helene Beltracchi posed in the foreground, disguised as her own grandmother. The photos were printed on original photographic paper from the time and contributed to the deception of the auction house experts.

The forgeries and the fraudulent sale are attributed to Helene Beltracchi, her husband Wolfgang Beltracchi , her sister Jeanette Spurzem and Otto Schulte-Kellinghaus, who had been charged with this before the Cologne Regional Court since September 1, 2011 . The two sisters are granddaughters of Werner Jägers.

The subject of the process were 14 paintings which, when sold, were identified as works by Max Pechstein , Heinrich Campendonk , Max Ernst , André Derain , Kees van Dongen and Fernand Léger . Investigations were conducted into 33 other suspected fakes. Many crimes could no longer be prosecuted due to the statute of limitations.

Some of the paintings were issued by the forgers as part of a (also non-existent) Knops collection .

On October 27, 2011, the 10th Large Criminal Chamber of the Cologne Regional Court passed the following judgment for “gang fraud”:

The painter Wolfgang Beltracchi was sentenced to six years, his wife Helene Beltracchi to four years, her sister Jeanette to one year and nine months on probation and the friend and accomplice Otto Schulte-Kellinghaus to five years imprisonment.

The relatively short process was based on an agreement (“ deal ”) between all those involved in the process. Mild sentences were imposed for a confession by Wolfgang Beltracchi and for this agreement. The judgments could therefore no longer be appealed.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The hippie and the expressionists. In: Der Spiegel. 44/2010. Retrieved September 2, 2011
  2. ↑ Oh, how beautiful Panama is by Stefan Koldehoff and Tobias Timm. In: Die Zeit , No. 44 of October 25, 2012, p. 60
  3. ↑ Forger trial: defendants are silent - numbered accounts in Andorra. from: badische-zeitung.de , September 1, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  4. ↑ Millions of counterfeiters in court. on: artnet.de , May 24, 2011. Accessed September 2, 2011
  5. ↑ Exceptional counterfeiting talent. on: sueddeutsche.de , September 9, 2010. Accessed September 2, 2011.
  6. ↑ Michael Sontheimer : In a good mood in prison on: Spiegel Online from October 27, 2011. Retrieved on October 27, 2011.

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