Japanese Gallery Uncovers Wolfgang Beltracchi Forgery of Moïse Kisling Painting

A gallery in Japan has discovered that an oil painting thought to be by Moïse Kisling, featuring the famous Parisian muse Kiki de Montparnasse, is actually a fake created by German artist Wolfgang Beltracchi. The artwork, showcased at a Yamada Bee Company Group gallery in Okayama, was bought in 2013 from a museum in Hachioji, Tokyo, along with documents like a handwritten appraisal from Kisling’s son and Christie's auction records from 1995, estimating its worth at about JPY 25 million. Doubts surfaced in April when a Fukuyama museum alerted curator Kurose Kaori during a loan. In September, during a video call with NHK World-Japan, Beltracchi admitted to forging the piece around 1990, despite claiming it was still a Kisling. Kurose was skeptical, pointing out the authentic Kisling traits, like the almond-shaped eyes, and criticized the impact of the forgery on artists. This news comes after Beltracchi's previous claims of forgeries in Japanese galleries, including the Tokushima Modern Art Museum. A label on the painting linked it to Alfred Flechtheim, a German Jewish art dealer associated with Beltracchi’s other fakes.