The disappearance of a painting during the Olympic Games, criminals in police uniforms and the robbery from a rooftop pipe – no, this is not the script for a new series (it could be), but real high stories – profile theft in the best museums in the world.
Today we are talking about the 7 most scandalous and incredible disappearances of world masterpieces.
Journey of the Legendary Gioconda to Italy
In 1911, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa disappeared from the Louvre. It was museum worker Vincenzo Peruggia, who kidnapped her on a visitor-free day. Just two years later he found a masterpiece in Italy.
During the search, Guillaume Apollinaire and Pablo Picasso were suspected of the crime. By the way, many believe that thanks to this robbery, the painting gained such incredible popularity.
Double theft of “The Scream” by Munch
Edvard Munch’s famous masterpiece was played 2 times: first in 1994, then in 2004. The first time it happened due to the negligence of the guards.
The fact is that on the day of the crime, the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games was held in Lillehammer, Norway. Museum staff in Oslo were so engrossed in watching that they did not pay attention to the signals. The next morning, a thank you note from the criminals appeared at the location of the picture. A month later, unknowns offered the museum to return Munch’s masterpiece for one million dollars, but they refused. In May of the same year, the painting was found in one of the seaside resorts in southern Norway. The heist in 2004 was more like a scene from an action movie. Then masked gunmen played two of the artist’s works at once: “The Scream” and “Madonna”. They were found only two years later, with serious damage yet to be restored.
Acting during a robbery at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston
This crime, committed in Boston in 1990, is still considered the loudest event in American art history. Later, two robbers dressed as police came to the museum at night, allegedly for control purposes. The guards decided not to argue with them and let them in, despite their rule of “not letting anyone in after closing”. Then the criminals, who demanded documents, announced that they were under arrest by wearing handcuffs. Thus, in 81 minutes, they stole 13 artworks worth over half a billion dollars, including works by Rembrandt, Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, and Jan Vermeer. By the way, this crime has not yet been solved.
“Spider-Man” at the Paris Museum of Modern Art
It was this nickname given to a man (thanks to his knowledge of parkour) who immediately stole 5 paintings from the Museum of Modern Art in Paris in 2010: Picasso’s “Dove with Green Peas”, Matisse’s “Pastoral”, Braque “Olive Tree near Estac”, “Woman with a Fan” Modigliani and “Still Life with Candlestick” Leger. Preparation for the robbery took 6 days. Every night he unscrewed the window and replaced them with mannequins, and the last time he removed the window, he briefly went in and checked the alarm and went out again. The criminal, after his arrest, admitted that he had to steal a painting, but could not resist and took more. He said he burned the artwork during the trial, but investigators don’t believe it.
Roof chimney robbery
In 2002, two robbers broke into the Vincent van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and stole two paintings: “Seascape in Scheveningen” and “Exit from the Evangelical Church in Nuenen”. They came in through the chimney in the roof like Santa Claus at Christmas. Then they calmly carried them to the security car and left the museum. I caught them only two years later. Later, one of the criminals said that their initial target was “Sunflowers”, another work by Van Gogh, but the stolen paintings became more accessible. By the way, they were found only in 2014.
Tourist theft of a painting by Leonardo da Vinci
In 2003, two robbers, disguised as ordinary tourists, went to Drumlanrig Castle in Scotland, tied up the janitor and stole Leonardo da Vinci’s famous “Madonna with a Spine”, and then fled into the street where a carriage was waiting. to them. In fact, the owner of the castle, the Duke of Buccleuch, promised a reward of 1 million pounds to anyone who found the damage. In 2007, police found the painting, but unfortunately that was a month after the Duke’s death. Now the castle belongs to his son, who again exhibited Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, saying that his father wanted it that way.
The most cynical theft in history
In 2010, Vincent van Gogh’s Poppy painting was stolen from Mohammed Mahmud Khalil’s private museum in Cairo. The robbery took place during the daytime, but none of the museum staff thwarted the criminals. How was it? The fact is that at that moment all the guards were praying, so no one even saw the thieves. After this incident, 10 museum employees were sentenced to prison for negligence. By the way, the picture has not yet been found.
True, in 2012 British researchers put forward a version that in fact all this time a copy of the “Poppy” was in the museum, and the original was kept in the house of a high-ranking Egyptian official. However, this version has not been confirmed.
Source: People Talk
