Thefts in the world of Art are neither new nor exclusive to one area. Throughout recent history there have been various thefts of works ranging from Da Vinci to Van Gogh. Even pre-Hispanic cultures have been victims of this type of crime.
Mexico City, October 20 (However).- The recent theft of Napoleon’s jewels suffered by the Louvre Museum It is just one more episode of the many that Art has suffered throughout history. “The Mona Lisa” by Da Vinci, “The Nativity” by Caravaggio, “The Scream” by Edvard Munch, “The Adoration of the Mystical Lamb” by the Van Eyck brothers and even the theft of more than one hundred pre-Hispanic pieces in Mexico, are an example of this type of crime.
“The Mona Lisa”
It is not the first time that the Louvre Museum has been robbed. One of the most memorable took place on August 21, 1911, when a former employee of that space, identified as Vicenzo Peruggia, entered the museum facilities that Monday morning, took down one of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous works, La Gioconda, also known as The Mona Lisa, and took it with him in his work coat.
The theft was carried out due to the lack of security that the Louvre had at that time since it was closed on the day of the robbery, so the museum authorities realized that Da Vinci’s work had disappeared until the next day. The famous painting was recovered two years later, when Peruggia tried to sell it in the city of Florence, Italy.
Caravaggio’s “The Nativity”
In October 1969, two individuals belonging to the Italian mafia broke into the parish of San Lorenzo in Palermo and from the painting that hung in the oratory they tore the famous Nativity with Saint Francis and Saint Lorenzo, by Caravaggio. According to the testimony of an ex-criminal, the work, valued at 20 million dollars, would have been sectioned into about eight parts to be sold on the black market; however, up to now its exact whereabouts are unknown.
“Reclining Figure”, de Henry Moore
Another work whose whereabouts are unknown so far is the monumental sculpture Reclining Figure, by Henry Moore. which was stolen in 2005 from the Foundation’s gardens, north of the city of London, England. The unusual thing about this robbery is that it took only 10 minutes for the criminals to take a figure weighing two tons. To date, the whereabouts of the bronze piece are unknown and some even think that it was cast somewhere.
“The Scream” by Edvard Munch
On February 12, 1994, while the Winter Olympic Games were being held, a subject identified as Paul Enger entered the National Gallery in Oslo, in just 50 seconds, he took the painting “The Scream”, painted by Edvard Munch. As a kind of mockery he left a message that said: “thank you for the lack of security.” Fortunately, the painting could be recovered and the thief was arrested.
However, in 2004 history repeated itself. On that occasion, two armed individuals entered the Munch Museum in Oslo and, in front of the audience, took away one of the four versions of “The Scream” and a Madonna of the Norwegian expressionist icon. Although the pieces were recovered in 2006, those in charge of the works announced that the works had irreversible damage due to the humidity to which they were exposed.
“Jacob de Gyn III”” of Rembrandt
The portrait titled “Jacob de Gheyn III”, authored by Rembrandt, is also one of the paintings that has suffered the most thefts. The first record of these events took place in 1966, when the painting was stolen from the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London, England. The theft of the same work occurred on three more occasions, in 1973, 1981 and 1983. After the work was recovered, it is currently displayed in said museum.
Boston museum robbery
In March 1990, what is considered the largest robbery in history took place. It all took place on the 18th of that month, when two subjects disguised as police officers entered the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and in 81 minutes they took 13 works of art, by artists such as Degas, Manet, Rembrandt and Vermeer, from the latter they took the painting known as “Vermeer’s Concerto”, the most valuable in the world.
After entering the museum, the criminals subdued the guards and had the opportunity to walk through the rooms, which now display the empty frames. To date, the whereabouts of the paintings are unknown and a reward of nine million euros is being offered to whoever recovers the paintings.
Burglary at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, 1991 and 2002
In 2002, several subjects, with the help of sledgehammers and a ladder, managed to enter the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, where they stole two paintings, works that remained missing for 14 years, until in 2016, the Italian Police managed to recover them from the hands of the Neapolitan mafia. But this was not the first theft that the Van Gogh museum suffered, in 1991, when 20 paintings were stolen. The works, valued at 400 million euros, were recovered shortly after.
Bacon’s paintings
In 2015, five portraits of Francis Bacon were stolen. The works, by decision of the British artist himself, were in the hands of his partner, who kept them at his home in Madrid, Spain, where the criminals arrived and took the pieces, of which three paintings were recovered in 2017. However, to date two of the works remain missing, despite the arrests that were made.
“The mystical Lamb”
The work considered the most stolen in history is “The Adoration of the Mystical Lamb” by the Van Eyck brothers. And it has an impressive history of thefts. For example, in 1794, Napoleon’s troops stole the central panel of the painting and moved it to the Louvre Museum, where it was displayed for a time and then returned it.
In 1816, six panels that make up the work were sold under circumstances that were described as strange. Furthermore, in 1934, other criminals extracted two other tables, of which only one was recovered, while that of Juan Bautista is still missing, so a replica is currently on display. Finally, in 1924, Adolf Hitler ordered his men to take the polyptych, which was later located in the salt mines.
Pre-Hispanic pieces in Mexico
Mexico has not been exempt from this type of crime. In 1985, on Christmas Eve, one of the largest thefts in the history of the country took place, when two individuals entered the National Museum of Anthropology and, taking advantage of the distraction of the security guards, who were toasting Christmas, stole 140 pieces from the Maya, Oaxaca and Mexica rooms.
The pieces remained missing for four years, until in 1989, investigations found Carlos Perches and Ramón Sardina, aged 25 and 26, respectively, two middle-class men inexperienced in committing crimes, who kept the pre-Hispanic works in their home, which were recovered while they tried to sell them on the black market.