SAD & SHOCKING NEWS! 7 Stolen paintings from Dutch museum Rotterdam City included Monets, Picasso, Matisse and Gauguin!
The Kunsthal Rotterdam in the Netherlands lost seven valuable paintings in a theft at about 3:00 a.m. on October 16, 2012.
Those paintings were part of a special exhibition of 150 works in the Triton Foundation's collection as part of the museum’s 20th anniversary celebration.
After the thieves had set off an alarm and the police came within 5 minutes, but the art works and burglars were gone.
My comments:
How will these shameless---but definitely not tasteless!---thieves resell or financially benefit from stealing these 7 high-profile, well-documented art works by famous painters?
It seems there are more brazen art thefts in Europe nowadays?
Why was this museum so lax or careless in its security precautions? Will this incident alerts other museums and galleries worldwide?
Let all of us use the far-reaching power of the Internet and social media to spread the words as well as the images of these stolen art works, so no gullible or clueless people out there shall be victimized. Look at the 7 images below, do not forget them, do not buy them and report if seen...
(Matisse’s “La Liseuse en Blanc et Jaune")
(Monet's “Charing Cross Bridge, London”)
(Monet’s “Waterloo Bridge, London”)
(Gauguin’s “Femme Devant une Fenetre Ouverte, dite la Fiancee” )
(Lucian Freud's "Woman With Eyes Closed")
(Meyer de Haan’s “Autoportrait”)
(Picasso work“Tete d’Arlequin )
Below, I share one of the news reports about this art theft:
Thieves Exploited Security Flaw to Steal Monets, Picasso
The Kunsthal Rotterdam in the Netherlands lost seven valuable paintings in a theft at about 3:00 a.m. on October 16, 2012.
Those paintings were part of a special exhibition of 150 works in the Triton Foundation's collection as part of the museum’s 20th anniversary celebration.
After the thieves had set off an alarm and the police came within 5 minutes, but the art works and burglars were gone.
My comments:
How will these shameless---but definitely not tasteless!---thieves resell or financially benefit from stealing these 7 high-profile, well-documented art works by famous painters?
It seems there are more brazen art thefts in Europe nowadays?
Why was this museum so lax or careless in its security precautions? Will this incident alerts other museums and galleries worldwide?
Let all of us use the far-reaching power of the Internet and social media to spread the words as well as the images of these stolen art works, so no gullible or clueless people out there shall be victimized. Look at the 7 images below, do not forget them, do not buy them and report if seen...
(Matisse’s “La Liseuse en Blanc et Jaune")
(Monet's “Charing Cross Bridge, London”)
(Monet’s “Waterloo Bridge, London”)
(Gauguin’s “Femme Devant une Fenetre Ouverte, dite la Fiancee” )
(Lucian Freud's "Woman With Eyes Closed")
(Meyer de Haan’s “Autoportrait”)
(Picasso work“Tete d’Arlequin )
Below, I share one of the news reports about this art theft:
Thieves Exploited Security Flaw to Steal Monets, Picasso
By of Bloomberg. Oct 23, 2012
The thieves who stole seven paintings including works by Pablo Picasso and Claude Monet from the Rotterdam Kunsthal on Oct. 16 probably exploited a flaw in the locking security system, the museum said in a statement.
The museum said it has an electronic locking system that responds to the alarm. After some time, the electronic system deactivates automatically, although the doors remain mechanically locked, according to a Kunsthal e-mailed statement sent today.
“The investigation into the theft that took place on Monday evening has revealed that the burglars probably forced the locks” after the electronic locking system automatically deactivated, the Kunsthal said. Camera images show the burglary took just two minutes, the museum said.
Seven paintings, including works by Picasso, Monet, Henri Matisse, Paul Gauguin and Lucian Freud were stolen from the Kunsthal in the Dutch port city. The combined value may be as much as $130 million, making the burglary one of the most spectacular art heists of the last few decades.
The paintings stolen were Picasso’s “Tete d’Arlequin”, Monet’s “Waterloo Bridge, London” and “Charing Cross Bridge, London;” Freud’s “Woman with Eyes Closed;” Matisse’s “La Liseuse en Blanc et Jaune;” Gauguin’s “Femme Devant une Fenetre Ouverte, dite la Fiancee,” and Meyer de Haan’s “Autoportrait”.
The theft took place at about 3.15 a.m. on Oct. 16, the Rotterdam-Rijnmond police said. Investigators have released camera pictures on which the faces of the thieves are unidentifiable. They are hoping that people may recognize the combination of two or more figures and their distinctive bags, a statement on the police website said. Investigators have received 60 leads so far, it said.
The museum said it has an electronic locking system that responds to the alarm. After some time, the electronic system deactivates automatically, although the doors remain mechanically locked, according to a Kunsthal e-mailed statement sent today.
“The investigation into the theft that took place on Monday evening has revealed that the burglars probably forced the locks” after the electronic locking system automatically deactivated, the Kunsthal said. Camera images show the burglary took just two minutes, the museum said.
Seven paintings, including works by Picasso, Monet, Henri Matisse, Paul Gauguin and Lucian Freud were stolen from the Kunsthal in the Dutch port city. The combined value may be as much as $130 million, making the burglary one of the most spectacular art heists of the last few decades.
The paintings stolen were Picasso’s “Tete d’Arlequin”, Monet’s “Waterloo Bridge, London” and “Charing Cross Bridge, London;” Freud’s “Woman with Eyes Closed;” Matisse’s “La Liseuse en Blanc et Jaune;” Gauguin’s “Femme Devant une Fenetre Ouverte, dite la Fiancee,” and Meyer de Haan’s “Autoportrait”.
Fire System
The museum has since made adjustments to its locking system, according to the statement. Its alarm, camera and entrance control systems were all inspected in the past months and a new fire alarm and smoke detectors were installed earlier this year, it said.The theft took place at about 3.15 a.m. on Oct. 16, the Rotterdam-Rijnmond police said. Investigators have released camera pictures on which the faces of the thieves are unidentifiable. They are hoping that people may recognize the combination of two or more figures and their distinctive bags, a statement on the police website said. Investigators have received 60 leads so far, it said.
