I finished The Art Thief by Michael Finkel. It documents the crimes of one prolific art-loving thief who robbed out-of-the-way castle museums and other convenient locations within a seven-country radius from his home base in Alsace.
I find art heist stories compelling even as they are disconcerting. Probably because I like reading about the art and art crime units as well as the people whose work it is to care for art. In this genre is also art restitution stories, which are also compelling.
Unfortunately (no spoilers), as interesting as it was reading about the stolen art and even the way it was stolen (the audacity -- and no romanticization of the thief here), the book's ending is a letdown.
However, it's a quick little read that's entertaining and also a study in one person's psychology.
@Furthering Living near Breitwieser's home town in Alsace (and that museum in Baden-Baden), I didn't know that this book exists. For us, reading in the newspapers, it was a mix of being gobsmacked about security in our museums, being amazed about the lenient judgements, and a kind of sadness because of his mental state.
We felt a terrible anger about his mother Mireille, who got away even better and did worse. So for the facts in real life.
But security was improved since then! 😉
@NatureMC Oh, how wonderful to get a local perspective. Thank you.
It sounds like the guy's best "tool" was the trust these museums had in their patrons, and he betrayed that trust time and again. 😢 It's awful that it resulted in such a violent loss of art. I hoped to reach the end of the book and all the pieces of art would have been returned. It really hurt to read about his mother's actions.
I'm glad to hear some sympathy for the thief's mental state. I felt that, too, while reading.
@Furthering I work as a volunteer guide in a small museum and am always amazed at how much trust smaller institutions have in their visitors. My most common phrase is: Don't touch.😁
This thief was nearly glorified in the media as a new "Arsène Lupin", which his autobiography certainly contributed to. In 2006, he even held public signing sessions. It was only after his first suicide attempt (due to his mother's actions) that people began to suspect he might be a very tragic figure.
@Furthering times, he attacked a TV crew and threatened to throw himself out of the window. The museums mentioned are all smaller institutions that cannot afford highly sophisticated security systems like the Louvre. But in one he stole a whole door!
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