Review of The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel rating *****
I was immediately attracted by the premise behind Michael Finkel’s book The Art Thief. Not only was Stephane Breitwieser the most prolific art thief in history, but he didn’t sell his stolen artwork. He proudly displayed the many items in the attic room he shared with his girlfriend, Anne-Catherine Kleinklaus.
Author Michael Finkel tells Stephane’s story starting with his first stolen artwork, an ivory representation of Adam and Eve. He follows the art thief on a mostly sequential journey as he pilfers paintings and works of silver, copper, wood, and ivory from museums and art shows throughout Europe.
In the early stages, Stephane is a sympathetic character obsessed with fine art. After he is finally caught and tricked into confessing his many crimes, it becomes harder to sympathize with someone who doesn’t have enough self-control to stop sabotaging any chance he has for a more respectable path.
The majority of his crimes were done with the help of his girlfriend. She stood as a lookout, watching the movements of security guards and museum visitors. She occasionally helped Stephane carry items out of museums in her purse.
You know it can’t go on. Sooner or later, he is going to get caught. He has several close calls. He does get caught stealing from one museum but talks his way out of it, claiming to be a first-time offender and promising never to do it again. It’s his second arrest when his world starts to crumble.
I wanted to read about the investigators climbing the stairs to his mother’s attic room and finding over a billion dollars worth of stolen artwork. I wanted to know what happened to him, his girlfriend, and his mother, who claimed ignorance over the thefts. And I wanted to know what happened to all of that artwork. I won’t give away any spoilers here, but this story has a shocking ending regarding the artwork and who is punished and who is not.
A while back, I purchased the digital frame Meural. It’s like having an art museum in my home. Besides being a great way to display photos I’ve taken, I use it to display artwork from museums worldwide and by artists from every genre: Picasso, Monet, Jackson Pollack, Banksy, and hundreds of others. One feature I like is that with the swipe of my hand, I can get information about the artist and the background of the specific painting I’m viewing. I have created a playlist of some of Stephane’s stolen pieces. Now, I can view the artwork he once cherished and displayed in a small attic in France.
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