Thieves Take Advantage of Covid-19 Lockdown, Steal Priceless Painting

By Karissa Lund  •  31 Mar 2020 in News

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According to The Guardian, a painting by Vincent van Gogh was stolen early Monday morning from a Dutch museum that is currently closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It appeared to be a smash-and-grab raid from the Singer Laren museum’s front entrance.

The police stated that the burglar alarm was triggered but by the time police officers arrived, the thieves has fled. The stolen 1884 painting titled ‘The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring 1884’, had been on loan and is part of the permanent collection of the Groninger Museum.

While no other art is believed to be missing, the museum’s director – Jan Rudolph de Lorm, said he was “incredibly pissed off” by the loss of the painting. Coincidentally, the art was stolen on Van Gogh’s birthday (30 March 1853).

During a press conference broadcast on YouTube, De Lorm said, “This is exactly what you don’t want as a museum that has a painting on loan… A beautiful and moving painting by one of our greatest painters, stolen from the community… This must come back as soon as possible so that we can enjoy and be comforted by this beautiful art again.”

In a statement, a police spokesman for the Gooi and Vecht region said art robbery experts from the national criminal investigation department would help in the investigation. The painting has been added to Interpol’s international list of stolen works of art.

Arthur Brandt, an art detective, said that the artwork could be worth up to €6m (RM28 Million). Damn, that’s a lot of schmoney!

Guess we’ll have to wait for the painting to resurface, but if you’re in the mood for art, check out this list of virtual museums tours where you can enjoy the world’s most acclaimed works of art and historical pieces without ever having to leave your couch!

Stay home and keep updated with JUICE.