The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel

 

Summary (from the publisher): One of the most remarkable true-crime narratives of the twenty-first century: the story of the world’s most prolific art thief, Stéphane Breitwieser.

In this spellbinding portrait of obsession and flawed genius, the best-selling author of The Stranger in the Woods brings us into Breitwieser’s strange world—unlike most thieves, he never stole for money, keeping all his treasures in a single room where he could admire them.

For centuries, works of art have been stolen in countless ways from all over the world, but no one has been quite as successful at it as the master thief Stéphane Breitwieser. Carrying out more than two hundred heists over nearly eight years—in museums and cathedrals all over Europe—Breitwieser, along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout, stole more than three hundred objects, until it all fell apart in spectacular fashion.

In The Art Thief, Michael Finkel brings us into Breitwieser’s strange and fascinating world. Unlike most thieves, Breitwieser never stole for money. Instead, he displayed all his treasures in a pair of secret rooms where he could admire them to his heart’s content. Possessed of a remarkable athleticism and an innate ability to circumvent practically any security system, Breitwieser managed to pull off a breathtaking number of audacious thefts. Yet these strange talents bred a growing disregard for risk and an addict’s need to score, leading Breitwieser to ignore his girlfriend’s pleas to stop—until one final act of hubris brought everything crashing down.

This is a riveting story of art, crime, love, and an insatiable hunger to possess beauty at any cost.

Review: Over eight years, master thief Stephane Breitwieser stole more than three hundred objects from museums and cathedrals all over Europe. With his girlfriend working as his lookout, he did so without every threatening anyone and without raising any suspicions. Until it all fell apart. Interestingly, unlike most that steal artwork, he had no interest in making money from his stolen items, but instead used it to decorate the attic where he and his girlfriend lived. An art lover, he was also addicted to the thrill of pulling off his heists and was unable to stop himself, despite the risks. 

This was such an interesting true story, written by the author after numerous interviews and in cooperation with Stephane Breitwieser himself. He seems to feel no remorse for taking the art and was able to be so levelheaded about it in the moment that he was never suspected. He would calmly scope out any security, identify art that was the right size to easily sneak out, handily and quickly remove it from its frame, and slide it under his shirt and saunter off. He believed that museums were prisons and that he was in fact liberating the artwork, although of course it ended up in the prison of his own rooms, only seen by himself and his girlfriend. 

The greatest tragedy of the stolen artwork is what happened to it when Stephane was finally arrested. In a panic, his girlfriend and mother, terrified of being caught in possession of the artwork worth literally millions of dollars, began to dispose of it by throwing it in ponds, by the side of the road, etc. Some of it, including silver and statues, were eventually recovered, but some was not. I audibly gasped aloud to hear about one tapestry that was thrown in a ditch on the side of the road. A motorist saw it, thought it looked valuable, and turned it into the police. The police disagreed and thought it had been thrown out as trash but still thought it was colorful and put it down on the floor in their break room right by their billiards table. The officers walked over it for weeks before someone finally realized what it actually was: a missing 17th century tapestry. 

I do wish that Stephane's mother and girlfriend had agreed to be interviewed as well. It was understandable that his mother supported him no matter what, but I am especially curious about why the girlfriend went along with the heists and then why she decided enough was enough. She seems to have moved on and rather quickly, having a child soon after he was caught. 

I listened to this on audio and wish I had read it in physical form instead. I did not enjoy the narrator's speaking style and worry that I missed some details as a result. I have previously read The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel. I enjoyed it immensely. I liked this one as well, but it seemed like a briefer and slightly more cut and dried story: thief sees things he likes, thief takes them, thief gets caught. Still, an enjoyable read. 

Stars: 4

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• The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel