Park City author Michael Finkel talks about his fourth book, 'The Art Thief,' the fascinating story of one of Europe's most prolific art thieves and his surprising motive for taking some 300 works from more than 20 museums.
in Antwerp, Belgium, during the noon hour — because, Breitwieser had told the author, lunch was the best time to steal art.
Breitwieser was looking for one particular piece — “Adam and Eve,” an ivory sculpture made by Georg Petel in 1627. They found it in a room with walls painted yellow, on a curved counter with other pieces above and next to it. The sculpture sat in a protective Plexiglas box. Finkel said he asked Breitwieser what was wrong, and the Frenchman replied: “That used to be mine. I used to have it on my nightstand. I used to be able to touch and feel it.”“The day I stole that piece, the ‘Adam and Eve,’ was the highlight of my entire life,” Breitwieser told Finkel. “Everything has gone downhill since then.”
They corresponded for four years, Finkel said, before Breitwieser agreed to a lunch meeting, the first time the thief had spoken to an American journalist. Breitwieser did have a condition for the lunch: Finkel could not bring a pen or notebook. Importantly, and the reason Finkel said the story captured his interest, was Breitwieser’s motive. “He, unlike almost all real art thieves, stole for love,” Finkel said.
Breitwieser had an affinity for 17th-century oil paintings from the late Renaissance era in northern Europe, Finkel said. He also loved ivory sculptures.
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