Chapter 9

Summary

• Anne-Catherine and Breitwieser continue their art thefts, utilizing a library for information to help plan each heist.
• Breitwieser dedicates extensive time to studying artist, era, style, and region, using resources such as the Benezit Dictionary of Artists and the art-history collection at a university.
• He keeps detailed folders for each stolen piece, full with notes, photocopies and drawings, stored in his attic.
• Breitwieser's commitment to his research allows him to learn about artists, styles, and histories, even the work of his thefts like the ivory Adam and Eve created by Georg Petel.
• Despite enhanced security measures, Breitwieser and Anne-Catherine maintain an impressive thieving rate due to their calm nature and their awareness of museum's lack of security systems.
• A lot of their success is also due to regional museums putting their trust in the public for security, focusing more on being able to share priceless artworks rather than concealing it for safety. Breitwieser exploits this trust for his advantage, despite the damage it does to the public good.
• Smaller museums often prioritize acquiring new works of art over implementing advanced security measures, such as tracking devices sewn into paintings, because new art draws larger crowds.
• Even when museums invest in security, this doesn't stop Breitwieser, as seen with his heist of a painting by Willem van Mieris from the University of Basel museum, where he uses an empty monitor's chair to his advantage.
• Despite being filmed during this theft, Breitwieser ensures only his back is seen while moving the painting out of the camera's field of view before removing it from the wall.
• The couple are often successful in their thefts because they leave the museum before staff can notice any missing art. Despite this instance of the theft being recorded, it only showed a generic man, making identification difficult.