On October 1, 1995, Breitwieser turns twenty-four and drives with Anne-Catherine, his mother, and a dachshund to Germany’s Black Forest and the New Castle in Baden-Baden for a Sotheby’s estate presale viewing spread across 106 rooms. Though he claims ease masking his crimes at home, his mother’s awareness remains unclear.

In a third-floor gallery, he is transfixed by Lucas Cranach the Younger’s small, pristine portrait of Sibylle of Cleves, displayed under an unlocked plexiglass dome with vigilant guards and a large Sunday crowd. Anne-Catherine warns against a “kamikaze” attempt, and they initially decide to leave it, judging the risk too great and the potential fallout severe.

As the day wanes, crowds thin and guard vigilance slackens. The couple returns to the gallery, tracks guard positions, and when Anne-Catherine signals all clear, Breitwieser lifts the dome, slides the panel into his auction catalog, and replaces the cover. He accidentally knocks the easel, but the loud clatter goes unnoticed amid chatter, and they head calmly to the exit past suited guards with earpieces.

Outside, his mother awaits, apparently unaware. Breitwieser places the catalog-shielded painting in the hatchback, and they depart for a family birthday dinner at his grandparents’. Elated, he privately celebrates the audacious theft, having just elevated his attic trove with a Renaissance masterpiece.