Chapter 13

Summary

• Breitwieser delivers new paintings to his attic and notices that even great works of art lose some dignity without a frame.
• In Mulhouse, he stumbles upon a framer's shop, and meets the proprietor, Christian Meichler, initiating a friendship through mutual interest and appreciation for art.
• Meichler is aware of the sensitive, sentimental and discerning side of Breitwieser, as his friendship with him forms beyond the quartet of Breitwieser's most intimate relationships.
• French psychologist Lucienne Schneider gave Breitwieser a psychological assessment in 2004, describing him as narcissistic, obsessional, and unable to handle frustration, but also sensitive and vulnerable.
• According to Schneider, Breitwieser's attachment to art is a source of psychological suffering, which she suggests is a catalyst for his misconduct.
• Breitwieser comes to appreciate Meichler more as he realizes their shared enthusiasm for the same style of art - the European oil works from the end of the Renaissance and the start of the Baroque period.
• Breitwieser feeds Meichler a few lies about his art collection, including his relationship to a known painter and a falsified account of how he acquires his art.
• Breitwieser starts an informal apprenticeship with Meichler, learning the craft of framing, but maintains caution about revealing too much about his stolen art.
• Despite these lies to maintain their friendship, Meichler has no idea about Breitwieser's life as one of the biggest art thieves in history.
• Meichler sense that Breitwieser's unfulfilled love for art and passion to possess it might lead him to trouble, even without knowing about his thieving activities.