Chapter 14
Summary
- The chapter opens at the European Fine Art Fair in Maastricht, Netherlands, where art thief Breitwieser is present but not currently in the act of stealing. When an unrelated theft diverts attention, Breitwieser seizes the opportunity to steal a historic 1676 still life painting by Jan van Kessel the Elder from renowned London dealer Richard Green's stand.
- Breitwieser uses skill and cunning to remove the painting from the booth and to exit the building unnoticed. He notes that the true end of a successful art theft is when they cross international borders.
- Breitwieser and his partner Anne-Catherine develop a tradition of leaving a personal note on the back of each painting they steal, starting with the still life on copper.
- Breitwieser explains his preferred method of art theft, which involves precisely cutting the seams of display cases made of tempered glass or clear acrylic.
- Breitwieser demonstrates the effectiveness of his method by stealing a bronze hunting knife from a Swiss castle after a glass display case breaks and causes minor injuries. He heartily returns back to the crime scene to retrieve the knife.
- To divert suspicion after theft, Breitwieser and Anne-Catherine finish their visits to museums or art fairs with a nature hike, city walk or guided tour. Every encounter with museum staff is used to give them the appearance of innocent, art-loving visitors.
- During a guided tour of a castle, Breitwieser steals a valuable terracotta apothecary jar and then continues the tour as if nothing happened. His low-key modus operandi ensures the theft is not discovered immediately.
- The theft strategy extends to the thieves' interactions with police officers: once when their car had been scratched when parked near a museum and another time when they were about to receive a parking ticket while they had stolen art hidden on them.
- Breitwieser also discusses successfully unlocking a locked museum display cabinet using his own key, and his struggles and successes with unscrewing various pieces of art from their displays.
- He ends the chapter by noting the inherent danger in his line of work when stealing a serving platter from the Alexis Forel Museum near Geneva which required unscrewing thirty screws, despite the high risk involved.