Part 1
The unearthing of two 20th century sculptures at the Kunsthaus Dahlem gallery in Germany, missing for 75 years, prompted us to investigate items of art that have been lost or stolen over the decades.
It is not just small or insignificant pieces of art that have been taken or lost. Some major works of art from well-known artists including Van Gogh, Raphael and Matisse have disappeared throughout history and are still yet to be found.
1910’s
It is reported that on August 21, 1911, Vincenzo Peruggia stole the Mona Lisa painting by wrapping it in his work clothes and walking out of the tradesman’s entrance of the museum.
He kept the painting hidden in his apartment for two years before returning to Italy with it. It was in Florence that police arrested him. He claimed that his motivation for stealing the artwork had simply been to return the painting to its Italian homeland.
The painting was hardly known before the theft, but the publicity it received from the newspapers and the large-scale police investigation catapulted the artwork into notoriety, becoming one of the most famous in the world.
The Mona Lisa was last valued in 1962 for insurance purposes and was given the hefty price tag of US$100m. In today’s world taking inflation into account, it is currently worth an eye- watering $800m (US Dollars).
1920’s
It seems that the art world thieves took a long vacation in the decade that fell between 1920 – 1930 as we can find no reported art thefts