Van Gogh Painting Stolen From Dutch Museum on His Birthday
In a shocking twist of events, a painting by Vincent van Gogh has just been stolen from the Singer Laren museum in the Netherlands, on the eve of what would be the Dutch master's 167th birthday. In the middle of the night, the thieves used a distressing pandemic as an opportunistic moment to break into the museum as it was closed to further the spread of the coronavirus to make off with a painting by the Dutch master, titled The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring (1884).
In a press conference on Monday morning, museum director Jan Rudolph de Lorm said, "I am extremely pissed off that this happened; this is a huge blow. This is extremely difficult, especially in these times."
The break-in happened around 3:15 a.m., as thieves smashed the front door to enter the museum. An alarm was triggered, but by the time the authorities reached the museum, the thieves had fled. The value of the work is not immediately known, but an investigation has been launched. Police are reviewing security footage and questioning local residents.
NETHERLANDS-ART-CRIME-HEALTH-VIRUS
Van Gogh painted The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring while he was living in Nuenen between 1883 and 1885 with his father, who was a pastor. The painting depicts the ruins of the local church in the village, which the artist could see from his window.
The painting does not belong to the Singer Laren, but rather was on loan from another museum in the Netherlands, the Groninger Museum, and was the only work by Van Gogh in its collection. “The Groninger Museum is shocked by the news,” said a press representative, who declined to comment further. It was not immediately clear if the thieves made off with any other works from the Singer Laren.
This is not the first time that the museum has been subject to a heist; in 2007, thieves broke in and stole seven works from its sculpture garden, including a bronze cast of The Thinker by Auguste Rodin. The sculpture was recovered a few days later, but it was missing a leg.
Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
