Art thieves wanted to burn Monet, Picasso
The thieves that stole seven paintings from the Kunsthal museum in Rotterdam last October considered burning the art, Rheinische Post reports.
The German newspaper says that Romanian detectives overheard a phone conversation in which the suspects discussed getting rid of the paintings. The suspects were unable to find buyers and presumably wanted to clear any traces that would lead to them.
It is not known whether the suspects managed to put their plan into action. Romanian broadcaster Antenna 3 claimed that two of the seven paintings had been found, but Dutch police was unable to confirm this, NRC reports. Last Monday three suspects were arrested in Bucharest.
The Kunsthal theft made headlines because the security system was laughably easy to break. The entire theft took no more than two minutes, Business Week reported back then.
The missing paintings are;
- Tête d’Arlequin by Pablo Picasso.
- Waterloo Bridge, London by Claude Monet.
- Charing Cross Bridge, London by Claude Monet.
- La Liseuse en Blanc et Jaune by Henri Matisse.
- Femme Devant une Fenêtre Ouverte, dite la Fiancée by Paul Gauguin
- Autoportrait by Meyer de Haan.
- Woman with Eyes Closed by Lucian Freud.
(Illustration: Charing Cross Bridge by Claude Monet. Source: politie.nl)
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