The Fine Art Of Stealing: The Tragic Fate Of The Masterpieces Stolen From Rotterdam

From  NRC Handelsblad (NL)

Olga is on her own. Her boy is inwards prison, beingness held on suspicion of having committed what they are calling on telly ‘the fine art theft of the century’. She knows that the accusation is correct. Along alongside friends, her boy Radu stole 7 valuable artworks from a museum inwards Rotterdam, loaded them into a machine as well as drove them to Romania.

There, inwards Carcaliu, a remote hamlet at the miserable south-eastern tip of the country, Olga stands inwards front end of the heating stove inwards the bathroom. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 brusk piece agone she lit the burn hence stepped out into the biting cold, making her means to the pocket-sized graveyard contrary her household where, inwards the dead of night, she dug upward the paintings as well as brought them dorsum inside.

Picasso, Gauguin, Matisse, Monet, Meijer de Haan as well as Freud. On telly they are talking virtually a loot worth hundreds of millions of euros. The amount is non of import to her. The pictures are bear witness against her boy as well as destroying the bear witness seems similar the entirely means she tin plough over the sack assistance him.
The artworks instruct upward similar tindersticks.

Early inwards the morning time of 16th Oct 2012, 7 valuable artworks were stolen from the Kunsthal inwards Rotterdam. The theft was globe news. But what commencement seemed similar a sophisticated burglary past times professionals, turned out to survive the move of a few small-time Romanaian criminals who had no thought what they were getting themselves into. They knew virtually household burglaries, non art, as well as they sure didn’t know virtually selling art.

This is the floor of the Kunsthal robbery, based on the illustration files as well as conversations alongside those involved.

The alarm

January Moerer is commencement awoken past times the audio of his mobile telephone ringing, hence his landline. It is 04:28 inwards the morning. The Kunsthal’s production director gets out of bed but is twice also belatedly to selection up. The missed calls are from colleague Gert-Jan Knoll, the edifice supervisor. He calls him back.

An warning has gone off. Paintings may conduct maintain been stolen.

Half an hr later, Moerer is walking through the edifice alongside 2 safety guards. The Van Gogh is the commencement matter he sees every bit he enters the exhibition space. Still Life alongside Cornflowers as well as Carnations, 1 of the Triton collection’s fundamental pieces, is withal where it should be. It is a epitome of an exuberant bouquet of flowers that Van Gogh painted inwards 1887, a bluish vase alongside bluish cornflowers against a bluish background. January Moerer is relieved.

Then they plough the corner. Seven empty spaces.

The Kunsthal, literally pregnant ‘art hall’, on the periphery of the Rotterdam metropolis marrow does non conduct maintain its ain collection as well as isn’t actually a museum inwards the traditional feel of the word. The Kunsthal is subject on artworks loaned past times other fine art galleries as well as someone collectors. Each year, 160,000 people see the temporary exhibitions gear upward inwards 3 large rooms, collectively a infinite of 3,600 foursquare metres.

At the Kunsthal at that spot are no safety guards at nighttime – cameras as well as alarms create all the work. Mobile guards from the safety companionship Trigion tin plough over the sack survive on the scene inwards 20 minutes if the alarms are triggered. The police pull are alerted too.

That night, Mehmet Karadurdu as well as Jordy Rook are driving through a rainy Rotterdam on their inspection rounds of the diverse companies that purchase into Trigion’s services. At 03:20 they instruct a telephone telephone from the command room. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 burglar warning has gone off at the Kunsthal on the Westzeedijk. Their PDAs demo them the quickest road to the building. When they instruct far xi minutes later, the police pull are already on the scene. It had taken the officers only 5 minutes to instruct to the Kunsthal.

At the Kunsthal at that spot are no safety guards at nighttime – cameras as well as alarms create all the move

The Kunsthal is a labyrinthine edifice total of drinking glass partitions, which signalled architect Rem Koolhaas’s international breakthrough. It is constructed hence that some of the plant are visible from the outside, similar a sort of showroom. When they arrived, the policemen walked around the exterior of the eccentric building. They didn’t notice that whatever of the paintings were missing. They were primarily looking for signs that would signal to a break-in. There aren’t any, they enjoin the newly-arrived Trigion safety guards. The officers enquire whether they involve to stay. No, if at that spot are no signs of a break-in, they tin plough over the sack go, the guards enjoin them. Nine times out of fourth dimension it’s only a imitation alarm....

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