Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Stolen Art Watch, Double Dutch Art Theft !


Thieves steal 6 landscape paintings from Dutch museum, the country's 2nd art heist this month

By Associated Press
3:15 AM PDT, May 12, 2009


AMSTERDAM (AP) — City officials say art thieves broke into a museum in a small Dutch town and stole six 17th- and 19th-century Dutch landscapes.

City spokesman Mark de Kok says three of the stolen paintings were river scenes by Jan van Goyen, a Rembrandt contemporary. The others were a 17th century painting by Pieter de Neyn and 19th-century pieces by Willem Roelofs and Adrianus van Everdingen.

De Kok said two more paintings were damaged at the museum in Ijsselstein when the thieves dropped them as they escaped. He said the burglary took place at 3 a.m. Monday when thieves broke through an emergency door with an iron bar.

Police are reviewing security cameras that may have captured the burglary.

It was the second art heist this month in the Netherlands.

Art Hostage comments:

I must admit I saw this coming, not the specific museum, but talk has been a cluster of planned art thefts in Holland and Belgium.

Speaking to a contact, close to the European art crime scene, it is not surprising as those involved now work on the principal of once bitten twice shy.

The reasons for these art thefts and the destination of the stolen artworks are filtering through.
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Interesting to note these art works were part of an exhibition and were not part of the permanent collection at this small museum. Thieves waited until the works were gathered and then struck.
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Coming soon the biggest art theft of 2009, or so I am told.

No specific details yet.

to be continued..............................
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List of stolen Dutch riverscenes:

Stolen paintings belonging to the ICN collection:

Jan van Goyen: A city with two towers on a river, 1634

Jan van Goyen: Walled city on a river, 1646

Jan van Goyen: The Pellkussenpoort the Vecht Utrecht, 1656

Pieter de Neyn: Farm on the Water, ca 1630

From the collection of the Centraal Museum Utrecht is stolen:

Willem Roelofs: Landscape with cows, c. 1885

Adrianus van Everdingen: meadows, c. 1880

Two paintings from the ICN collection are damaged:

Salomon Jacobsz.van Ruysdael: River View with passengers in a coach

Salomon Rombouts: River View of farmhouse

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