Les Choristes
Did the art world make a New Year’s resolution to be more exciting? 2010 was started off with a bang when not one, but two major art thefts occurred this week. The first theft happened at the Cantini Museum in Marseilles, where someone managed to break in and steal the small Edgar Degas pastel Les Choristes, valued at well over a million dollars. It was on loan to the Cantini from the Musee d’Orsay and was supposed to journey on to Canada and Italy. A million dollar theft is chump change to what happened just a few days later when over thirty paintings were stolen from a private countryside villa in La Cadiere-d’Azur while the homeowner was on vacation abroad, including a Picasso and a Rousseau. From my vast experience of art heists, comprised entirely of watching movies usually starring Pierce Brosnan or Brad Pitt, a diversion is usually needed. What better time than the end of the year, with two major holidays happening in just one week? An anonymous source from the local police department stated that there was no indication that these two thefts were linked even though they happened in close proximity to one another. These thefts highlight both the deep concern in France over illegal art trading and the ongoing issue of the lack of security in small museums. So while it remains that good art is in the eye of the beholder, it appears that great art can be in the hands of anyone who believes in the five finger discount.
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