$10m Van Gogh painting stolen from museum closed in coronavirus lockdown
A Vincent Van Gogh painting worth $10 million has been stolen from a museum closed due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The artwork, titled Parsonage Garden at Neunen in Spring, was taken by thieves from the Singer Laren museum near Amsterdam, the Netherlands early on Sunday morning (local time).
The thieves smashed through a glass door at the museum and made off with the painting before police could arrive.
The 1884 painting was on loan from the Groninger Museum, which said it was “shocked” by the theft.
The painting was stolen on Van Gogh’s birthday. The celebrated artist was born on March 30, 1853.
The museum had closed on March 12 in accordance with national lockdown measures, with the museum’s director Jan Rudolph de Lorm saying the theft had left him “incredibly pissed off”.
"Art is there to be seen, to be enjoyed, to inspire and to bring solace, particularly in these troubled times in which we find ourselves,” he said.
Police investigations are ongoing and the painting has been added to Interpol’s international list of stolen artworks.
"Parsonage Garden at Neunen in Spring" comes from relatively early on in Van Gogh's career, before the prolific artist embarked on his trademark post-impressionist paintings such as "Sunflowers" and his vivid self-portraits.
It was the third time the famous Dutch master's works have been targeted in the Netherlands since the 1990s, Dutch art detective Arthur Brand said.
There have been 11,817 confirmed cases in the Netherlands and 864 deaths.
With AFP
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