Early on Saturday morning, a work signed by Banksy disappeared in the the inner city of Paris. The work, which represented a mourning woman with a veiled face, had been painted on one of the doors of the Bataclan concert hall last year in memory of the 130 people who lost their lives there in a coordinated terrorist attack in 2015. According to the French police, three people in a van stole the entire door with the Banksy print.
Shortly after the work appeared on the door last year, Banksy posted a picture of the mural on his Instagram account and confirmed that it was one of his works. Banksy's works are hotly sought after by both collectors and private individuals and a work by the artist discovered on a garage wall in Wales was recently sold for a six-digit amount.
But of course, the work cannot be valued in money alone - the place has been well visited by both the families of the victims and by others. In a statement on his Twitter account, Le Bataclan writes:
"Today we are filled with a deep sense of indignation. Banksy's work, a symbol of reflection that belongs to everyone – residents, Parisians and world citizens – has been taken away from us."
L’œuvre de @originaIbanksy hommage aux victimes du 13/11 a été volée. pic.twitter.com/FMHoobzRXm
— Bataclan (@bataclan_) January 26, 2019
This is not the first time a public work by the artist has been stolen. In 2013, the work Slave Labour was stolen from its original location in London only to later appear in Miami at auction. However, the work was soon withdrawn from the auction and returned to the UK.
Banksy himself has repeatedly urged people not to buy his art which first appears in public places, believing that street art should remain where it belongs and that artworks he hasn't created for the market should not be sold.
