On the morning of 14 August, tourists and residents of the city of Zaandam, the Netherlands were startled by two gunshots. What happened?
In broad daylight, a painting was stolen from the Zaans Museum. In front of a few passers-by, the thief tried to jump, with the artwork under his arm, onto a motorcycle, which was being driven by an accomplice. One of the eyewitnesses tried to pull the thief off the vehicle, whereupon the thief dropped the painting and fired a pistol. Nobody was injured and the two thieves left the scene empty-handed. The police were able to secure the motorcycle, abandoned near the museum shortly afterwards.
See also: The Top 10 Stolen Masterpieces
The painting, which escaped theft, is Claude Monet's The Voorzaan and the Westerhem. The French Impressionist stayed in the area from 4 June to 8 October 1871, which delighted him with its houses, mills and boats. In total, Monet made nine sketches and 25 paintings in the four months of his stay in the Zaan region. The Voorzaan and the Westerhem has been owned by the Zaans Museum since 2015. With a purchase price of €1.16 million euros (£1 mil), it is the highlight of the museum, which is dedicated to the heritage of the region.
Though the suspects are still at large, it seems unlikely that they were seasoned art thieves. Well-known art detective Arthur Brand told NH News shortly after the dramatic events, “[The suspects] don’t seem like professionals... I can name a few things that made this little chance of success. A lot of mistakes were made. It does not seem well thought out.”
