A Vincent van Gogh masterpiece disappeared after thieves broke into the Singer Laren Museum in the early hours of Monday, 30 March. The museum is located in Laren, Holland's wealthiest town, which is 20 miles east of Amsterdam, and had been closed since 14 March to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The painting titled The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring was painted in 1884. Van Gogh moved to Neunen, Holland, in late 1883 to live with his parents because his father was a pastor there. His work reflected the landscape of Neunen, depicting the church, rural setting, vicarage, townspeople and gardens.
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One of his well-known works, Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen, was also painted in 1884 in Neunen, and shows the townspeople leaving van Gogh's father's church. Part of the collection of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the painting was stolen in 2002, but was recovered 13 years later in Naples, Italy, and subsequently returned to the museum.
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While The Parsonage Garden was exhibited at the Singer Laren Museum, it was actually on loan from Groninger Museum, a museum in Groningen, Holland.
“This beautiful and moving painting by one of our greatest artists stolen – removed from the community,” said Jan Rudolph de Lorm, the Museum Director of Singer Laren, at a press conference. “It is very bad for the Groninger Museum, it is very bad for the Singer, but it is terrible for us all because art exists to be seen and shared by us, the community, to enjoy to draw inspiration from and to draw comfort from, especially in these difficult times.”
A police investigation is underway.
This theft comes two weeks after three Old Masters paintings were stolen from an Oxford University gallery. As the world's museums are closed due to coronavirus and face mounting financial losses, museum break-ins have also become a concern, especially for smaller institutions.
