On 26 January 2019, a group of thieves stole a door decorated with a mural by Banksy at the Bataclan Theatre in Paris. It was an especially cruel act since the artwork of a mourning woman veiled in white was made by the street artist in memory of the 90 lives lost during a 2015 terrorist attack there.
Now, this stolen artwork has been found by Italian police hidden in the attic of a farmhouse in Tortoreto, Italy. No arrests have been made, and it is not clear how or when the door came to Italy.
See also: The Top 10 Stolen Paintings
Authorities believe the work was stolen for financial reasons instead of political motivations. On 13 November 2015, three ISIS-affiliated gunmen entered the Bataclan Theatre, which had been targeted as the site of past pro-Israel gatherings, and killed 90 people. The tragedy was part of a coordinated terrorist attack throughout Paris of mass shootings and suicide bombings that resulted in the death of 130 people.
The Banksy artwork, painted in 2018, had become an unofficial memorial to the lives lost. At the time of its disappearance, representatives of the Bataclan said, "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."
The French policeman who tracked down the work was personally committed to its retrieval as he raided the theatre to stop the shootings in 2015. “It belongs to the Bataclan, it belongs to all of France in a sense,” said Christophe Cengig, a French embassy official in Rome, to AP.
See also: 19,000 Stolen Artefacts Recovered by Interpol
The public nature, and high value, of Banksy's art has made it particularly vulnerable to theft. In November 2019, a road sign emblazoned with a masked rat by Banksy was stolen in Paris near the Pompidou Centre.
